How do you blacken fish?

[Sutty]

Are there better types of fish to do this with? And am I going to wreck a frying pan doing it? I had some blackened grouper once in florida and have been drooling over it since and that was years ago.

Thanks

[Jeremy airjer W]

Let my wife cook it!

[BigWadeS]

best way is to use a cast iron skillet, very hot, most fish will work, I prefer Catfish as the #1 blackened fresh water one.....also Redfish Blackened Seasoning is top notch...IMHO

[BLACKJACK]

It must be an aquired taste, I had blackened catfish once and hated it, then I thought, I hate burnt toast/food anyway, why did I ordered blackened catfish? Duh. I guess I didn't realize that blackened=burnt.

[LABS4ME]

I've blackened walleye and crappie... But sheepshead are VERY good blackened! After all they are fresh water drum (Redfish are saltwater drum)I don't get them 'black', just a deep golden brown color.

Buy some Chef Prudhommes, Redfish Magic seasoning 9season aisle at grocer) and following the directions. Pretty easy... coat with melted butter, season liberally and cook in red hot pan.

I do it with a cast iron skillet and a turkey fryer for the burner. No smell in the house and it gets the pan good and hot. Only takes 1-2 minutes a side to cook. MMM MMM!

Good Luck!

Ken

[fishorgolf]

Unless you have and industrial quality exhaust fan DO NOT TRY THIS IN THE HOUSE.

To blacken correctly the pan (cast iron) needs to be red hot. If it is not red hot you have fried fish not blackened fish.

[Tom Linderholm]

I'll second the Paul Prudhommes Redfish Magic. We put blackened grouper on our menu at Trapper's Landing and it has been a hit. Goes great with a nice fruit or melon salsa.

[Sutty]

Thanks, I'll give that a shot. Will I need to "put aside" the cast iron pan to just use for blackening fish or will I be able to wipe it out like normal?

[BigWadeS]

you should be able to use it for other things as well

[fishorgolf]

The high heat will take some of the seasoning out of the pan.

[Finns]

Blackjack; BLACKened fish is kind of like HAMburger. Hamburger doesn't necessarily have ham in it and blackened fish isn't necessarily black.

It has a lot to do with the spices used to cook it-besides the heat.

[Tom Linderholm]

I usually clean mine out by pouring a cup of kosher salt into it while still hot and greasy and wiping it out with a towel. Otherwise known as seasoning the pan.

[BobT]

 Originally Posted By: BLACKJACK

It must be an aquired taste, I had blackened catfish once and hated it, then I thought, I hate burnt toast/food anyway, why did I ordered blackened catfish? Duh. I guess I didn't realize that blackened=burnt.

Blackened does not necessarily = burnt. Blackening is a process and contrary to popular belief it doesn't always involved hot spices either.

I like to use a castiron frypan. Get it hot, very hot. It was once described this way. When you can swipe the inside with a paper towel and the towel blackens, it's hot enough.

Season your fillets with onion and garlic powders, a little ceyenne if you wish, salt and pepper. Drop into the pan for about 1 minute per side. The high heat will sear the flesh quickly and seal the flavors. The blackening will be the result of both the heat and the spices and the fish should not taste burnt if done properly.

Bob