Blackening (cooking) Blackening (cooking) Blackening is a cooking technique used in the preparation of fish and other foods. Often associated with Cajun cuisine, this technique was popularized by chef Paul Prudhomme. The food is dipped in melted butter and then dredged in a mixture of herbs and spices, usually some combination of thyme, oregano, chili pepper, peppercorns, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. It is then cooked in a very hot cast-iron skillet. The characteristic brown-black color of the crust results from a combination of browned milk solids from the butter and charred spices. While the original recipe calls for redfish, the
Smoking (cooking) cooking and flavoured with wood smoke simultaneously. Like cold smoking, the item may be hung first to develop a pellicle, it is then smoked from 1 hour to as long as 24 hours. Although foods that have been hot smoked are often reheated or further cooked, they are typically safe to eat without further cooking. Hams and ham hocks are fully cooked once they are properly smoked, and they can be eaten as is without any further preparation. Hot smoking usually occurs within the range of . When food is smoked within this temperature range, foods are fully cooked, moist,