Photo: Blackened Catfish Recipe
Ingredients
Compound Butter:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
Catfish:
- 2 lemons, thinly sliced
- Compound butter
- 4 (8-ounce) fresh skinless, boneless catfish fillets
- 1/4 cup Creole seasoning (recommended: Tony Chachere's)
- Whole chives, for garnishing
Directions
In a bowl, add the butter, Creole spices, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Stir in the chopped chives and set aside. The butter can be made ahead and chilled; bring to room temperature before using.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Preheat a large well-seasoned cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Line the bottom of a 9 by 11-inch baking dish with the lemon slices and dollop half of the compound butter evenly over the lemon.
Evenly coat both sides of each fish fillet with 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning. Working in batches if necessary, add the seasoned fillets to the hot skillet, and cook 2 minutes on each side to just toast and brown the seasoning. With a spatula, carefully place the seared fish on top of the buttered lemon slices in the baking dish. Bake until fish easily breaks apart with a fork, 12 to 15 minutes. Immediately top each hot fillet with a spoonful of compound butter; transfer to heated serving plates and garnish with a few whole fresh chives crossed like an x over each fillet.
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By A Learning Wife
Austin, TX
on November 12, 2012
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This was a pretty good recipe. I used tilapia, and it didn't come out blackened, but it was tasty nonetheless. I have grown up eating cajun food, so I was pretty excited to try this recipe. I think that I will cut back on the lemon next time, but for so few ingredients used, this came out wonderfully. I didn't run into the overly salty factor like so many of the reviewes. It may be an ingredients issue instead of a recipe issue.
By DrenaK
on October 22, 2011
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I was going to say it was too spicy for me but now I see all the comments about it being too salty and wonder if my mouth was confused. I couldn't eat it. First thing I said was way less seasoning next time. My husband said seasoning was okay but way less lemon. Too funny...he's used to spicy and I'm not. I would recommend trying it again but with adjustments as others said. It was my first experience with creole :
By wab226
Alexandria, VA
on August 22, 2011
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My review is based upon my SECOND attempt at this dish. The first time I made it I used Zatarain's Creole Seasoning and the dish was absolutely ruined due to the insanely high salt content of the seasoning. (I am so glad that my friend had to cancel coming by for dinner at the last minute because that would have been embarassing to serve a ruined meal. Next time I got some blackening seasoning (low sodium from my neighborhood Balducci's and the dish was perfect. Also the second time I made it, I did put a little vegetable oil in the skillet to sear the fish; the first time the fish stuck to the skillet. With the correct seasoning and a little oil to keep the fish from sticking, this dish is excellent, especially as it makes it's own lemon-butter sauce during the baking process. This dish is a new standard item in my kitchen!
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