[Sca-cooks] Steak

[Phil Troy/ G. Tacitus Adamantius]

Also sprach Susan Fox-Davis:
>Phlip wrote:
>
>>  Anybody realize that pan-frying things (steak, chops, chicken, fish) is the
>>  basis for the Cajun blackening made so popular by Paul Prudhomme? I think
>>  blackening is an excellent variant.
>
>I thought that "blackening" was Prudhomme's attempt to save face
>after he burned
>the catfish one day. That's not a mistake, it's a new trend!  Poot,
>I don't like
>burnt food even if it's on purpose.  Don't much like Starbuck's coffee for the
>same reason.

Ah, a soulmate on the Starbucks issue. Ordinary coffee that should be
used for espresso and espresso that should be thrown away, not sold
for $4.95 a cup. And there are purgatives that taste better than
charcoal.

Re blackening, however, it really isn't burnt. The object of the game
is to toast and caramelize the herb/spice mix seasoning without
actually burning it (not unlike some curries in that regard, and of
course this is also the culture that gave us the red roux, which is
also a dark, reddish-brown through caramelization). The fish, or
steak, or whatever, doesn't even really touch the pan when it's
properly done.

Adamantius
--
"No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes
deserves to be called a scholar."
	-DONALD FOSTER