POPULARIZED BY THE GREAT CAJUN CHEF PAUL Prudhomme, blackened fish became a rage around the entire country in the 1980s after he served it at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, in New Orleans. In truth, frying fish outdoors in this manner had been a Cajun tradition for decades; what Prudhomme did was demonstrate how the smoky ritual could be executed in the restaurant or home kitchen. Of course, the technique has been abused by cooks from coast to coast, with some using the wrong types of fish, others cooking the fish on grills instead of in blazing-hot cast-iron skillets, and still others tampering with strange seasonings that transform the flavor altogether. Here is the original method I learned from Prudhomme at his restaurant and at one front-yard cookout, and believe me, it shouldn’t be modified if you want to see how brilliant the dish can be. Nothing is as succulent as fresh redfish indigenous to Louisiana, but since it’s available only in the most upscale, expensive fish markets, you can also use small fillets of red snapper, pompano, tile fish, or grouper. Do be warned that cooking fish in this manner creates lots of smoke, so if you can get a cast-iron skillet extremely hot outside over an open fire or on a grill, so much the better.
MAKES: 4 servings
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons medium-hot paprika
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1⁄4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
- 1⁄4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
- 1⁄4 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
- 12 tablespoons (11⁄2 sticks) butter, melted
- 8 boneless, skinless fish fillets (about 1⁄4 pound each)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- On a deep plate, combine the salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, black pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano, and dried basil. Mix them well until blended.
- Pour the melted butter into a separate bowl.
- Dip each fish fillet into the melted butter, coating both sides.
- Sprinkle the seasoned mixture onto both sides of each fish fillet.
- Place the coated fish fillets on a platter.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat for about 8 minutes or until it is smoking hot.
- Add half of the fish fillets to the hot skillet. Drizzle about 1 teaspoon of butter over each fillet.
- Cook the fish fillets for about 1 and 1⁄2 minutes. Be cautious as the butter may flame up.
- Flip the fish fillets over and drizzle each fillet with another teaspoon of butter.
- Cook the fish fillets for another 1 and 1⁄2 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked fish fillets to the platter.
- Repeat the cooking process with the remaining fish fillets.
- Serve the fish fillets immediately.
