Blackened Chicken

As I'm sure you can tell thus far, I like food. I like good tasting food, and I don't like to add a lot of unnecessary fat or calories to food if I can help it. If it tastes just as good with 1 tbsp butter vs 4, why use 4? So I started dabbling a bit in one of my favorite Cajun dishes, blackening. I will expand more as time goes on, but one dish that struck me was one I've had while in Waco Tx for a while at a restaurant called Buzzard Billy's. It was here I first discovered Blackened Chicken Fettuccine, and boy was it good! So I started trying to make Blackened Chicken. While this may not be traditional, it's quite tasty!

First, I take some olive oil (about 3 tbsp) and 1 tbsp butter and mix the two in a pan

My chicken breasts (bone in works quite well here as well) are already seasoned with Blackening seasoning, available in just about any major grocery store. What kind you use, is up to you and your personal tastes. If you're looking for a hint, try Emeril's, or Zatarans. 

Now, normally in Cajun cooking, folks like to get a thick cast iron pan red hot, slap the butter into it quickly followed by your meat or fish. I consider this to be more of an easy, or "poor-man's" way of doing it, minus the whole potential for fire and burning down your house. Once the butter and olive oil are fully integrated (takes about 3 minutes or so, you'll notice when the butter is gone and you start to get a "foam" from the butter) add the seasoned chicken.

Now, one of my friends asked me once about fried foods that she was mangling in the pan. When she thought the food was done she would try and pry it up from the pan, resulting in the food being mangled and not looking all that pretty. Here is kind of the same idea, along with grilling that I passed on. When you place something down to be grilled, fried or pan fried, let it sit for a while where it is. This helps develop crust (ohhhh so tasty!) and more flavor. If you try and pry up your item, it will come to pieces and look very amateur. You can give it a gentile push with a fork or spatula. Once it is ready, the item will fairly easily come up on it's own time.

I'm seeing double noms!

So, you've probably noticed that the chicken here, while delicious, cannot possibly have been finished after 3 minutes on each side. You would be correct! From here, I pull the chicken and place it in a 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes covered with foil. 

After it's been in the oven for 15 or so minutes, I cut the thickest part of the chicken and make sure it's done.

Now, from here you can eat it as is, add some more blackening seasoning, cut it up and add it to a salad, pasta, coffee (it's that good... well maybe not with coffee).

1 lb Chicken Breasts

Blackening seasoning (to taste)

4 tbsp Olive Oil (enough to coat the bottom of your pan)

1 tbsp Butter

Coat your chicken breasts with Blackening seasoning. Preheat oven to 425. Combine Olive Oil and Butter together in a thick pan (cast iron, calphalon or the like). Once oil/Butter mix is combined and starting to smoke, place chicken in pan. Be aware of potential splattering hazard, if you have a splatter shield, it wouldn't be a bad idea to employ it. Cook Chicken 3 minutes on each side without fussing with it. Move to another oven safe pan, cover with foil, place in 425 oven for 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!