52 Recipes: Close Enough Blackened Fish

Week 2: Close Enough Blackened Fish

Start with some fish that’s been in your freezer for a really long time. For us, this was a pair of tilapia fillets, but you could honestly use anything. Don’t use the fish if you can’t remember what year you purchased it or if you’ve transported it in more than one home move.

In a bowl, stir together whatever of these spices you have:

• 1 part salt. We should have left it out.
• 1 part sweet paprika. I didn’t know paprika got any more specific than that, but apparently it does. There’s probably some kind of secret paprika society that I don’t even know about.
• 1 part onion powder. We used flakes. 
• 1 part garlic powder. 
• 1 part black pepper.
• 1 part dried oregano. Not Oregon.
• 1/2 part red pepper.
• 1/2 part chili powder.
• 1/2 part ground cumin. We didn’t have this.
• 1/2 part dried thyme. And we didn’t have this either.

One part for us was 1 teaspoon, and the mix was more than enough for two fillets. Melt some butter in a bowl. Dip the thawed fish in and then cover it in spices. (If you have just enough for what you’re making, just drop it on in the bowl. If you have a big batch of spices, rub the spices onto the raw fish. Unless you like getting sick. And if you do, get the heck out of the kitchen, sicko!)