Blackened Chicken
The recipe uses chicken, but it's awesome to do with fish fillets like catfish, red snapper, or talapia too, served whole as a meal. With the chicken, I usually use it for salad, so once I've cooked it per the recipe, I dice it up into cubes. In the salad, I usually use just a handful of the diced chicken, baby spinach instead of lettuce, cherry or grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, pine nuts, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, sugar snap peas, shredded carrots, crumbled goat cheese and blue cheese. With that much stuff, I don't feel like it needs any dressing, but it's not to say you couldn't.
The recipe uses chicken, but it's awesome to do with fish fillets like catfish, red snapper, or talapia too, served whole as a meal. With the chicken, I usually use it for salad, so once I've cooked it per the recipe, I dice it up into cubes. In the salad, I usually use just a handful of the diced chicken, baby spinach instead of lettuce, cherry or grape tomatoes, dried cranberries, pine nuts, mushrooms, broccoli, zucchini, sugar snap peas, shredded carrots, crumbled goat cheese and blue cheese. With that much stuff, I don't feel like it needs any dressing, but it's not to say you couldn't.
- Carbohydrate 1.55705697497839 g
- Cholesterol 190.246549922574 mg
- Fat 36.7381319207907 g
- Fiber 0.531648248405457 g
- Protein 39.9077061246939 g
- Saturated Fat 22.4652333915014 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (215g)
- Sodium 356.873049792571 mg
- Sugar 1.02540872657294 g
- Trans Fat 2.98728405045524 g
- Calories 499 calories
Step-by-step
- If the chicken breasts are of the thicker variety, slice in half down the middle making thinner chicken breasts, targeting between ½ and 5/8 inch thick. This is important to ensure they cook through completely, as the searing process is short.
- Combine all the spices on a plate or shallow bowl, and mix thoroughly.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet for about 10 minutes on medium-high heat. The skillet is the correct temperature when a drop of water evaporates almost immediately when dropped on the surface.
- Coat the chicken breasts with the spice mixture, shaking off the excess.
- Cook the first side of the chicken breasts in the hot skillet for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the underside starts to blacken to a dark brown.
- Carefully brush on a thin coat of melted butter over each breast on the uncooked side. Be careful to avoid spilling butter on the skillet as it may flare up. Flip the chicken and butter the cooked side in the same manner. Cook the underside for another 2 to 3 minutes, until blackened to a dark brown like the top side.
- Transfer to serving dish and serve.
High-heat searing demands a heavy cast-iron skillet capable of holding thermal energy without dropping temperature when cold meat hits the surface. Heat the pan dry for ten minutes over medium-high heat until water droplets vaporize instantly upon contact. Sliced chicken breasts must measure between one-half and five-eighths of an inch thick to cook entirely through before the exterior crust burns.
Storage and Reheating
Cooked poultry keeps safely in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Freeze portions individually by wrapping them tightly in plastic wrap followed by heavy-duty aluminum foil for storage up to three months. Thaw frozen meat overnight in the refrigerator before reheating. Warm gently in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water, covered, to prevent the lean protein from drying out.
- If the spices smoke excessively, reduce the burner heat slightly to prevent acrid bitterness.
- Pat the meat completely dry with paper towels prior to seasoning so the dry rub adheres evenly.
- Brush melted butter carefully onto the surface during cooking to avoid flare-ups in the dry skillet.
