Recipe#10956

Title: Blackened Redfish 04

From: Ted Manahan tedm@hpcvcbp.cv.hp.com 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 Subject: blackened redfish 
 Date: 19 Feb 1994 09:18:14 -0500 
 Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis, Oregon USA 
 Message-ID: <2k5736$dt4@s.ms.uky.edu> 
 References: <2jh3o2$d68@s.ms.uky.edu> 

Thanks for the replies to my request for blackened redfish recipes.
 Here's what I used.
 Cajun Spice:
 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.