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Test Kitchen Approved

Blackened Chicken

Blackened Chicken

Blackened Chicken

Recipe By Mike Johnston, Savory Spice founder

Yields

4 servings

Prep Time

10 Minutes

Cooking Time

20 Minutes

Recipe By Mike Johnston, Savory Spice founder

Blackening isn’t about burning the chicken surface to a crisp, but rather about creating a charred crust of spices. We coat chicken with butter, and as it heats up it “glues” the spice crust to the chicken and help keep it moist inside—even though you’re cooking it over a very high heat.

Serving Suggestions

Great with beans & rice. Serve over salad greens. Use to top pasta alfredo.

Recipe Notes

For a complete guide to blackening chicken, plus tips for blackening other proteins (like steak, salmon, catfish, shrimp, tofu, or seitan), check out our How to Blacken Chicken article by Savory Spice founder, Mike Johnston.

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or cutlets

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

2 to 3 Tbsp. choice of Cajun seasoning:



Savory Spice ingredients in this recipe

  • Cajun Blackening

    Cajun Blackening seasoning is so tasty, whether you do a lot of Cajun-style cooking or not, you'll find many ways to enjoy it! Use as a blackening ...

    View full details
  • Cajun Blackening - SALT-FREE

    Even if you can't have salt, you should still have exciting flavor, which is why we make our salt-free Cajun Blackening seasoning. Our no salt Caju...

    View full details

Directions

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Heat a large cast iron skillet (or other heavy bottomed pan) over high heat until it starts to smoke, about 8 min. Meanwhile, melt butter in a wide, shallow bowl in the microwave. Dredge chicken pieces through the melted butter and place on a plate. Liberally season the top of each chicken piece. Place 2 pieces, seasoning side down, into the hot skillet and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 min. While the bottom is blackening, liberally season the top of each piece. When bottom is blackened, gently flip each piece and blacken the other side. Once both sides are blackened, transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken. After all pieces of chicken are blackened, place them all back into the skillet. Place the skillet on the middle rack in the oven and cook for 8 to 10 min. or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. Remove and set aside to rest for 5 min.