Dry the salmon fillets and place on a plate or in a mixing bowl.
Pat the spice on both sides of the fish till evenly coated.
Heat oil a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add the fillets skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes until salmon is halfway done. You will see the line where it is half cooked and a paler pink shows halfway up the salmon fillet (see pictures after the tips section).
Flip the salmon fillets over and cook for another 3-4 minutes till cooked through and a nice brown (but not quite black) crust develops. Please note: thicker fillets may need an extra few minutes to cook and you may need to reduce the heat to prevent the salmon from burning before cooked through.
Video
Notes
Add a little brown sugar to the recipe to sweeten it a bit and to help the caramelizing process.
Thicker salmon fillets may need another 1-2 minutes to cook through. You will see the line where it is half cooked and a paler pink shows halfway up the salmon fillet (see pictures below).
Reduce heat a little bit if the fillets start to burn before they are cooked through.
Insert an instant-read digital thermometer into the middle of the fillets. A reading of 120F to 130F for medium-rare or 135°F to 145°F for more cooked.
I find that thinner fillets work best as they cook faster and you don’t have to worry about the crust burning.
The best results are got using a cast iron pan as that distributes heat the best along with holding higher temperatures.
There will likely be some smoking during cooking so make sure you blacken your food in a well-ventilated space.
Make sure your skillet is hot and don’t overcrowd. If you do the food will start to steam and ***wash off** the seasoning as well as slowing down the blackening process.
Don’t keep flipping the salmon back and forth, try and flip it only once so that the flavourful crust has time to form.
If you replace the oil with no-calorie cooking spray, one serving of this blackened salmon will contain 0 Blue Plan SmartPoints.