Clarified Butter

There's no need to set off the smoke alarm in your home when cooking. Learn why clarified butter is ideal for high heat cooking and how it ensures the classic Paul Prudhomme recipe for blackened fish turns out perfectly. Juliette explains how easy it is to make your own clarified butter, provides tips on how to use it, and breaks down a favorite Creole recipe for best results.

Blackened Fish
Adapted from Paul Prudhomme

Ingredients

6 Tbl clarified butter (or ghee), melted

3 Tbl blackening season mix

6 (8 to 10-ounce) fish filets (firm-fleshed fish such as red snapper, catfish, redfish, salmon or tuna steak), at room temperature, cut about 1/2-inch thick

Action

Heat a large cast iron skillet over very high heat until it is extremely hot.

Spread melted clarified butter (or ghee) on each side of the fish filets. Sprinkle each side with blackening season mix.

Place the filets in the heated skillet (do not crowd pan) and cook, approximately 2 minutes per side. Serve each filet while piping hot. If cooking more than one batch, wipe excess liquid and seasoning out of skillet before starting new batch.