blackened red snapper

SmokeytheEGG

I am going to blacken some red snapper tonight.  I have a good rub to put on the fish.  Any pointers as to what temperature?  I am thinking high, maybe 450-500.

saluki2007

Here is a cook I did a couple months ago. LINK  Love blackened snapper.

NDG

@saluki2007 . . . just clicked your link and your blackened snapper looks great.  I hope to make that soon . . thanks for the bookmark!

nolaegghead

In my opinion, this is how to blacken fish.

1. Get a CI pan warming up raised direct around 400 dome (I'm just guessing here, I always use a propane burner outdoors).

2. Melt some butter.  Brush butter on one side of the fish.  Sprinkle the blackened seasoning like a rub on the buttered side.  Put it on proportional to the thickness of the fish (so you don't have overly salty thin edges of the filet).

3. Lay the fish seasoned side down on the CI.  Let it cook a few minutes.  Keep an eye on your temperature.  You don't want it too hot and burn all the flavor out of the seasoning, yet you want it hot enough so it just starts to burn.  The pan should be around 450F.  plus or minus.

4. Right before you flip, butter the top side and season like before, then flip.

5. Cook until done, remove.

Some people put butter in the pan also prior to adding the fish - this cools the pan down and burns the butter.  If you want to oil the pan I would just use a little vegetable oil.

You don't want to butter and season both side before you put on the pan - you damage the bottom side on the plate and the butter can render out of the seasoning on the top before you flip.

NDG

Love it.  Appreciate the detail @nolaegghead . . 

nolaegghead

@NDG - my pleasure. 

Forgot to add - I cook the presentation side first.  Flip to the skin side.  Transfer without flipping to serving plate.  Scrape CI clean between batches.  Don't try to cook too much at once - you want room to get the spatula under the fish.

500

nolaegghead, What temp is done?  Besides just looking at it and taking a guess.  And a question on CI skillet; heating it up that high burns all the years of seasoning off, don't it?  I wanna trying blackening, but if I mess it up SWMBO won't ever let me try it again.  Having Tilapia Saturday; my guess is it's too thin to try and blacken, right?  Or just not really the right fish to blacken, cause you want a more dense, hearty fish.

nolaegghead

@500 - Tilapia blackens fine.  Fish is done for me around 125F.  It's not practical to measure the temp in thin filets, so I just go by feel, or separate some of the meat flakes in the thickest part and look at it.  When the center is just about to turn opaque, it's done, pull it.  With Tilapia and a hot skillet, 2.5 minutes a side should do it.  Fatty fish is a little more tolerant to overcooking.  Think filets cook super fast, biggest risk is to overcook them. 

Anyway, it's really easy - look inside, when it's done, feel the fish, remember how that feels relative to raw and you can do it by feel with a little practice.

saluki2007

@500  As long as you keep your temps around 500, you will not mess up the seasoning of the CI.

500

Thanks for the direction on how to do this.

NPHuskerFL

@SmokeytheEGG‌ I liked results on fish blackened in CI pan or skillet at 500℉-600℉.

SmokeytheEGG

Thanks for the tips.  Hopefully, if I don't screw it up too bad I will have pics later.

HogHeaven

Open the vents all the way and keep the dome up. Fish cooks very quickly anyway. I prefer redsnapper for blackend fish because of the texture of the fish. Salmon is my next favorite fish. Use a CI fry pan at fire ring level and no plate setter. Don't worry about the heat...