My wife and I are on a low carb diet which means you are on a high protein meat eating diet for the most part. Being a long time carnivore this is not a problem for me at all. The problem is beef and fish are expensive. Pork and chicken are not quite so high, but breaded and chicken fried won’t cut it on this diet; so I keep trying to find other ways to cook fish, pork and chicken so that I will like it. I have found a way to prepare meats that I enjoy almost as much as chicken fried with cream gravy which I absolutely love. I have started blackening everything and making a horseradish cream sauce to go on top. It works with the low carb diet and allows me to have a meal with full flavor that does not even hint that it is diet food. This week I have had blackened tilapia, chicken breast and sirloin. The side dishes were smashed cauliflower with cheese, sautéed fresh green beans and sautéed fresh asparagus. The sautéed vegetables were simply tossed in a pan with hot olive oil until done and seasoned with sea salt. The cauliflower was cooked and then mashed with a potato masher and melted cheese stirred into it along with salt and pepper for seasoning. The sauce was about 1/4 stick of butter melted into about 1/2 cup of Half and Half Cream until blended and hot. Then stir in a heaping tablespoon of prepared horseradish until smooth. Pour this sauce over your blackened meat or serve as a dipping sauce on the side.
The rest of this article should be called blackened meat as you can use this seasoning to cook most any kind of meat. Be sure that you cut the meat in thin enough strips to cook it to the temperature or doneness you prefer. I butterfly things like chicken breast or pork chops. I like the meat to be no thicker than a half inch except for steaks which I like thicker so it ends up blackened on the outside but medium rare on the inside. Instead of buying blackening seasons I mix mine as I like my spices to be as fresh as possible. If you wish to buy a prepared mix help yourself, but this recipe will be better than most you can buy and a lot cheaper. Here is my basic recipe for blackening seasoning and you can change or add to it as you please.
2 Tablespoons of Paprika
1 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder
1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Kosher or Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
½ teaspoon Allspice
Mix the spices well and coat your meat with them.
I place a little olive oil and a pad or two of butter in a large cast iron skillet and get it really hot. I do not use straight butter as it burns too readily. As soon as the pan is hot, I lay the meat in the skillet and cook until blackened well then turn and blacken the other side. Be sure and run a vent fan or open some windows as the smell of the blackened meat cooking will permeate the house if not vented. Plate the meat; add side dishes and sauce and you will not believe your taste buds. This is now my favorite way to prepare venison tenderloin and I hope to try it on sheep and goat tenderloins in the next year. This method can change a chicken breast into a gourmet feast. Do a little experimenting and I am sure you will create your own special dish, Wild Ed
