How To Blacken Fish: Served as an easy weeknight meal, this blackened fish recipe is seasoned generously with blackening seasoning, basted in your favorite fish butter, and seared to perfection.
What Does Blackened Fish Mean?
Paul Prudhomme’s blackened fish became popular among New Orleans chefs because it is very simple to prepare and delectable. Cleaning and seasoning fish with a blackened seasoning mixture produces great results. Due to the seasonings and butter, the outside of the fish will turn a “blackened” color while the interior remains tender and juicy. Normally the fish is fried in cast iron pans (although you can also make blackened tilapia in the oven).
What’s In a Blackening Seasoning?
Since most blackened seasonings have a mile-long list of spices, I kept the ingredients to a bare minimum. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Sweet paprika (you can use smoked paprika too, or a combo of both of them!)
- Ground cumin
- Dried oregano (i prefer Mexican)
- Ground black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Cayenne pepper
Other classic blackening spices include:
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dried basil
- Dried thyme
You can substitute a Cajun seasoning blend or chilli powder for your own homemade mix if you don’t want to go through the hassle. Spices and herbs that are commonly used with chilli powder include cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano.
In addition to chilli powder, if you have any paprika in the house, add that as well.
How To Make Blacken Fish
What Kind Of Fish To Use For Blackened Fish?
With this recipe, you can use many types of fish. Blackened fish works beautifully with mild white fish, such as triggerfish but also many other types:
- Snapper
- Tilapia
- Cod
- Bass
- Grouper
- Haddock
- Catfish
- Salmon
- Drum
What kind of Pan to use for Blackening Fish ?
A cast-iron skillet is my preferred method for cooking blackened fish of any type, since it retains heat evenly and creates a beautiful crust. You may use a large nonstick skillet for cooking.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (6.8 grams) paprika
- 2 tsp (grams) garlic powder
- 2 tsp (grams) onion powder
- 1 tsp (grams) oregano
- 1 tsp (grams) basil
- 1 tsp (2 grams) black pepper
- ½ tsp (.9 grams) cayenne pepper
- 1⁄2 tsp (2.5 mL) olive oil
- 1 4oz (115 grams) fillet of fish
How to cook Blackened Fish?
In order to prepare the spice mixture, I begin by placing the fish fillets on a paper-towel-lined plate so they can begin to dry before they are coated with the spice mixture.
A shallow dish is used to mix the spices in the second step, and then each cod fillet is coated in the spice mixture, rubbed in as needed.
After that, heat a nonstick skillet or cast-iron skillet for a few minutes over medium heat. (I prefer to first heat the pan before adding oil to avoid my kitchen smoking.)
In hot oil, brown both sides of fish until they are black, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Heat the oil just until it starts to shimmer, then swirl the pan to coat with the oil.
Remember when cooking blackened fish you should cook it quickly! You should only cook each side for approximately 4-5 minutes.
Lastly, the amount of time it will take for the fish to cook will depend on how thick the fillets are. My fillets were ¾ inch to an inch in thickness. If your fillets are thinner than usually prefered, you can fix this by reducing the cooking time accordingly.
What to Serve with Blackened Fish?
The classic flavors of cajun cuisine make this dish a versatile choice, paired with a variety of traditional sides. Serve it fancy with fancy side dishes, or keep it simple for a quick weeknight meal.
Side Dishes
Salads- Blackened fish is refreshing and delicious served on a salad with a dressing. Here are some of my favorites:
- Caesar salad
- Side salad with red wine vinaigrette
- Tomato mozzarella salad
- Broccoli Salad with bacon
- Italian Quinoa Salad
Potatoes– French fries are often served with fish at restaurants on the water. You can do the same thing as you do with french fries at home with potatoes:
- Mashed potatoes
- French fries
- Smashed potatoes
- Hashbrown Casserole
Vegetables– If you want a complete meal and healthy meal, you should make sure you include a vegetable. You can choose from many choices, though these seem to be our favorites!
Favourite Oven Roasted Vegetables:
- Garlic Parmesan Broccoli
- Sautéed Green Beans
- Roasted Asparagus
- Squash casserole
- Bread
- Garlic Bread
- Buttermilk Cornbread
- Hushpuppies
Adding a couple of sides to a wholesome dinner will give you an enjoyable meal.
How do you know if the Fish is done?
When cooking fish, I like using my instant-read thermometer to identify when the fish is done. It is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets, and I use it frequently to ensure the fish is cooked through.
Fish should be cooked to 145oF according to USDA guidelines, but I pull mine off the heat at 140oF – the internal temperature often creeps from 140oF to 145oF as it rests, helping me avoid overcooking it.
You can also feel the fish for doneness by touching it, and if you can still see a little translucent layer in the center, the fish is ready.
Dietary Considerations
This recipe meets some dietary needs, and it is easy to modify to meet others too. As always, make sure store-bought ingredients comply with specific dietary requirements. The notes provided below are guidelines.
Gluten-free: Old Bay seasoning is not gluten-free but does not contain any gluten ingredients, so this recipe is naturally gluten-free.
Dairy-free: If you use oil instead of butter, you can make this recipe dairy-free, changing the quality and flavour of the dish as well.
Nut-free: This Blackened Fish recipe is specially prepared to not contain any type of nuts so it is nut-free.
Egg-free: This recipe is also egg-free.
Low carb/Keto: In addition to various other benefits of this recipe, it is also low carb at only 1g net carbs per serving and great for weight loss.
Macros: This recipe is roughly macro calculated as following:
P: 24g
C: 2g
F: 7g.
Final words
So, it’s all about how to blacken fish. we hope you will like our easy and quick 10-minute recipe. if you have any confusion or face any difficulty let us know in the comment section. we will glad to solve your queries as soon as possible.