Blackened fish may sound like some sleazeball is trying to con you into eating a burnt dish, but it’s truly quite delicious and packed with flavor. What’s great about blackened fish is you get more than you bargain for. There are the multiple spices, the burnt texture on the outside and the tender fish on the inside. It makes for a fantastic dish that’s great any time of the year.
The key to this dish is making the dry rub. Honestly, there isn’t a perfect combination and each time I use different amounts of each spice, but I try to keep to almost equal amounts of each spice, except for the cayenne pepper, of which I use less.
DRY RUB
cayenne pepper
paprika
black pepper
salt
onion powder
garlic salt
lemon pepper
basil
rosemary
marjoram
Mix the dry rub together on a plate with your fingers. Next, take 3-4 fillets of tilapia, or any other type of fish you desire, and drag the fish through the dry rub. Pat the rub into the fish well. Fry the fish in a small amount of oil in the frying pan. Cover and let the side of the fish in the oil sear until it starts to blacken. Turn the fish and do the same thing to the other side. Remove when both sides are blackened.
This fish goes great with rice and vegetables. If you have a hard time with fish, this meal might just change your mind. The fishiness is masked somewhat by the dry rub. And if you’re a fish-lover, don’t worry, you still get the fish flavor you love, only it’s now enhanced.
Cranberry Morning says
This looks and sounds delicious! At last a blackened fish (or chicken even) that is made without added poison. I can never eat this at a restaurant, but with your list of natural ingredients, I'm going to try it!
Lorene (just Lu) says
I'm a skeptic about this changing my mind about fish… but I'll try it on chicken 🙂