What is Blackening?
Larger-than-life Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme invented the blackening technique in 1980s New Orleans. Its legacy is one of the most flavourful ways to prepare food, adding a delicious, spicy, smoky element to food that people find irresistible.
Photo: Peter Breinig, The Chronicle
His goal was to find the best way to use dried herbs and spices, and to replicate the flavour of open-fire charcoal grilling in a commercial kitchen. Prudhomme’s revelation was not just in the ingredients - a secret spice blend - but crucially in the cooking process, which become known as his famous blackening technique.
Prudhomme had been kicking around the recipe that would become his blackening technique for a few years. Then, in spring 1980, it happened.
Prudhomme had recently opened his first restaurant called K-Paul’s in the French Quarter of New Orleans. "When I decided to move over to K-Paul's” he told the local newspaper, “I didn't have a grill to do it, and I started looking for another way to do it. I hit on a cast-iron skillet after several tries. The first night we did blackening was March of '80. We did it for 30 or 40 people. It was a lot more than we expected. It seemed like within days the restaurant was full. And within weeks there were huge lines.'"
People wait in line for 12 hours at K-Pauls’s pop-up in San Francisco. Photo: Susan Gilbert, The Chronicle
Prudhomme’s blackening technique became so popular that it helped create a nationwide feeding frenzy for Cajun food that lingers today. Shortly after opening K-Paul’s in New Orleans he toured a pop-up version around the U.S.. When he arrived in San Francisco every night for a month, lines spilled through the door and into the neighbourhood, toting wait times of up to twelve hours.
“Mr. Prudhomme encountered comparatively few problems when he took his Cajun food show on the road the first time, selling out in San Francisco every night for four weeks in the summer of 1983. People stood in line for as long as 12 hours to get seats. Signs in coin-operated laundries offered a standing-in-line service for $10 an hour.”
The secret is that the food is brushed with melted butter (or, a la Prudhomme, dunked) and then dredged in a secret mixture of herbs and spices before being cooked in a squealing-hot cast-iron skillet. Of course, dried spices burn if you cook them at a high enough heat—but that’s just what we’re going for. Nutty, browning butter, crispy, charing spices, and a gradient crust that makes for a spicy, smoky flavour and aroma.
Thanks to Voodoo at Home you can now enjoy this famous cooking technique within 15 minutes and without leaving the comfort of your own home.
What is Cajun?
Cajuns are people who originated in Southern France and emigrated to a French colony called Acadia in the early 1600’s.
In the mid 1700’s the British arrived, renamed the colony Nova Scotia, and drove the Acadians out. Many of them migrated to rural Louisiana where they were welcomed by the large population of French already there. “Cajuns” is the American pronunciation of ‘Acadians’.
Cajun food has followed the Acadians on their journey from Southern France to Louisiana where they adapted their dishes to use ingredients that grew wild in the area - bay leaves from the laurel tree, filé powder from the sassafras tree and an abundance of different chillies such as cayenne, tabasco chillies, banana chillies and bird’s eye chillies - learning their uses from the native Indians.
Fabulous food is a part of Cajun pride. It’s Cajun tradition to always celebrate with food and welcome guests with food and coffee.
Chicken Box Kit:
Before you blacken anything: Turn on the exhaust hood, open the windows, and designate any furry friends to the bedroom. Now, have some fun!
Set a cast-iron skillet or frying pan over high heat and preheat for at least 5 minutes.
When the pan is preheated and practically smoking, add a tablespoon of butter and swirl until melted. Immediately add the brined and marinated chicken breasts. It will get smoky - use a saucepan lid to cover if necessary - consider yourself warned and cook for about 3 minutes, until the bottom is deeply charred and releases easily from the pan. Avoid the temptation to turn beforehand - it’s the trick to not sticking. After 3 minutes, flip, then cook for another 3 minutes, until the other side is just as colourful. You’re looking for the chicken to be beautifully browned outside and when cutting the chicken for the juices to run clear, not pink.
Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before serving with your choice of hot sauce. It’s your choice to serve the hot sauce on the chicken, or to dip as you go. Personally I like basting the chicken with hot sauce just before it leaves the pan.
Meanwhile set a large saucepan or wide frying pan over a medium-high heat and measure out 1-2cm of vegetable oil. We use sunflower but rapeseed or even olive is fine. You need less than you think to fry potatoes, and trust us, it’s impossible to get the same quality in the oven. Our potatoes have already been par-boiled and fried once in the kitchen so you just to finish them off.
Once the oil is hot - you know it’s ready by dropping one fry into the oil and checking if it bubbles - then fry the fires for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure all edges are cooked. You might need to fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Once golden and starting to float, remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and immediately toss in a bowl with the Cajun fries seasoning.
In a bowl combine the coleslaw mix and coleslaw dressing.
Serve the blackened Cajun chicken with your choice of hot sauce, set atop Cajun fries with coleslaw on the side. Sprinkle with toasted sesame & poppy seeds and garnish with pickled chillies. If enjoying the blackened chicken ‘nude’ add a squeeze of lemon on top.
Enjoy and don’t forget to tag @eatvoodoo in all your pictures!
Chicken Wrap Kit:
Take each dough ball individually and generously flour your work surface and ball.
Pat the ball down until it’s flat and then, using a rolling pin, roll it out until it reaches around 12” or 30cm in diameter, and as circular as you can get it. I never make an exact circle, and it’s ok!
Separately set a 12” or 30cm diameter wide cast-iron or frying pan to a high heat and preheat for at least 5 minutes.
When the cast-iron or frying pan is ripping hot, take the tortilla that you’ve just made and gently lay it down in the pan and let it cook and bubble up for 15-30 seconds, or until the bottom becomes lightly charred. Then flip, and repeat on the other side for 15-30 seconds. Immediately remove from the hot pan and place on a plate covered with a tea towel to keep warm and soft. (We’ve included enough dough for 4 tortillas should you need to practice a couple of times!)
Once all the tortillas are cooked and under wraps set the same cast-iron skillet over high heat and preheat for at least 5 minutes.
When the pan is preheated and practically smoking, add a tablespoon of butter and swirl until melted. Immediately add the brined and marinated chicken breasts. It will get smoky - use a saucepan lid to cover if necessary - consider yourself warned and cook for about 3 minutes, until the bottom is deeply charred and releases easily from the pan. Avoid the temptation to turn beforehand - it’s the trick to not sticking. After 3 minutes, flip, then cook for another 3 minutes, until the other side is just as colourful. You’re looking for the chicken to be beautifully browned outside and when cutting the chicken for the juices to run clear, not pink.
Let the chicken rest for a few minutes before covering it with your choice of hot sauce.
In a bowl combine the coleslaw mix and coleslaw dressing.
Lay your tortilla on a plate and in the centre add a drizzle of chilli jam, followed by the coleslaw and blackened Cajun chicken in your choice of hot sauce. Lastly drizzle mayonnaise on top.
Summon your best wrapping skills and fold the bottom side of the tortilla over your filling and gently pull it back. Then stop, fold in the right side of the tortilla to act as the bottom, before continuing your first roll over to make a tight wrap.
Enjoy and don’t forget to tag @eatvoodoo in all your pictures!
Cajun Fries:
Set a large saucepan or wide frying pan over a medium-high heat and measure out 1-2cm of vegetable oil. We use sunflower but rapeseed or even olive is fine. You need less than you think to fry potatoes, and trust us, it’s impossible to get the same quality in the oven. Our potatoes have already been par-boiled and fried once in the kitchen so you just to finish them off.
Once the oil is hot - you know it’s ready by dropping one fry into the oil and checking if it bubbles - then fry the fires for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure all edges are cooked. You might need to fry in batches to avoid overcrowding the pan. Once golden and starting to float, remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and immediately toss in a bowl with the Cajun fries seasoning.
Enjoy and don’t forget to tag @eatvoodoo in all your pictures!