Recipe help

[Larry Welch]

Looking an easy but tasty "blackened" recipe for fish. I have tried but can't seem to get the crust that a few restaurants can.

 

[Sam Ortmann]

It’s not the seasoning “recipe” per say. Any blackening seasoning mix you find at the grocery store or recipe you see online will do. You gotta get the pan screaming hot, like turn your hood vent on high and open the windows to let the smoke out hot, if you want a proper blackening.

 

[Aunt Betty]

It’s not the seasoning “recipe” per say. Any blackening seasoning mix you find at the grocery store or recipe you see online will do. You gotta get the pan screaming hot, like turn your hood vent on high and open the windows to let the smoke out hot, if you want a proper blackening.

Yup

 

[kahunna]

Most restaurants don't prepare the recipe correctly, and rely on hot spice rub (with too much cayenne and paprika, giving the fish a reddish color when cooked) to prepare the fish.
Get spice mixture ingredients from Paul Prudhomme's original recipe (Google is your friend).
Use a 600 degree pre-heated (or as hot as your burner will get it) cast iron pan with butter and/or oil. Best to cook it outside on a burner because of all the smoke that will be generated. Fish will cook quickly, in 2-3 minutes per side (adjust for the amount of blackness you like). In Prudhomme's cookbook, the fish comes out the color of a high heat seared steak...black/charred, not burned and also still moist on the interior!

 

[KEN]

I want to make some for fish tacos. Would cast iron be best?

 

[Sam Ortmann]

I want to make some for fish tacos. Would cast iron be best?

Cast iron or stainless is what I would use. I despise non stick pans that are coated in Teflon or copper or whatever the fork new catchy advertising trend is the never ends up working anyway.

 

[kahunna]

I want to make some for fish tacos. Would cast iron be best?

I think if you want the fish blackened correctly (meaning the way that Paul Prudhomme who invented the dish did), yes. If not, any pan will do fine (do agree with Sam Ortmann on stainless).

 

[Sam Ortmann]

I think if you want the fish blackened correctly (meaning the way that Paul Prudhomme who invented the dish did), yes. If not, any pan will do fine.

You can correctly blacken a fish on stainless.

 

[bullpinnie]

Sam is right.

Heavy dredge on the spice, then into a smoking hot skillet with a little clarified butter. This is best done outdoors if you don't have a commercial hood.

For the spice, I usually just eyeball it, or use the lid off of the spice jars to measure:

1 part Granulated Garlic
1 part Onion Powder
1(+) part Cayenne
1 part Ground Black Pepper
1(-) Part White Pepper
1 part Dried Oregano leaves
1 part Dried Thyme leaves
1 part Salt
3 Parts Paprika ( i use a combination of sweet, smoked, hot, but use whichever you have on-hand).

Increase the salt by 1/2 part for fish seasoning.

 

[bullpinnie]

I despise non stick pans that are coated in Teflon or copper or whatever the fork new catchy advertising trend is the never ends up working anyway.

I pretty much agree, except for cooking eggs/ omelets/ crepes. in that case they are hard to beat.