blackening myth?

Alright I have an online friend I just love to prove wrong. He stated that the blackening trend started when cooks kept burning fish that was eventually just sent out and termed blackened. I dunno you guys, he may be right, but that just sounds like he doesn't know what he's talking about to me. All comments are welcome!

Hey Texicana,

Check out the definition of "blackened" from "The Food Lover's Companion." Their etymology is definitely different than your friend's explanation!
http://eat.epicurious.com/dictionary/food/index.ssf?TERM=blackened

Enjoy proving him wrong!

Meowzart

Woohoo! I love it when I can be right about something, it happens so rarely Many thanks Meowzart!

One key to making blackening work is a generous helping of fat. Good blackened redfish is no accident.

Eric

Thanks Eric, I now have my ammunition in the battle of the smart@sses I was pretty sure the whole blackening thing was credited to Prudhomme, but I wanted to run it by the pros here first Actually I've never had a good blackened dish.

Rosie aka Texie

Blackened redfish is great, in fact any blackened fish is great !! I have even had blackened prime rib !! That's pretty good too !


speaking of Prudhomme, is he still an active chef ?? I heard somewhere he had retired, but I am not sure where I heard it !

Blackening was just a method to make a "trash fish" edible.

Hillbilly, you have a point. And wasn't it sad that redfish became endangered because of that trend? Croakers are just as good, if you ask me.

Scbuzz I do remember Prudhomme's wife and business partner K passed away some years ago, and Chef Paul lost a huge amount of weight soon after. He looks great, but I don't know if he still works as a chef.