Blackened Cod Recipe

Ingredients :

• 4 cod fish fillets, 5-6 oz each
• 1-2 Tbsp olive oil or melted butter
• Blackening seasoning (homemade or store-bought)
• BLACKENING MIX
• 1 Tbsp paprika (smoked or sweet)
• 1/2 Tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

Instructions :

1. In a small bowl combine all of the blackened seasoning ingredients. If you’re using a store-bought blackened seasoning, skip this step.
2. Prep the cod by drying the cod fillets with paper towels to remove any excess moisture. The fish won’t blacken as well if the fish has too much water in it.
3. Brush both sides of the cod fillets with olive oil or melted butter.
4. Evenly sprinkle blackened seasoning on all sides of the cod pieces. Using clean hands to pat the seasoning on the fish works best and prevents the spices from falling off into the pan during cooking.
5. Grease the cast iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil. Heat the pan over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke. Make sure your stove exhaust fan is on to prevent smoke in your kitchen.
6. Lay the cod face down in the pan and cook it for 3 minutes until the seasoning turns dark brown almost black and the fish starts to pull away from the edges of the plan. Flip the fish over with a metal spatula and continue cooking the fillets for 3-4 more minutes until both sides are browned and the internal temperature of the cod is 145 F when tested with a digital meat thermometer in the thickest part of the fish.
7. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Notes

If you love spicy food, feel free to increase the amount of cayenne pepper in the homemade spice recipe.

Store-bought blackened seasoning works well, or you can use spice labeled as Cajun or Creole since they’re all very similar ingredients. Cajun is often a tad more spicy than blackening seasoning.

You’ll need 4 fish fillets that are about 5-6 ounces each. Try to get fish that’s an even thickness so it’ll all be done cooking at the same time. Our package came as 2 fillets that we cut in half, one was about 1/2″ thick and the other was 1″ thick.)

Melted butter can be used in place of olive oil, however, butter has a lower smoking point than olive oil and could increase the smoke in the kitchen or could possibly burn.

We highly recommend the use of a digital meat thermometer! It’ll keep the fish from potentially overcooking. According to the USDA, the internal temperature of cod should be 145 degrees Fahreneheit.