Blackened Red Snapper

During the time we spent in Hawaii this summer, I realized how much my girls love eating fresh fish.  I make salmon on regular rotation at home, but don't venture into many other kinds of fish but in Hawaii, they order fish on the menu all the time.  I know we don't always have access to fresh out of the ocean (hours ago) fish here in CA, but we have friends who fish and we have Sprouts and I am determined to make more kinds of fish dishes for my family.  A friend of my husband's fishes off the coast of Baja CA and Mexico and gave us some amazing looking fish filets and this is what we did with the red snapper.  I think it could be easily adapted to other kinds of fish  and it's nothing super creative or outlandish (I had every ingredient in my pantry minus the fresh fish) so I hope you experiment and enjoy!

We enjoyed it with a rice pilaf, steamed green beans, and white wine.  Perfect summer treat!

Blackened Red Snapper (serves 4)

Ingredients:

 

1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 red snapper filets, halved
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup butter
1/4 - 1/2 cup minced parsley 

Combine the spices in a bowl to make a rub and spread evenly over the red snapper.  Put the lemon juice in a sauce pan and heat until simmering.  Remove from heat and add butter and stir until melted (can add the pan back to the heat if the butter doesn't melt).  Add a little salt to the butter & lemon mixture, especially if using unsalted butter.

Heat the grill to 500+ degrees and oil the grates.  Add the snapper and leave about 4-5 minutes to blacken with the spices.  Flip and cook the other side 4-5 minutes.  Adjust cooking times accordingly based on the thickness of your fish filets.  

Plate the fish, drizzle with the lemon butter mixture and sprinkle with parsley.