Blackened Not Burnt

Blackened Burnt!NOT

It’s honestly embarrassing to admit how late in my grilling life I discovered the truth behind blackening seasoning! For years and years I used the term blackened as though I had any idea what it really meant. I couldn’t have been more wrong – and maybe you have been in that place too.

Cover chicken with sugary BBQ sauce before it goes on the grill, only to have it burn to a crisp, creating a hard charcoal surface that tastes like sweetened coal?

“It’s blackened – I really love that char.”

Open the lid too often, and continuously flip a pork chop, causing the exterior to be a solid rock of carbon long before the inside has moved past red/pink?

“Oh, that’s the best part of grilling – the blackened flavor!”

But on the rare occasion that I would go to a decent restaurant and order something that was blackened by a proper chef, I would notice an immediate disconnect. Flavor that held heat and spice, a char that wasn’t ruined but instead imbued a perfect crust, and the taste of the protein shining through without being hidden below what could only be described as the aftermath of a three alarm fire.

But after finishing the meal I would forget about it, and call my next mistake on the grill “blackened.”

Even long after I learned temperature control, timing, and proper seasoning, it was still years before I went back and made an actual scientific study and experimentation with the best ways to create the perfect blackened exterior and flavor. And today I’m going to share it with you – either as a reminder for those who have already mastered it, or a massive improvement to anyone still left confused.

“Blackening” is a seasoning. Full stop.

It’s not about burning something or getting to a point of char. It’s spicy, aromatic, and complex in flavor, and the heat of the grill brings out the black color – but only in the spice rub, and not in any way as a scorching of the protein. And with the theme we have been working in all my articles in 2022, mastering a blackening rub is the perfect step to build on our 3-T grilling techniques.

So let’s break down 3-T quickly for anyone that missed the last 3 articles in this series. Taste, Temperature, Texture – the three components that all work together to create a perfect grilled meal.

You can’t focus on one alone, because they are completely interdependent. And once you take the time to think about how each variable will affect a particular meat or veg, you can grab new items that you have never cooked before and create your own recipes on the fly!

This is next-level cooking but it’s surprisingly easy for even the most novice grill-master.

Look at that example of burnt, ruined mistakes. The texture would be horrible because you have to bite through the hard, black exterior. The taste would be acrid – you can cover it with more sauce, but it’s still always lurking in the background. And the temperature will be nearly impossible to hit. When the outside is ruined before the inside is cooked safely, you keep meat lingering on the grill, getting worse with every passing minute. Shoe leather that tastes like coal and can chip a tooth is never something to pretend to love! What we want is juicy, succulent chicken or fish with a crusty exterior that offers just a little hint of a firm bite, and a flavor that delights and keeps you coming back for more. To get that perfect balance, we need to plan our 3-T approach and keep each aspect balanced. So we will start with that enigmatic blackening seasoning. In reality it’s quite simple – a perfect mix of Cajun and Creole zest. I want give you a simple base and you can tailor it from there. Start with paprika – I like to use smoked for a little extra flavor. Mix together 2 tablespoons paprika, 1 tablespoon ground cayenne powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon thyme, ½ teaspoon dried basil.

This will make enough to grill for a large party, or for several sessions for a smaller group. Just remember not to ever dip you hand in after touching meat, and keep the extra spice mix in a ziplock baggie or spice container. It holds as long as any of the dried spices themselves, and you can always add a little more cayenne or other pepper once you try the first batch if you want to up the heat a little. Go slowly – it ramps up pretty quickly in intensity from here!

Let’s do a nice firm fish for our example – but this would work just as well with chicken, or shrimp. Something like a tilapia, sea bass, catfish, grouper, mahi-mahi, or cod.

Last weekend, I visited the local Friday fishmonger here in Moscow, and found that they had fresh rockfish! You can’t even imagine how excited I was. It had been too long since my last blackened fish experience!

C&L LOCKER

INTRODUCING BAR H

BURGER

PASTURE TO PLATE

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(208) 882-3396

3025 Highway 8, Moscow, ID

All of our bulk burger in tubes, patties, smoked sausages, snack sticks, summer sausage, and trail mix is from cattle in our own herd. Try some today! Instead of using oil, and salt first like we do with most recipes I share, we are going to do something really unique here. Heat some butter – I used about ¼ stick for the two large fillets I made us – and thoroughly dredge the fish first. Once you have that base, go ahead and sprinkle on the blackening rub, then spread it and pat it in by hand.

You can go directly on the grill, but if you have a cast-iron pan that will produce absolutely perfect results! I let mine get scorching hot for about 12-15 minutes over direct high heat with the grill lid closed. That intense heat and the butter base will produce the perfect taste and texture in the rub almost as soon as it hits the pan!

Cook with the lid open so you have time to work in that blackened perfection before the inside comes up to temp. For my good-sized rockfish I found it to be about 3 ½ minutes on the first side, then flipped and ran around 3 on the second side. They came out sizzling, succulent inside, blackened outside, and at a perfect 145 degrees.

I left the fish on a plate to rest for about 5 minutes total from coming off the grill to cutting our first bites. That gave me perfect timing to get the sides ready and plated and get Heather and I to the table to say grace.

We served ours with a little cooling sauce – just a simple mix of heavy whipping cream (we didn’t have any crème fraiche), lime juice, and garlic powder. You could use Greek yogurt, sour cream, or a combination, and add other flavors like avocado or cilantro. The idea is to drizzle it on like a taco sauce to provide just a little relief from the spice with a piquant, cooling zest. Our fillets went directly onto some slaw, but they are also amazing in tacos or topping a salad!

Just think about how you want to serve your blackened fish – knowing that you can master this easy technique! Picture the perfect bite and take a moment to consider every detail of the flavor, the feel of biting into it, and the exact temperature of the cook, and the temperature when served. Once you have the end in mind, work backwards to plan the exact cooking technique, how long it will take to hit safe temperature, the texture you want to form in the process, and how the taste will complement the rest of the meal.

Suddenly blackened goes from being an excuse to cover mistakes to an excuse to invite family and friends to marvel in your grill skills.

That’s 3T! The easiest way to insure that everything you cook on the grill will come out restaurant quality.