Recipe#26722

Title: Blackened Redfish 04

rec.food.recipes archive

Blackened Redfish 
 
1 T cayenne
3 T thyme
1 T oregano leaves
2 T paprika
1 T black pepper
5 T basil leaves
1 T garlic powder
1 T salt
 
Mix this all together - you will get about 3/4 C of spice mix. This
was plenty for 3 lbs of fish. I was told that the same seasoning
works well with boneless chicken breasts.
 
For fish I used good sized rockfish fillets. Rockfish is just like
red snapper.  The fillets were about 1 inch thick - don't go thicker
than this, as these seemed to barely get done in the middle.
 
Heat a cast iron skillet over a high heat until it is VERY hot.
Combine the dry spices together in a bowl. Press the seasoning
mixture over both sides of the fish. Use as much as you can get to
stick. Sprinkle 1t salt in the hot skillet, then put the fillets
in. Cook the fish until the underside begins to char or blacken,
then turn and cook the other side.  This will cook quickly and
creates a lot of smoke.
 
This is a fairly extreme recipe. My wife thought I was crazy, and
that the fish would be ruined. You are actually burning the outside
of the fish! Even so, it turned out great. The meat was firm, and
with just enough spice heat to get the mouth tingling.
 
Two of the recipes I got call for using lemon butter to fry the
fish.  Dip the fillets in the butter before coating with the spice
mix, and put a bit of butter in the pan too. I chose to not use
the butter, as it would probably cause even more smoke than the
above method. I will try using butter on the last fillets next
time, just to see if it works.