“Blackening” meat or fish is the cooking technique made popular by New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme back in the late 1970’s. Today the “blackening” technique is still extremely popular in restaurants across the country, but for many it remains outside of the realm of “home-cooking”. I love blackened scallops and have gone through many attempts to develop my own kitchen technique to produce the blackened scallops you get in many restaurants in Cajun country and in some better restaurants elsewhere. Simply put, “blackening” happens when any dense meat or fish is dipped in (or brushed with) butter, dredged in blackening spice, and seared on an almost red-hot cast iron frying pan. The desired blackened (not burned) crust develops from the milk solids from the butter and the spice mix coming in contact with the super-heated iron pan. The process creates a lot of smoke, so I recommend you blacken your scallops, or fish, or steak on the grill outside so you don’t set off the fire alarms in your house. Put your cast iron pan on the hot grill for a good 10 minutes before you start to cook. All the traditional spice mix recipes I have researched call for varying measures of paprika, salt and pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and thyme along with a large dose of cayenne. For this recipe, I have reduced the amount of cayenne to make it accessible for folks (like my wife) who like but can’t tolerate extremely spicy-hot food. For those, like me, who smile while our eyes are tearing and our brows begin to sweat when eating some very spicy dishes, start by doubling the cayenne in my recipe. If that doesn’t do it for you, go full bore and add a full tablespoon of cayenne like most of the blackening recipes call for. There’s a fine line between enjoyment and culinary-sado-masochism. To each his- or her-own. Bon appétit et laissez les bons temps rouler.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 12 large scallops (preferably “dry” not “wet” scallops treated with sodium tripolyphosphate)

• 12 asparagus spears (trim two or three inches off the tough end of the stalk)

• 3-4 plumb tomatoes sliced ¼ inch thick

• 1 cup white balsamic vinegar

• 2 tablespoons minced shallot

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• Blackening Spice (recipe below)

• ½ stick of butter melted

Preparation: Either buy or make your blackening spice (recipe below)
Put your cast iron fry pan on your hot grill for about 10 minutes to get it super-hot.

1. Steam the asparagus for about 3 minutes for “tender-crunchy”. Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking; dry and set aside.

2. Rinse and slice the tomatoes so you have 3-4 slices per person.

Make the balsamic reduction:

1. Bring the white balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small sauce pan and reduce heat to medium.

2. Add the minced shallot and brown sugar and reduce the liquid, stirring frequently, until you have about 1/3 to ¼ cup of syrup. (See *Note below)

3. Place 3-4 slices of tomato on each plate and top with three asparagus spears.

4. Drizzle lightly with the balsamic reduction.

Blacken the Scallops:

1. Melt the butter and cover a small plate with blackening spice adding more as needed.

2. One scallop at a time: dip in butter and lightly dip both sides of the scallop on the blackening spice. Collect the prepared scallops on a clean plate.

3. Lightly oil the surface of the super-hot fry pan. (you can use a quick spray of Pam or use a wad of paper towel to spread one or two teaspoons of oil on the surface of the fry pan. Be careful!)

4. Gently add up to six scallops at a time to the hot fry pan; cook 2 minutes without moving them before turning over for another two minutes. This should give you a good blackened crust on both sides without over-cooking the scallops. Loosely tent the cooked scallops on a plate and repeat the process with the remaining six scallops.

Place three scallops on top of the bed of asparagus and tomatoes and serve. (Optional: add a couple of drops of balsamic reduction on each scallop.)

*Note: the balsamic reductions thickens quickly as it cools. You can thin it out by adding one or two teaspoons of water to the pan and reheating over low heat stirring constantly.)

Emeril’s Essence_blackening spice adapted

Ingredients:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. A spice grinder is helpful. Keep in a tightly closed container with your other spices.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/emerils-essence-3645101

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/09/447098722/chef-paul-prudhomme-will-live-on-through-his-restaurants-spices-and-books