
Roxiller/iStock/Getty Images
Blackening food is a cooking technique popularized in the 1980s by Cajun chef Paul Prudhomme. Typically, chefs use the technique to cook foods like fish and chicken, but the method has broadened to include other meats, including steak. Blackened steak is the specialty of many Cajun-themed restaurants, with the allure coming from how the high heat allows butter and spices to caramelize on the exterior of the meat. Create your own blackened dish with the right equipment. A cast iron skillet that can withstand very high heat is the most important tool needed to make blackened steak.
Set a cast iron skillet on the stove and turn the burner to high. Get the skillet as hot as possible, which should take about 10 minutes. Make sure your steaks are thawed and at room temperature, as frozen steaks will not cook through during the blackening process.
Melt butter in a saute pan, then dip the steaks in the butter to coat them. Purchase thin steaks, which will cook through more easily than thick ones in the short time they are on the skillet.
Sprinkle your choice of spice rub onto the steak, coating it evenly. Pre-made steak seasoning mixes work well, or make your own rub with spices you already have, such as black pepper, garlic powder and cayenne pepper.
Carefully place the steak into the hot skillet, using tongs and wearing an oven mitt.
Sear the steaks on the hot skillet for two minutes on the first side, then flip and sear for 90 seconds on the other side. If the steak is thin enough, it should be fully cooked at this point. If not, finish it on the grill or in a hot oven to achieve the doneness you prefer.
Related Articles

How to Cook Jamaican Jerk Salmon

How to Pan Cook Shark

How to Cook Barbecue Wings Over ...
How to Cook Trevally

How to Cook Ahi Tuna on a Frying Pan

How to Make Homemade Cream From Milk in ...

How to Apologize for a Past Mistake on ...

How to Cook Grey Sole Easily

How to Boil Conch in the Shell

How to Make Pollo Asado-Marinated ...
How to Cook Whiting in the Oven

How to Cook a Flounder Filet

How to Make Whipping Cream With Milk

Can I Coat Chicken Wings in Cornstarch ...

How to Cook Barbecue Chicken Drumsticks ...

How to Cook Benihana Shrimp

How to Make Toasted Bread Sticks With ...

How to Cook Chicken Bratwurst

How to Bake Breaded Mahi Mahi

How to Roast Italian Sausage
References
Writer Bio
Chris Callaway started writing professionally in 2007 and has worked as sports editor, managing editor and senior editor of "The Racquet" as well as written for the "La Crosse Tribune" and other newspapers in western Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a Bachelor of Arts in English and communications.
Photo Credits
Roxiller/iStock/Getty Images