Blackened Catfish

Blackened Catfish with tarter sauce

So...I'm not sure why I keep putting off writing my posts.  I made this catfish like, I don't know, eons ago.  So here I am in the first week of June finally writing about it.  I know, I realize my last post was just after Easter.  I also made some bomb dot com banana pudding too, which I promise I will post that one too...soon.  Like, maybe tomorrow, or even tonight if I'm feeling inclined.

Blackened:pg48  A Cajun cooking method in which food, usually meat or fish, is rubbed with a spice mixture and cooked in a very hot cast-iron skillet, giving the food a charred, extra crisp crust.

Memaw's Cast-iron Skillet

OK, two things I must share before I even get started on the fish.  The first being, that I've never actually made blackening seasoning before.  I mean I've bought a mix before, and kinda blackened something or another, but never from scratch.  Impressive?  I know right?  And the second being the story of my cast-iron skillet, well, it's not My cast-iron skillet.  It originally belonged to my Memaw.  Memaw was my great-grandmother on my mom's side of the family.  It was given to her on her wedding day by her mother when she married my Pepaw.   According to Momzy (my grandma) she cooked countless meals in it when Momzy and her siblings were growing up.  It was my Memaw's prize possession, well, as far as skillets go anyway.  My Memaw then passed it to my mother as a wedding gift and then my mother gave it to me a few days before Shawn and I tied the knot.  Even though it skipped a generation with Momzy, all of us ladies combined have cooked in this skillet for at least 85 years, if not more.  And I can say I am more than honored and blessed to have such an heirloom to continue to share love like my Memaw, Momzy and mother did in many meals to come.

OK now that you've had a family history lesson...on to the Catfish!  Uh...my first piece of advise...don't burn the butter!  I think I maybe let the skillet get too hot.  In my defense, it said "very hot skillet."  Who knows.  It could have worse, I guess.  It was certainly charred and crispy.  The seasoning was awesome.  I had no idea what kind of spices made up the blackening part.  Hence the above where I noted I've only bought mixes of the stuff, which in my experiences has been spicier than this stuff.  In case inquiring minds want to know...it contains, paprika, salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, ground red pepper, onion powder, and dried thyme.  Then you dip the fish in butter and dredge it in the seasoning, and then pan fry it in more butter!!!  FYI...I've gone through ALOT of butter since starting this little escapade.  No wonder bathing suite shopping has been terrifying.  I've got a "butter ass."  UH...I digress...I'm sure you could cut quite a few calories, not mention fat, by using cooking spray and a little veggie oil, instead of an entire cup of butter that this recipe calls for.  So, one of the "test kitchen secrets" states that if by chance you do not a heavy-duty exhaust fan in your kitchen, this could be done outside on the BBQ.  Just place your skillet right over your coals or cooking top on the grill.

southernism:  Paul Prudhomme, the chef of K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarter of New Orleans, popularized spicy blackened recipes with his famous blackened redfish.  Now the dish is so well known nationwide that is has made the redfish and endangered species.


Really?  Redfish is endangered?  I didn't know that...I'm gonna have to google that later.