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Somewhere between a pinch and a dash is a smidgen, and when it comes to good cooking, a smidgen can make all the difference! Smidgen is the home cooking podcast of Red Stick Spice Company. Join host Anne Milneck as she talks about food, home cooking, how to use spices, and the joy of making flavorful meals that your whole family will love. You'll also get to follow Anne into the Red Stick Spice Test Kitchen for a live cooking session that will give you the meal inspiration you're looking for. 

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Blackening: Flavor or Cooking Technique?

May 26, 2022

A simple dredging of melted butter, a beautiful brick red spice blend, and an absolutely scorching hot cast iron skillet are all you need to make tempting blackened fish at home. (You’ll also probably need to temporarily disable your home smoke alarm, but we’ll get to that shortly.)

The question comes up: is the blackening the seasoning or the cooking technique? There’s no one better to answer that question than Chef Frank Brigtsen, who with his wife Marna, owns Brigtsen’s restaurant in the Riverbend neighborhood in Uptown New Orleans. Chef Brigtsen has personally blackened over 60,000 fish (!) and even enjoys blackening a variety of fish, steaks, and even veggies when he’s eating at home.

In addition to having his own restaurant in New Orleans, Chef Brigtsen apprenticed at Commander’s Palace and was the first night chef at K-Paul’s, working with Chef Paul Prudhomme. In this episode, you’ll not only hear the story of the very first blackened redfish to be ever cooked at K-Paul’s by Paul Prudhomme, you’ll learn enough of how to blacken fish to try this style of cooking at home yourself.

Mentioned on the show:

- In the New Orleans area, be sure to visit Brigsten’s in Riverbend. You can find Brigtsen’s on Facebook and Chef Frank Brigtsen on Instagram.

- What can be blackened? Can I blacken steak, shrimp, or salmon?

- What seasonings should I use when I try to blacken fish?

- Did Chef Paul Prudhomme inspire the overfishing of redfish in the Gulf of Mexico?

- Anne used Red Stick Spice Company Cajun Blackening Spice Blend for her Blackened Gulf Fish recipe.

- DON’T FORGET TO REACTIVATE YOUR HOME SMOKE DETECTOR!

- How do I get the Red Stick Spice Company newsletter with recipes and cooking ideas? Sign up for our newsletter here.

- Oven questions? Listen back to Anne’s episode about managing heat and getting to know your oven to help you bake: Smidgen episode, The Right (Kitchen) Tool for the Job.

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Hear all Smidgen episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, or your browser, or your favorite podcast app.  Smidgen is the award-winning podcast of Red Stick Spice Co.