How to Blacken Food on a Cast-Iron Skillet

A Blackened Steak

Blackening food is a technique developed in Louisiana that many chefs all over the world are using. By using a hot cast-iron skillet and various herbs and spices, you can make your own blackened food, without the cost of going to a restaurant. Because of the amount of smoke that may occur, it may be better to blacken food outside.

Things You'll Need

• Cast-iron skillet
• 1 cup butter
• Seasoning, dried herbs, spices, Cajun seasoning (your choice)
• Meat, fish, or vegetables

Instructions

1. Season the cast-iron skillet if this is the first time it's used to blacken food. You can do this by rubbing some bacon grease or vegetable oil into the skillet and stick it in the oven at 250 degrees F for a half hour and then repeat. If you are going to blacken food often, then set aside one cast-iron skillet only for this use.

2. Get the food you want to blacken ready. You can use fish, chicken, lamb, pork, beef or any kind of vegetables you want. Cut off any excess fat on the meat and slice the vegetables. It's not recommended to blacken fresh herbs as they can quickly char and become inedible.

3. Put a small sauce pan on the stove and melt the butter in it. Pour the melted butter in a shallow bowl. You can use vegetable or olive oil instead of butter if you want but don't heat the oil up first.

4. Dip food of your choice in the melted butter, coating both sides. Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the food you're going to blacken. You can use Cajun seasoning, commercial blackening seasoning or just use some of your favorite spices and dried herbs as a seasoning.

5. Set the cast-iron skillet on a hot grill and let heat for about 10 minutes, or until a drop of water sizzles or the skillet starts smoking. You can use your kitchen stove but it's better to do this outside because of the smoke.

6. Place the the food on the skillet and cook. Vegetables and fish usually take between 2 or 3 minutes on each side while steak and other meats take between 4 to 5 minutes on each side. When done cooking, take immediately out of the skillet. A cast-iron skillet retains heat and food will continue to cook even after taking off heat, so remove from pan immediately.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't add butter or oil to skillet once it gets hot or you could get burned or cause a fire in your skillet.