teamfat
Senior Member
I bought some little lamb T bones.
Decided to blacken them. And of course, to blacken anything, you need blackening seasoning. If you ask a dozen Cajun cooks and a dozen Creole cooks, you'll get two dozen recipes. Mine is pretty basic, sort of a base foundation.
2 T Paprika
1 T salt
2 t onion powder
2 t garlic powder
2 t black pepper
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried oregano
ground cayenne to taste
Yes, I could have used weight, but I was too lazy, The paprika can be sweet, smoked, or hot, or any combo of the three. I used half smoked, half hot for this batch. So I went light on the cayenne, a scant half teaspoon.
You also need about a quarter stick ( 4 Tbsp ) of butter. Salted is fine.
Mix the spices together until well blended. A small whisk or a fork will do the trick.
Pat the lamb dry. Coat with the seasoning mix.
Let sit for about an hour, give the spices a chance to adhere. I used about half the blackening mix for these three chops, saved the rest in an empty spice jar. Your mileage may vary.
The blackening technique generates a lot of smoke. If you have a killer range hood that can suck up household pets, then feel free to do this in the kitchen. I used a portable burner out on the front porch.
Melt the butter. You can use the microwave if you have to, stovetop if that works for you. What I do is put the butter in a metal measuring cup and place it in the skillet as the skillet warms up.
Heat a clean, dry cast iron skillet over rocket hot heat.
Yes, a bad, poorly focused photo. So it goes.
Brush generous amounts of butter over the seasoned chops. Place in the skillet.
These have been cooking for a couple of minutes, so a lot of the smoke has cleared. Yes, you are cooking them at well past the smoke point of the butter. recently I made some blackened shrimp, and when they hit the pan they actually burst into flames. That was festive!
Cook for about 3 - 4 minutes per side, depending on how you like your lamb. I prefer mine rare, such that a good vet can get it back on its feet. Remove to serving platter, cutting board, plate or whatever.
If done right, they should be blackened, not burnt. You can see that under the coating the meat is still moist and juicy.
Now here is where I would put the money shot, a chop or two plated along with a side dish or garnishes. I was hungry. Never took the picture. remembered it as I was staring at an empty plate. Burp. Perhaps if I had served it with from scratch red beans and rice I would have taken the photo. But it was just a box mix of Zatarains, hardly photo worthy.
All in all, a good meal!
mjb.
Decided to blacken them. And of course, to blacken anything, you need blackening seasoning. If you ask a dozen Cajun cooks and a dozen Creole cooks, you'll get two dozen recipes. Mine is pretty basic, sort of a base foundation.
2 T Paprika
1 T salt
2 t onion powder
2 t garlic powder
2 t black pepper
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried oregano
ground cayenne to taste
Yes, I could have used weight, but I was too lazy, The paprika can be sweet, smoked, or hot, or any combo of the three. I used half smoked, half hot for this batch. So I went light on the cayenne, a scant half teaspoon.
You also need about a quarter stick ( 4 Tbsp ) of butter. Salted is fine.
Mix the spices together until well blended. A small whisk or a fork will do the trick.
Pat the lamb dry. Coat with the seasoning mix.
Let sit for about an hour, give the spices a chance to adhere. I used about half the blackening mix for these three chops, saved the rest in an empty spice jar. Your mileage may vary.
The blackening technique generates a lot of smoke. If you have a killer range hood that can suck up household pets, then feel free to do this in the kitchen. I used a portable burner out on the front porch.
Melt the butter. You can use the microwave if you have to, stovetop if that works for you. What I do is put the butter in a metal measuring cup and place it in the skillet as the skillet warms up.
Heat a clean, dry cast iron skillet over rocket hot heat.
Yes, a bad, poorly focused photo. So it goes.
Brush generous amounts of butter over the seasoned chops. Place in the skillet.
These have been cooking for a couple of minutes, so a lot of the smoke has cleared. Yes, you are cooking them at well past the smoke point of the butter. recently I made some blackened shrimp, and when they hit the pan they actually burst into flames. That was festive!
Cook for about 3 - 4 minutes per side, depending on how you like your lamb. I prefer mine rare, such that a good vet can get it back on its feet. Remove to serving platter, cutting board, plate or whatever.
If done right, they should be blackened, not burnt. You can see that under the coating the meat is still moist and juicy.
Now here is where I would put the money shot, a chop or two plated along with a side dish or garnishes. I was hungry. Never took the picture. remembered it as I was staring at an empty plate. Burp. Perhaps if I had served it with from scratch red beans and rice I would have taken the photo. But it was just a box mix of Zatarains, hardly photo worthy.
All in all, a good meal!
mjb.
