Name: Blackened Chicken
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
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:

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Blackened Chicken

Recipe by Mike Johnston, Savory Spice founder

30-Minute Meals

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.

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Serves 4 servings

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cooking Time 20 minutes

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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:

Cajun Blackening

Cajun Blackening (Salt-Free)

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.

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.