Seasoned with smokey paprika and three kinds of dried peppers, this Spicy Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish has just the right amount of kick!
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This Spicy Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish is one of my favorite ways to eat fish!
The star of this recipe is a Spicy Skillet Dry Rub – a delicious creation of Skillet Street Food. With a perfect balance spices (with just a hint of sweetness), it brings big, bold flavor to this simple pan-fried rockfish!
We loved this spice blend so much, in fact, that I contacted the nice folks at Skillet and asked permission to share their Dry Rub recipe here, which they very kindly granted. (Thanks, guys!)
A fresh Caesar salad on the side (traditional or kale) makes the perfect companion dish to this pan-fried rockfish, effectively quelling the dry rub’s heat without putting out the fire.
Once you mix up the dry rub, pan-frying the rockfish is a snap! You can literally have this made and on the table in 20 minutes; less if you have the dry rub already mixed up.
Pan-fried Blackened Rockfish
Ingredients
- 1 lb. fresh rockfish fillets or Pacific cod, red snapper or striped bass 1/2'-3/4" thick
- 1/2 batch Spicy Skillet Dry Rub
- 2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Heat cast iron or heavy skillet over medium heat until a water droplet sizzles on the surface, then add enough vegetable oil to lightly cover bottom of skillet.
- Coat both sides of each fish fillet with the dry rub mix and place into the heated skillet.
- Fry on first side for about 3 minutes, or until the bottom of the fish is nicely browned.
- Turn over with tongs and brown the other side for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the flesh is firm and opaque.
- Remove the fillets from the skillet with tongs and drain on paper towels.
Notes
Nutrition
We’ve tried Spicy Skillet Dry Rub on Pacific cod, red snapper, and striped bass; as well as everything from everything from roasted vegetables to barbecued steak, and have never been disappointed.
Some of the ingredients for the dry rub were initially a little hard to locate, but once I figured out where to find them, it was a piece of cake.
Let me save you some time: You will find the ground pasilla pepper and ground New Mexico chili pepper in the Mexican/Hispanic foods aisle of most grocery stores (in my area, Winco, Freddy’s, and Safeway all stock them) or in your local Hispanic Mercado (i.e., Su Casa Imports, El Mercado, etc). I found the ground chipotle pepper in the bulk section at Winco. All of the dried ground peppers are very inexpensive and the recipe makes a lot of dry rub, so it will go a long way.
Spicy Skillet Dry Rub
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 5 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoons garlic salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 tablespoons ground pasilla pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground chipotle pepper
- 1 tablespoons ground New Mexico chili pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon ground mustard powder
- 5 teaspoons white granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients. Store in an air-tight container.
Notes
Nutrition
Do you love fish? Be sure to check out these delicious recipes from GHW!
- Korean-style Pan-Fried Fish {Saengsun Jun} with Fresh Zucchini
- Grilled Honey Glazed Salmon {with Ginger & Orange}
- Grilled Halibut over Greens
- Pan-Seared Sturgeon
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