Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill for cast iron seared Blackened Catfish with Tomato Pan Sauce served on a bed of orzo pasta. A perfect meal any day of the week!
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- Preheating the cast iron directly over the flame: Letting the Lodge casserole dish get smoking hot before the fish ever goes in builds an immediate sear and real blackened crust, instead of the fish steaming in a lukewarm pan.
- Building the pan sauce right where the fish cooked: Adding the tomatoes, shallots, and garlic to the same dish the catfish seared in picks up all the fond and rendered oil left behind, instead of starting the sauce from a clean pan.
- Blending half the tomato sauce, leaving half whole: Puréeing only part of the mixture and stirring it back into the intact halved tomatoes gives the sauce both a cohesive body and distinct pieces of tomato, rather than one uniform texture.
- Splitting the chile oil across two steps: Using two tablespoons to sear the fish and saving the third for blending into the sauce lets the same chile flavor tie both components of the dish together.
Category
Entree
Cuisine
American
Servings
3
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
6 minutes
Calories
385
Taste the flavor of this tantalizing recipe made with Chef Tom's blend of spices! Enjoy cast iron seared catfish coupled with a delicious tomato pan sauce, served atop a bed of orzo pasta.
Ingredients
- 3 (5-6 oz) catfish filets, skin off
- 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Infused Sea Salt
- Cattleman’s Grill Blackening Seasoning
-
3 tbsp Colonial Chile Infused Oil, divided
- Lemon wedges, for garnish
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup shallot, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tsp fresh oregano
-
Heat Maverick’s Anti-Gravity Hot Sauce, to taste (optional)
For the Tomato Vinaigrette:
Directions
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 500ºF, set up with the diffuser door (or entire diffuser) removed for direct grilling. Place a Lodge Cast Iron Casserole Dish inside the grill to preheat, as the grill comes up to temperature.
- Brush catfish filets with the melted butter. Season first with Jacobsen Salt Co. Black Garlic Infused Sea Salt then Cattleman’s Grill Blackening Seasoning. Flip and repeat on the opposite side.
- Place the Lodge Cast Iron Casserole Dish directly over the flame for at least 5 minutes before beginning the cook. The cast iron should be smoking hot.
- Add two tablespoon of Colonial Chile Infused Oil to the cast iron (save the third tablespoon for later). Place the catfish filets in the dish. Cook with the lid open until the fish is nicely seared, then flip. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 140ºF - 145ºF. Remove from dish. Cover with foil. Keep the fond and fat in the dish.
- To make the tomato pan sauce, add tomatoes, shallots and garlic to the dish. Cook until tomatoes and shallots are softened, stirring occasionally. Add the vinegar, capers and oregano. Cook briefly (30-60 seconds).
- Transfer the sauce to a bowl. Remove about half of the tomatoes with a slotted spoon. Transfer the rest to a marinade mixing cup. Add the last tablespoon of Chile Oil and Heat Maverick’s Anti-Gravity Hot Sauce. Blend until smooth, then return to the bowl with the halved tomatoes.
- Serve blackened salmon topped with tomato pan sauce on a bed of orzo pasta.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why preheat the cast iron directly over the flame before adding the fish?
Getting the dish smoking hot first builds an immediate sear and real blackened crust on contact. Starting in a lukewarm pan would let the fish steam instead of sear.
Why build the tomato pan sauce in the same dish the catfish cooked in?
Adding the tomatoes, shallots, and garlic to the fond and rendered oil left behind picks up all that flavor directly, instead of starting the sauce from a clean pan and losing what the fish left behind.
Why blend only half the tomato mixture instead of all of it?
Puréeing part of the sauce and stirring it back into the intact halved tomatoes gives the finished sauce a cohesive body along with distinct pieces of tomato, rather than one uniform smooth texture.
Why split the chile oil into two separate uses instead of adding it all at once?
Using some to sear the fish and saving the rest to blend into the sauce ties the same chile flavor through both parts of the dish, tasting more cohesive than if all the oil went to just one step.
What internal temperature should the catfish actually reach?
This recipe targets 140-145°F, but USDA's minimum safe internal temperature for fish is 145°F. Cook to at least 145°F rather than pulling at the low end of that range.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
4 out of 5 — a smoking-hot cast iron skillet on the stovetop can replicate the sear and pan sauce just as well as the pellet grill; the grill mainly adds a touch of ambient smoke.
Recipe Highlights
Smoking-hot cast iron: Builds an immediate sear and real blackened crust.
Fond-built pan sauce: Picks up all the flavor left behind from searing the fish.
Half-blended tomato sauce: Balances cohesive body with distinct tomato pieces.
Split chile oil: Ties the same flavor through both the sear and the sauce.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 11.01 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 385
- Carbs
- 8 grams
- Protein
- 20 grams
- Fat
- 31 grams
- Sodium
- 481 milligrams
