Blackened Crappie with Sriracha Sauce

This recipe was originally posted on Ken’s website, Rambling Angler Outdoors. Thanks Ken for allowing us to post this recipe!

People are always asking me for other ways to cook crappie. Everybody loves fried crappie. Nothing wrong with fried crappie but I like to mix it up from time to time. This Blackened Crappie Fillet with Sriracha Sauce is fast becoming a favorite recipe of mine. It’s delicious by itself, but I like to add a few little friends to the skillet to keep the fillets company. Usually, I add shrimp or scallops. These are perfect compliments to crappie and adds a little more refinement to the dish.

Fried crappie is the only way we ate crappie growing up and again I could only fry mine and be happy, but it is great to try new recipes with our harvest. One thing I notice is that with fried crappie I can probably eat 4 big crappie fillets. Try this blackened crappie fillet recipe with sriracha sauce for an excellent way to enjoy the harvest this crappie season.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Crappie Fillets (1 Fillet Per Person)
• Drizzle Lemon Juice (Real lemon)
• Sprinkle Blackened seasoning (Sprinkle fillets all over with blackened seasoning)
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
• 2 tbsp Butter (Unsalted)
• 3 Shrimp or scallops (The crappie fillet needs a few little friends)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Drizzle lemon juice all over the fillet and sprinkle a generous amount of blackened seasonings on the fillets
2. Heat olive oil, butter and garlic until the garlic is sizzling
3. Place the fillets in the sizzling garlic butter and olive oil
4. Add the fillet’s 3 little buddies, usually shrimp or scallops after one side of the fillet is cooked. About 4 minutes.
5. Gently turn the fillet using your fillet spatula and a fork to lay it over without breaking the crappie fillet into pieces. Cook for about 3 minutes on this side or until the fish is flaking easily.
6. Drizzle sriracha sauce over the fillet and its friends and Enjoy the Harvest

Here’s some tips on the blackening process and cooking blackened crappie

Set the fillets out and cook them after they reach room temperature or close to it.

Bring the olive oil and butter up to temp and sizzle the garlic and shut the burner off. I let this sit while the fillets get up to room temperature. It lets the garlic meld with the oil and butter.

You can use just olive oil or just butter, the olive oil added to the butter slightly raises its smoke point and helps prevent the butter from scorching.

Blackening is a cooking technique used in the preparation of fish and other foods such as chicken or steak. It’s a violent form of cooking. Therefore, a firm fleshed fish like redfish, snapper, grouper or salmon is usually chosen for blackening. However, I have blackened many other species of fish with great success. Here in Kentucky, I have learned that blackening catfish, crappie, and bluegill works great. The flesh is soft and flakey, but if you are careful these fish can be excellent for the blackening process.

Fish fillets like crappie can fall apart when being blackened. Using a fish spatula under the fillet and another utensil, like a fork or another spatula on top, will help you flip the fillet without it breaking apart.