Thread: Blackened Fish

Anyone got a good spice mix for Blackened fish? And how would one go about cooking it?

French herbs and various dried peppers are best for "blackening", but it depends on the fish. Herbs should be dried.

Paprika, oregano, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, salt, a little coriander, cayenne, a little mustard seed. Place in a mortar and crush the mix together (you can also use a tablespoon in a small metal mixing bowl). Other recipes may have some anise seed, other dried pepper powders.....just remember to sprinkle the mixture on the meat - coat it but don't cake it on....fry in a very hot skillet (iron is best) with oil and butter mixed in it...3-5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the fish.

Serve with some lemon wedges or some lemon butter.

Serve on heated plates (fish loses heat fast) - let hot tap water fill the plate and let it sit for 2-3 minutes, then dry and plate the food, just before serving (if I am baking, I just pop the plates in the oven for 2minutes)

Check the site I mentioned in the Lamb posting....

I don't have a recipe, but I do have a good story about blackening fish from many years ago...

We used to participate in a group of couples that got together once a month for a "special" dinner prepared by that month's host couple. This particular month the hosts decided to have blackened fish, which was becoming the latest fad in food back then. The wife had gotten a recipe that instructed to heat iron skillets until they are a very dull cherry red , dip the fish in melted butter and then dredge in the spices, and then drop them in the skillets. So she had three skillets ready and she and her husband quickly dropped (in a matter of seconds) fish into these 3 skillets ... and then the fun began.

The extreme heat instantly vaporized the butter into a huge white cloud that quickly engulfed the kitchen and began permeating throughout the house. In less than a minute fire alarms went off in other parts of the house and and the husband left the kitchen to start removing batteries. As the cloud grew and spread, one of the guests opened the kitchen door and another one opened the front door to help clear some of the smoke... visibility was down to several feet in the kitchen. The neighbor across the street saw the smoke pouring out of the house and called the fire department. Meanwhile, the wife continued to cook more fish... after all, her reputation for the meal was still on the line. And so the white cloud continued to grow. Even the fire alarm in the basement went off.

Well, you can imagine the story from there... dinner was served in the smoke filled dining room about the same the firemen arrived. We all had to leave the house while they investigated (in spite of everyone's claims there was no problem). Eventually we got to eat the fish... after it was reheated in the microwave.

PM Justin!
If he doesn't have a recipe he is bound to know someone who does as he lives in Louisiana!

Originally Posted by JMS

PM Justin!
If he doesn't have a recipe he is bound to know someone who does as he lives in Louisiana!

I'm not the cooking type so I don't know personally. I don't think I've ever come across a neighbor or relative cooking blackened Redfish. It might be one of those supposedly Louisiana things (out of New Orleans) that is advertised to more of an external market ---. Was it Paul Prudhomme who came up with this? You might want to check out his seasonings and such ---very popular around here.

I think after he came up with this, everyone in restaurants wanted blackened Redfish. Supposedly this led to over fishing of Redfish and a dwindling of the population with strict regulations as the outcome. But the numbers are up again (good news for coastal fisherman)

So it was a fad for awhile ---but not a staple of Louisiana diet ----I've never had it.

Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

I'm not the cooking type so I don't know personally. I don't think I've ever come across a neighbor or relative cooking blackened Redfish. It might be one of those supposedly Louisiana things (out of New Orleans) that is advertised to more of an external market ---. Was it Paul Prudhomme who came up with this? You might want to check out his seasonings and such ---very popular around here.

I think after he came up with this, everyone in restaurants wanted blackened Redfish. Supposedly this led to over fishing of Redfish and a dwindling of the population with strict regulations as the outcome. But the numbers are up again (good news for coastal fisherman)

So it was a fad for awhile ---but not a staple of Louisiana diet ----I've never had it.

Justin

Oops!!