Servings: 4 Prep: 5 mins Cook: 12 mins Total: 20 mins
While this recipe is ultimately about blackened salmon, make no mistake … this spice blend and method is absolutely fantastic on just about everything. Try tossing some shrimp in a little melted butter and then this spice blend. Sauté over ludicrously high heat, to scorch the outside butter and spiced, then eat! The same would be true with a chicken thigh. Coat it with melted butter, salt, pepper and this spice blend. Best chicken thigh ever! If I recommended popcorn (I don’t), I’d recommend dusting it with melted butter and then THIS spice blend. DELICIOUS!
Blackening is a Cajun method of cooking (which is, itself, a blend of French, native American, Caribbean, Spanish, Italian and African influences). The central idea is that “the item” is coated with whole melted butter and a mixture of spices. This “item” is cooked over very high heat, which heats the fat in the butter, browning the milk solids and frying the spices, until they are essentially “charred”. People don’t like to hear the word “burnt”, but … carbon is being created. There is a bit of burning, but not so much that it’s a burnt flavor. It is, in fact, just a heavy deepening of the flavors, bringing a slightly bitter edge to spicy and aromatic blend of herbs, chilies and spices. Burn it, but … don’t BURN IT.
Most blackening spice blends tend to be made with dry spices. I tend to believe it’s because they’re made in bulk in most restaurants, added to just about everything in the kitchen and have an incredibly long shelf life. This makes a lot of sense, but in a world where I can go to the local farmer’s market or even a standard grocery store and pick up an amazing selection of fresh herbs and spices, I’m going to add a few of this, just to brighten it up!
Give this spice blend a shot. It just takes an extra minute or two to make, but the end flavors are OUT OF THIS WORLD!
Note: I added a small amount of erythritol to this. The miniscule little boost of “sweet” helps round this out, but if you can’t get your hands on some … don’t worry about it. It’s not crucial to the dish … it’s just a personal preference.
Photo Note: Served with Smothered Cabbage.
Blackened Salmon
Print RateIngredients
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp fresh cracked black pepper
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 4 each garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
- 1 tsp fresh oregano chopped
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp erythritol powdered (optional)
- 1/2 cup fresh whole butter (one stick) melted
- 4 each 6-ounce fresh salmon fillets
Instructions
- Mix together your spices in a tray or container which is flat and wide, such as a pie pan.
- Place your melted butter in a separate bowl.
- Pre-heat a large iron skillet (or a big sauté pan, if you don't have a large iron skillet).
- One-at-a-time, dip your salmon into the melted butter, so that it is heavily coated. Then, immediately place it on the tray of blackening spice. Flip the salmon so that it is evenly coated on both sides, then set aside. Repeat this process, until all the salmon is well and evenly coated and seasoned.
- Add your salmon to the hot pan, leaving space between each fillet. Do not add too many pieces to the pan at once, or else they will not blacken. They will just simmer and steam.
- When one side is nice and dark, turn it over and blacken the other side. Adding a small amount of flavorless oil (coconut oil, for example) to the pan may help cook the salmon more evenly, even if it's slightly less authentic.
- Once the salmon is blackened and cooked to the desired temperature (I like mine about medium-rare to medium) ... serve!
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* Learn More: More about this recipe and nutrition …
I made this recipe with chicken strips from your site. The taste is awesome, the 1 tablespoon of cayenne makes it almost unbearable to anyone that still has flesh in their mouths.
Should this be 1 teaspoon. Only 1 member of our family could eat more than 1 strip.
Blackened salmon? Sounds very interesting to me. At first, I thought that you’re just referring to actual burning the salmon to blacken it. Thank God that I was enlightened just after reading the whole recipe. So adding the melted butter and then cooking it under extreme heat gives the item it’s blackish color. I love this line of yours "Burn it, but … don’t BURN IT.". Haha. Anyway, after reading this, I’ve searched for other blackened seasoning mix and I’ve found a salt free Cajun seasoning mix recipe.http://allrecipes.com/recipe/blackened-seasoning-mix/ It’s good for those who are suffering from UTI.
LOL!, Ariette. I’d forgotten about that line. Whee!! Yep, blackened foods are burned, but they’re not BURNED. In many ways, I don’t even know of another way to say it! I’m glad you found something that works for you. I used to work at Allrecipes.com and know them to be quite trustworthy. Enjoy the recipe!