Blackened Chicken Recipe

Today is an anniversary of sorts. It has been a year today since I was laid off from my job in the title industry (like I didn’t see that coming), it is six months since I have had a hair cut (Yeah baby!) and this is my seventy-ninth (Count em’ 79!) post up here at Get Stuffed! That many posts is at least, something to me if not significant to the rest of the world. Well sod the rest of the world, when did the rest of the world ever do anything for me hmmm? Hmmmm? Ok, besides the clean air, drinkable tap water, lower mercury in my fish, that whole discovery of penicillin thing, oh the wheel was a good invention, and learning how to cook meat, and grow corn and potatoes. I like potatoes. Ok so the world has done a lot for me, what am I doing for the world? Well trying to reduce my carbon foot print, recycling and signing up with the whale kissing Gaia worshiping pillocks over at Greenpeace.

Ok, so I have some unresolved issues. So does your mom, oh tell me it’s not true!

Let’s move on to the sort of blackened chicken recipe. Yes sort of. When you read the recipe you’ll see why it is just an approximation, mostly the method is different.

I first learned about blackened chicken or fish was in the early nineties from a cooking show on TV. At that time and for some time afterwards I thought it was some sort of traditional Cajun recipe. Apparently not.

From what I have found out since then is that it was the brainchild of the ceaselessly rotund Paul Prudhomme, you may have seen his seasonings in the store, they are good there just never seems to be enough of them. Oh well I don’t judge, oh wait, yes yes I do: Bwahahaha! Tremble in my wake ye mortals! Cower before me an wonder! Lest I should smite thee on the noggin and turn thy beer flat as Kansas! Accursed are those that provide their spice blends in too small bottles to be useful in seasoning food, for they shall be smoted! Smoted? Oh well…This brings to mind two things: 1) Is Paul Prudhomme dead? I thought he died, maybe that was Dom DeLuise. I am perpetually getting those two chunkendales confused. 2) Why did G@d make Kansas, was Nebraska just not awful enough? After making the bits of purgatory where your liver gets pecked out daily by a bird did he have a few pieces left over? Is it like self assembly furniture? You know the point where the thing is put together but for the love of Pete, you can’t find a spot for the remaining 3 bolts and 2 washers? So many questions so few answers.

This makes a good substitution for Paul’s recipes and is considerably less dangerous. However if you want true Blackened Chicken you must invest in a cast iron skillet and heat it till it is white hot. Yes, white hot. I don’t recommend this method as it is dangerous (Especially to those of us that still can’t remember that the stove is hot) and it smokes a lot, remember kids smoking kills. So unless you have a stainless steel kitchen, asbestos pot holders and an industrial Exhaust fan big enough to air out the Augean Stables don’t try this at home. Do you think Hercules ever had to cook his own food? Or was it enough that he was semi divine? And what is up with that loin cloth? I digress, Chicken that’s right.

I made true blackened chicken and fish a couple of times in Montana, but only during the winter. This was because once I had transferred my chicken from the skillet to the platter I could throw the skillet outside into the snow.

You have been warned. Stick with the grill or broiler.

For four Marshmallowy Peeps:

Four Chicken Breasts Boneless and Skinless

1 Teaspoon of paprika

1 Teaspoon chili powder

1 Teaspoon of thyme

½ Teaspoon of cracked black pepper

1 Teaspoon of salt

2-3 Tablespoons of melted butter

Method:

Mix the seasonings up in a small bowl, then dip the chicken breasts in melted butter and then rub with the spices. Grill or broil for 8-12 minutes turning once during cooking. See that was easy! There should be a good char on this.

We made a fresh salsa for the sauce though a cream and red chili sauce is possibly better, I will post that another time.

For our happy oniony garlicky salsa we used:

2 fatty vine tomatoes roughly chopped

½ Onion minced fine

2 Tablespoons of chopped cilantro (Or parsley if you don’t like cilantro)

2 Chopped green onions sliced

2 Cloves of garlic minced fine

1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Few drops of hot sauce (We tried Amor this time around, pretty good stuff! I was impressed)

Mix all of the ingredients together in a non reactive bucket and chill until serving time.

To go with this we made saffron rice that consisted of:

1 cup of medium grain rice

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 ¾ cups of vegetable stock

Pinch of saffron treads

How you do this? I tell you now:

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and add the rice stir over medium heat till rice is coated in butter! Butter! About 2 minutes. Then add the saffron and stir till fragrant another minute or so, then add the stock, bring to the boil, then cover and reduce heat to low, cook for 15-20 minutes till all the stock is absorbed.

For this a nice white Burgundy, or white Cote du Rhone