Cast Iron Skillet Blackened Grouper w/ Hash Browns and Cut Green Beans

Dinner Tonight: Cast Iron Skillet  Blackened Grouper w/ Hash Browns and Cut Green Beans

Another cool morning and beautiful day out, about a high of 74 and sunny! Worked on the grill today and was able to get it up and running again. It's patch work every time we use it but trying to hold out till later in the year when the grills go on sale. Tonight I prepared a Cast Iron Skillet Blackened Grouper w/ Hash Browns and Cut Green Beans.





I used another piece of the Gulf Coast Grouper that a friend gave me from when they were in Florida earlier this year. I've got 2 more big pieces left but he'll be going back to Florida in another month or so and hopefully he'll remember his old buddy Mark and bring some more back North with him! To prepare the Grouper, after it thawed, I rinsed the fillet off with water and patted dry with a paper towel. Melted a couple of tablespoons of Blue Bonnet Light Stick Butter down and rubbed the fillets down with the butter. Then seasoned it with a bit of Sea Salt and then with Zatarain's Blackened Seasoning, rubbing the Blackened Seasoning in till both sides of the fillet were covered. Heated up my favorite skillet the Cast Iron Skillet and fried the fillets. Always have your overhead stove fan on when Blackening, it will create the smoke! The pieces were thick so I fried them about 4 minutes per side. After the smoke cleared the Grouper came out perfect! Gulf Coast Grouper by itself is delicious but Blackening it just brings that much more flavor. I'm going to have to try some Blackened Chicken Thighs soon!





For side dishes I had some Hash Browns. I used Simply Potatoes Hash Browns, best Hash Browns by far. I also warmed a can of Del Monte Cut Green Beans and had a slice of Healthy Life Whole Grain Bread. For dessert later a slice of fresh baked Pillsbury Nut Quick Bread.

Cast-iron cookware

Cast iron cookware has excellent heat retention properties and can be produced and formed with a relatively low level of technology. Seasoning is used to protect bare cast iron from rust and to create a non-stick surface.
Types of bare cast-iron cookware include panini presses, waffle irons, crepe makers, dutch ovens, frying pans, deep fryers, tetsubin, woks, potjies, karahi, flattop grills and griddles.



Cast iron's ability to withstand and maintain very high cooking temperatures makes it a common choice for searing or frying, and its excellent heat retention makes it a good option for long-cooking stews or braised dishes. Because cast iron skillets can develop a "non-stick" surface, they are also a good choice for egg dishes. Other uses of cast iron pans include baking, for instance for making cornbread, cobblers and cakes.
Most bare cast iron pots and pans are cast from a single piece of metal in order to provide even distribution of heat. This quality allows most bare cast iron pans to serve as dual-purpose stovetop fryers and oven baking dishes. Many recipes call for the use of a cast iron skillet or pot, especially so that the dish can be initially seared or fried on the stovetop then transferred into the oven, pan and all, to finish baking. Likewise, cast iron skillets can double as baking dishes. Cornbread in particular is seen as a food item that is best prepared in a cast iron skillet: the iron pan is heated beforehand in the oven, the ingredients are combined in the heated pan, and the dish is then placed directly into the oven for fast baking. This differs from many other cooking pots, which have varying components that may be damaged by the excessive temperatures of 400 °F (204 °C) or more.
Cast iron is a very slow conductor of heat and forms hot spots if heated too quickly, or on an undersized burner; however, it has excellent heat retention properties, and the entire pan will eventually become extremely hot, including the iron handle or handles.