Blackened Tilapia

I was feeling adventurous, a little crazy. Maybe even, ambitious?? I wanted us to step away from eating the same thing, week in and week out. Maybe get a little less meat into the rotation. I picked up a two-pound package of individually- wrapped, frozen tilapia fillets. Just having it in my freezer made me feel like I’d already changed up our meals. Three weeks passed. I hadn’t touched it. I hadn’t thought about. I looked at the tilapia in my freezer. Now what?? I mean, I’ve gotta cook it, right?

Lent was approaching and Kevin started talking about fish frys. He knew about the tilapia. He’d seen it and I had to do something with it before he deep fried all of it. I googled tilapia recipes. Blackened Tilapia, a recipe from Jennifer Segal (A link to her recipe will be at the end of this post, below my disclaimer.) caught my eye.

Blackened: which Jennifer says “doesn’t mean burnt; but rather coated in a Cajun-style spice blend that takes on a dark reddish-brown, almost black color when cooked”. Blackened: which Brenda says, “fish coated in a Cajun-style spice blend says: fish that won’t taste so fishy”. Good plan!

We invited the kids over for a fish fry, with blackened tilapia. I doubled the recipe, below, because there would be 4 of us eating the fish.

Blackened Tilapia (Jennifer Segal)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 tsp. paprikia
• 1 1/2 tsp light brown sugar
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 six-ounce tilapia fillets
• olive oil for cooking

Combine the spices in a bowl. Sprinkle the spice rub evenly over both sides of the fillets.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick pan. (I cooked mine on our Blackstone Griddle, because that was a lot of fish.) Cook the fillets for 2-3 minutes on each side until reddish-brown on the outside and flaky on the inside. (I set my timer and the 2-3 minutes per side was perfect.) Serve immediately.

I only have 2 pics. With kids and grandkids over, I was just happy to get the tilapia made while Kevin was outside, on the patio (Brrrr… March in Michigan is cold) deep frying gluten free mushrooms, onion rings and the couple of remaining tilapia fillets I had. (I gotta let the guy deep fry some of the fish.)

(I’ll give you the recipe for the gluten-free breading in another post!)

This turned out remarkably well. The spice rub had great flavor, what a nice combination of spices. It was not over-powering. You could still taste the fish, but not too much, and the cayenne pepper gave it just enough heat to put a teeny tiny little scratch at the back of your throat. I actually ate 2 fillets. Will I make it again? Yes I will!

Will fish become a regular in our meal line-up? No. I mean it was good, but I mean, fish… I’m just not a total fan. But I really hope you try this recipe. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping.

Brenda

Disclaimer:                                 

These recipes and tips are not guaranteed to work or be safe for everyone. Allergies are extremely complicated and vary for each individual. It is still your responsibility to read labels to ensure your safety. I cannot be held liable for any ill effects from using my tips to avoid your allergies. (Sorry guys, I don’t foresee any problems, but Momma’s gotta cover her backside, ya know?) Just read your labels! Do your research!

This is Jennifer’s link:

Blackened Tilapia – Once Upon a Chef