Blackened Chicken

Blackened chicken is one of those recipes that looks and smells way fancier than it is. As long as you have some good seasonings and a good cast iron pan, you can make some super delicious blackened chicken at home easily.

For some other great brown and tasty chicken recipes, why not make this recipe for Jerk Chicken? Or make this Baked Chicken Breast instead?

Blackened Chicken

Blackened chicken is basically some chicken that is liberally coated in tons of tasty seasoning and then cooked until the seasoning starts to darken in color and caramelize.

While it might sound like you just need to burn the chicken in the oven, it is actually a little more complex than that. For starters, you need to get the black seasoning to a perfect doneness so that it picks up plenty of tasty blackened flavor but no horrible burning flavors.

Blackened Chicken Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

• Paprika

• Salt

• Cayenne pepper

• Ground cumin

• Dried thyme

• White pepper

• Onion powder

• Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

How To Make Blackened Chicken

1. Remove the chicken from fridge 20-30 minutes prior to allow the meat to come to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 375 °F.
2. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until it is hot.
3. Mix together the spices: paprika, salt, cayenne, cumin, thyme, white pepper, and onion powder.
4. Spray the chicken breasts on both sides with spray butter then coat with spice mixture and place in the skillet.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the breast begins to turn white on the sides.
6. Flip and cook on the other side for the same amount of time.
7. Place the skillet into the oven and bake until using an instant read thermometer the temperature reaches 165°F. Remove.
8. Allow the chicken to sit for 5-6 minutes until the juices can settle within the breast, this helps prevent dry meat and allows everything to settle and the meat to moisten again.
9. Serve.

How To Get The Chicken To The Perfect Temperature

Cooking chicken to the right temperature is always a bit of a challenge for most home cooks. There is always the fear of accidentally giving yourself salmonella, alongside the general worry of overcooking it the meat and having it turn out chalky.

Well, the real secret to cooking chicken breast is to always aim for a little bit of a lower temperature than you want.

Chicken is officially safe at 165 Fahrenheit, as listed by the USDA. But remember that carryover cooking exists, which means that you need to stop cooking about 5 degrees before your finished temp. The rest of the temperature increase will occur while the chicken rests.

However, that seemingly official number isn’t actually accurate.

The temperature that salmonella is destroyed instantly is actually 160 Fahrenheit! The reason why governments give a higher number is to help cut down on those that misread their thermometers or mistimed their cooking.

How To Get That Perfect Blackened Flavor, But No Burnt Taste

The secret to blackened chicken’s great flavor is the perfect amount of blackening on the seasonings. The way to achieve this is to keep an eye on the chicken at every stage of cooking and to avoid burning the spices too much.

Think of it like making a Cajun roux; you want it really, really dark, but never burned – the instant it burns, it is basically ruined.

A liberal coating of butter all around the chicken really helps to prevent any unpleasant burning, as does a really accurate instant-read thermometer, but the best way to judge it is to keep an eye on the meat and do what your instincts tell you.

Looking for more delicious Chicken recipes? Try these out:

• Air Fryer Fried Chicken

• Buttery Garlic & Herb Chicken and Potatoes

• Brunswick Stew

Enjoy!

Love,

Karlynn

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