Blackened Chicken Question

[larry_stewart]

Went to a restaurant yesterday, and their description of a dish my wife had included " Blackened Chicken".

Being vegetarian, this was a term I was not familiar with, as I've never had it, nor have I ever really showed any interest cause I thought it would never apply to me.

But, this was a vegan restaurant, and as the meat substitutes are getting better an better ( impossible burger, beyond sausages ...), I need to pay attention to things that may now become part of my culinary library and techniques.

So, with all that said, what does the term " Blackened" mean, and how does one go about "Blackening" something. ( You can use chicken as an example, and Ill figure out how to apply it to whatever ill be using it for).

Thanks

Larry

 

[Mad Cook]

I don't come from a BBQ heritage. Here, in the north west of England, in the foothills of the Pennines and close to the edges of the Manchester conurbation, rain tends to get the better of us when we organise outdoor cooking and eating. However, in my experience "blackened" seems to be on a line with "charred" ie a euphemism for "burned".

 

[powerplantop]

To Blacken something it is seasoned with a mix of Cajun spiced and cooked in a really hot cast iron pan until the spices are just starting to get black but not burned. Its great for things that cook really fast, fish or shrimp are great cooked this way.

Here is an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7RMuNJrpE

Since the fake meats are already cooked this method is adaptable. I would try this with Chickwheat since it has a similar texture to chicken. https://avocadosandales.com/2017/12/17/chickwheat-shreds/

 

[Mad Cook]

To Blacken something it is seasoned with a mix of Cajun spiced and cooked in a really hot cast iron pan until the spices are just starting to get black but not burned. Its great for things that cook really fast, fish or shrimp are great cooked this way.

Here is an example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w7RMuNJrpE

Since the fake meats are already cooked this method is adaptable. I would try this with Chickwheat since it has a similar texture to chicken. https://avocadosandales.com/2017/12/17/chickwheat-shreds/

Sounds like burned to me.

Going off at a tangent - if vegetarian and vegan food is so good (which it is) why does it have to be hidden behind a name which appears to pretend it's meat? In my experience (several veggie & vegan friends who cook for me and whom I cook for) food that doesn't pretend to be something else than what it is, is always better than things described as "chicken" or "meat" balls or any of the other travesties that give veggie and vegan cookery a bad name.

 

[dragnlaw]

Sounds like burned to me.

Going off at a tangent - if vegetarian and vegan food is so good (which it is) why does it have to be hidden behind a name which appears to pretend it's meat? .

Often is burnt!

+1 on the tangent - why change the name?

Nothing wrong with chickpeas on the BBQ!

 

[larry_stewart]

Sounds like burned to me.

Going off at a tangent - if vegetarian and vegan food is so good (which it is) why does it have to be hidden behind a name which appears to pretend it's meat? In my experience (several veggie & vegan friends who cook for me and whom I cook for) food that doesn't pretend to be something else than what it is, is always better than things described as "chicken" or "meat" balls or any of the other travesties that give veggie and vegan cookery a bad name.

I go by the rules of ' It either tastes good or it doesn't '.

I don't like to compare the real thing vs its imitation for a few reasons. First of all its been so long since I tasted the real thing, it would be almost impossible for me to compare. Secondly, it isn't the real thing which brings me back to my initial ( and only rule, it either tastes good or it doesnt).

That being said, when an imitation is being used to create a dish that already exists, in this case, a Cubano Club Sandwich , which I have never tasted before, I would like to at least get the general concept of what the real thing tastes like so I can have as close to a direct comparison as I could, and to see what I've been missing out on.

Luckily, the imitations have come such a long way over the past 30 + years Ive been a veg ( I mean it really used to be close to inedible, buts its all we had). So now, with the new products, I get a better idea of many things ive never experienced. And in addition, I get to learn new methods ( Blackening something , along with many other things) which will expand my cooking knowledge and allow me to be innovative in many different ways, which is one of the reasons I love to cook. I know what I like, I know what I dont like, but I dont know what I dont knowing thats what Im trying to do is explore my unknown, the legendary stuff ive never had the opportunity to experience before.

Im not naive enough to think its going to taste like the real thing, but knowing the general concepts and flavor profiles is good enough for me .

 

[blissful]

I was brought up in the midwest where the only proper meal was meat, vegetable or two, as in side dishes, potatoes, and bread with butter. Milk or tang (awful stuff) was served. And so I think it is just cultural, the vegetarian 'meat' choices.


My dad was and my DH is a meatatarian. Meat is the main dish and everything else is just table dressing for them.



If you go on any big news channel in the US with cooking and they have, for instance, 37 great recipes for dinners with pictures. They always have meat, like chicken or fish or beef or pork or...as the centerpiece, so it just seems like it is a progression, to label vegetarian 'meats' to a similar actual meat. It's really not fair to toss this mislabeling of non-'meats' similar to actual meat onto vegetarians, they didn't invent this culture or this issue.



Besides the cultural issue, it happened because our communication conforms to this culture. How can vegetarians communicate about their meals without comparing/contrasting with meals that contain meat in them?



Is it the Indian culture (among others) that mostly has vegetarian meals? They might describe their meals in a different way with no expectation of having meat protein as part of their culture and language. I expect there might be some DC members from India that could tell us about it.


Larry, I bet you could serve up some nice blackened tofu or even just blackened chick peas. I stopped eating pork/beef/venison/chicken about a month ago and I'm really enjoying it. I've always cooked for my meatatarians and I still do, but, we have more 'table dressing' now. For me!

 

[buckytom]

To Blacken something it is seasoned with a mix of Cajun spiced and cooked in a really hot cast iron pan until the spices are just starting to get black but not burned. Its great for things that cook really fast, fish or shrimp are great cooked this way.

This ^.

II am a recent convert to enjoying blackened food. Recent as in last week in Florida when my family convinced me to try eating the grouper and snapper we caught the day before blackened. We brought our catch to a local restaurant where the chef cooks your catch for you (plus sides for $12 a plate).

We got the fish 3 ways, grilled, blackened, and fried.. The blackened fish filets were delicious. Like PPO says, the spices weren't burnt.

A word of caution, though. I've done some research on how to do it at home, and the butter in a screaming hot cast iron pan smokes like crazy. I'm going to try this using a high temp oil like grapeseed or canola, then add butter just before the end for flavor.

 

[medtran49]

No, it's not burnt if done correctly.



Yes, you better do this outside or have a really, really, really, really good exhaust fan in your kitchen, and we're talking really, really, really, really good in case you didn't get the point. Craig blackens on his gas burner set up that he uses for crawfish/shrimp boils.



The Cajuns call for you to get your cast iron pan white hot and it does look kind of white when it's hot enough. This is one of those things you have to have everything ready to go because it's so hot you don't have time to mess around with anything.

 

[tenspeed]

Back in the 80's when blackened fish became the trendy thing to do, a friend decided to give it a try in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it was in the winter in Michigan. The house immediately filled with smoke, smoke alarms went off, etc. His wife was not too happy. It's definitely an outdoor sport.

 

[dragnlaw]

butter in a screaming hot cast iron pan smokes like crazy. I'm going to try this using a high temp oil like grapeseed or canola, then add butter just before the end for flavor.

Why don't you try using Ghee? or gee (or golly gee whiz)

 

[Kayelle]

Larry, I've always absolutely admired your personal philosophy on being a vegetarian, and your posts should be an inspiration for others to try new things.
I'm not a fan of Cajun, but you might be and more power to you. Like others have mentioned, try and do your experiments outside.

 

[larry_stewart]

Larry, I've always absolutely admired your personal philosophy on being a vegetarian, and your posts should be an inspiration for others to try new things.
I'm not a fan of Cajun, but you might be and more power to you. Like others have mentioned, try and do your experiments outside.

Thanks. The vegetarian thing just sets up the rules and limitations I have to follow. The love of cooking (and eating) provides the drive to push it to the max and to try and not miss out on anything.

Now with my cholesterol and sugar are a little high, along with my wife going vegan, i've been handed a few more obstacles. But it just forces me to be more creative and open minded.

 

[salt and pepper]

Blackened Catfish....Seared outside, moist inside.... Don't try this indoor's!!!

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[CraigC]

Beside blackened grouper and hogfish, we enjoy both blackened steak and chicken for salads with Cajun themes. Personally, I don't think this technique has anything to do with BBQ or grilling.

 

[Mad Cook]

This ^.

II am a recent convert to enjoying blackened food. Recent as in last week in Florida when my family convinced me to try eating the grouper and snapper we caught the day before blackened. We brought our catch to a local restaurant where the chef cooks your catch for you (plus sides for $12 a plate).

We got the fish 3 ways, grilled, blackened, and fried.. The blackened fish filets were delicious. Like PPO says, the spices weren't burnt.

A word of caution, though. I've done some research on how to do it at home, and the butter in a screaming hot cast iron pan smokes like crazy. I'm going to try this using a high temp oil like grapeseed or canola, then add butter just before the end for flavor.

Well, yes, butter has a very low burning temp. Usual advice is to use a half & half flavourless cooking oil and butter (I tend to use sunflower oil because that's what I usually have in) but it still isn't really suitable for "a screaming hot .... pan".

In my experience unsalted butter tends to withstand slightly higher temps than salted but I haven't tried it in a "screaming hot...pan".

 

[jennyema]

"Blackening" a protein was popular 25 years ago, partially due to Paul Prudhomme's popularity then.

You can still buy his blackening seasoning in the supermarket.

 

[medtran49]

"Blackening" a protein was popular 25 years ago, partially due to Paul Prudhomme's popularity then.

You can still buy his blackening seasoning in the supermarket.

Blackening is still popular today in a whole lot of places.

 

[jennyema]

Blackening is still popular today in a whole lot of places.

Yeah, I should have worded that differently.

It became more of a national trend via Paul Prudhomme in the 1980's. But in many places (like here) you haven't seen in on a menu in 15 years. I know that's not the way in other parts of the country.

 

[tenspeed]

Yeah, I should have worded that differently.

It became more of a national trend via Paul Prudhomme in the 1980's. But in many places (like here) you haven't seen in on a menu in 15 years. I know that's not the way in other parts of the country.

Blackened fish was an option when Mrs. T and I went to lunch yesterday. Yeah, I know, we're in NH, so we're a little slow to catch on.