Blackened Fish Filets – Tilapia with Homemade Remoulade Sauce and Country Style Green Beans

Blackened Fish Recipe Summary:

• Trim or pound uneven pieces of fish to a uniformed thickness
• Coat fish generously with clarified butter or a grape seed oil (Canola oil is fine too)
• Sprinkle the fish generously with “It’s My Rub!” Power Blend
• Heat a dry (not oiled) cast iron or heavy skillet to very high heat, until almost smoking. 
• Add fish fillets to hot pan
• Cook each side for about two minutes. Determine doneness by pushing on the flesh with your finger. If the fish begins to separate into “flakes”, it is done.

Contents:

• What am I Looking for in Blackened Fish?
• Buying Frozen Fish
• Buying Fresh Fish Fresh
• Technique
• Trim or Pound for a Uniform Thickness
• Preparation
• Cooking
• When is it done?

In-Depth Blackened Fish Recipe:

Blackened fish is one of my favorite things to eat and “It’s My Rub!” Power Blend is great for blackening fish. I have blackened Tilapia, Catfish, Redfish and several other types of fish, but typically I blacken Tilapia.

What am I Looking for in Blackened Fish?
I am looking for a piece of fish that breaks away gently with the edge of my fork when on my plate. I want the fish to be moist and delicate, but not falling apart and over cooked. I do not want a fishy smell or taste. I love to taste a little seasoning that enhances the flavor of the fish, but doesn’t overtake it. I want blackened fish goodness!

Pictured with Underwood’s homemade Remoulade Sauce (recipe to be posted) and

Underwood’s favorite Country Stye Green Beans (recipe to be posted)

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Buying the Fish

Frozen

• I often use frozen fish and look for good quality. The Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch online guide is a great way to determine what to buy and what to avoid when purchasing fish. You can simply enter the type of fish and it will tell you their recommendations. So, to help determine the quality of frozen fish, you want to find out where it was raised or caught and compare it to their recommendations. http://www.seafoodwatch.org/
• In addition, when buying frozen fish, make sure that vacuum sealed packages are still sealed and tight without holes.
• Make sure that the fish is not freezer burned

Fresh

• Look for bright clear eyes. Dull-eyed fish may be safe to eat, but are not at their best.
• The fish should have a shine, metallic and clean look. If it is dull or has discolored spots, it is marginal.
• The fish should smell like clean water or like the ocean. It may have a briny or a cucumber smell. It should NOT have a nasty fish smell.
• If the fish has already been cut, it should look fresh and bright, not dull.
• Ask the fish monger how fresh is and when it was portioned. Often “portioned” fish is older and prepared for quicker sell.
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Technique

The technique of blackening that I use came from Chef Paul Prudhomme. This technique cooks the fish very quickly and imparts a wonderful flavor into the food.  The concept here is to add the clarified butter or a high smoke point oil to the meat. The oil and moisture from the meat protects it from burning while the fish cooks. So, you are adding the oil to the meat rather than to the pan. This allows you to heat the pan to a very high heat. The meat cooks very quickly.

Trim or Pound for a Uniform Thickness

You want to take your fish fillets and analyze them for even thickness. If you have some areas that are very thick and others that are very thin, you will need to trim the fish to a uniform thickness.  You also can make the fish uniform by pounding it thinner. Put a piece of fish between two pieces of plastic wrap and then using the back of a meat mallet or sauce pan, lightly pound the fish thinner.  Usually you will not need to apply a lot of force because fish is fairly delicate.

Preparation

Cover the fish with a high smoke point oil or clarified butter. I prefer grape seed oil, but canola or peanut oil works fine too. If using clarified butter, you need to allow the fish to get to room temperature or it will cause the butter to clump up.

Sprinkle the meat generously with “It’s My Rub!” Power Blend.

Let stand for about 30 minutes before cooking to allow the seasoning to penetrate the meat.

Heat a cast iron or heavy frying pan to very high heat. The pan should, literally, be smoking hot. Do not put oil into the pan.

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Cooking

Put the fish on the searing hot pan.

Be patient and do not try to move the fish too quickly and do not flip it back and forth. The meat will let you know when it is ready to be flipped over by “letting go”. In other words, after about a minute, take your spatula and gently try to lift the meat to turn it over. If the meat separates from the pan easily, it is ready to flip, but if it is still sticking, just wait and try again after 20 or 30 seconds.

When is it Done?

You can determine doneness by pushing on the flesh with your finger. The fish should be more delicate and the grains of the flesh should begin to separate when you push on it. If they begin to fall apart, it is over cooked. However, some pieces of fish may not be uniform in thickness. If this is the case, you want to test the thicker areas to make sure they are done.

 

 

I hope this helps with your first, or next blackened fish!  And, when people ask, “what makes this taste so good?”…you can proudly say, “It’s My Rub!”

Thanks for reading!

Bruce and Kelley Underwood

Copyright 2014 Underwood’s It’s My Food!, LLC

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