Blackened Chicken

[Jessica_Morris]

Anyone have a recipe for Blackened Chicken? DH loves ordering it when we go out to restaurants but I haven't been able to find a good enough recipe to try. Thanks in advance!

 

[buckytom]

blackening is as much technique as it is recipe. probably more. you must cause the spices to burn just enough to give them a good but not bitter flavour while the meat cooks to juicy done-ness.

dw orders it a lot with fish, but i'm not a big fan of it, so hopefully someone will know the spices you should and the spices you shouldn't blacken, or at least which ones have a bigger margin of error.

you can always ask what the chef uses at a favored restaurant.

 

[Dawgluver]

Old Bay makes a blackened seasoning. Make sure you have VERY good ventilation, or better yet, make it outside. The first (and only) time I made blackened fish, I managed to blacken the rest of the house as well. Now I leave blackening to the pros.

 

[mattdee1]

Haha, yeah, be careful with this. I tried it once for a girl I was dating and I ended up smoking out the entire upper floor of my house. Tasted good, though. :P

 

[GotGarlic]

Paul Prudhomme has a line of blackening seasonings, too. I have two - I know one is for fish, but I can't remember the other one and I'm not home right now. You could Google it.

 

[jennyema]

blackening is as much technique as it is recipe. probably more. you must cause the spices to burn just enough to give them a good but not bitter flavour while the meat cooks to juicy done-ness.

dw orders it a lot with fish, but i'm not a big fan of it, so hopefully someone will know the spices you should and the spices you shouldn't blacken, or at least which ones have a bigger margin of error.

you can always ask what the chef uses at a favored restaurant.

Yes. Blackening is a cooking technique.

Paul Prudhomme's product would be a good place to start.

https://www.chefpaul.com/site305.php

 

[CraigC]

In one of our Prudhomme books, he has the technique and spice mixture for blackening redfish. I have used them both for black grouper, steak and chicken (bnls/sknls breasts). IMO, this is suited for outdoor cooking only. I use the jet cooker I have for crawfish boils to get a CI skillet white hot. I don't think that a home gas range can develop enough BTUs to do the job correctly. Not to mention you would need the outdoor venting hood from hell!

It is important that the chicken be the same thickness through out for even cooking. Basically, you will coat the chicken with the seasoning on both sides, rubbing it in good. Lay it in the screaming hot skillet and drizzle melted butter over the side that is up. Wait till the smoke dissipates, flip and repeat the butter drizzle. When the smoke dissipates, remove and serve. I like to slice it and serve over a salad with homemade Spicy South Western ranch dressing.

I can list the seasoning ingredients if you like or you could seek them out online or just buy Paul's seasoning blend that Jennyema linked to.

 

[GotGarlic]

I use a modified version of the method Craig described, which works fine inside. Pound chicken till it's of even thickness, or slice boneless, skinless breasts in half lengthwise. Season chicken on both sides with blackening seasoning and preheat a cast-iron skillet over high heat for about 10 minutes. Add about 2 tsp. oil to the pan, swirl it around, and place the chicken in the pan. Sear it well on both sides, then remove from the pan to a plate, tent with foil and let rest about 10 minutes.

 

[Reed422]

I'm pretty obsessed with my cajun seasoning mix. But you got to get the black skillet super hot and don't move the chicken around much.