First off...there are two things you should know about me.
1. I am not a huge fish eater.
2. I have cooked fish maybe...oh...twice...in my life...seriously.
With that knowledge, you might also be shocked (as was my husband) to find that one of our meals this week was supposed to be Tilapia Amandine. Did you catch that? Supposed to be. :) At the last minute, I decided that I didn't think I would like it, but fear not, I didn't give up on the idea of fish altogether. No, I just switched it up a bit with my own blend of spices. Surprisingly, it turned out so well, that we might actually be seeing fish on the menu more often!! More often than never, is still more often, right? ha ha!
I imagine this spicy rub would taste great on most any type of meat. Chicken and pork would turn out wonderfully topped with this stuff as well as fish. And the great thing about it is you can mix it according to your own tastes. Want less spice? Don't add as much of the peppers, etc, etc. Want more spice? Load it with more cayenne.
Enjoy!
A's Universal Spicy Rub
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried mexican oregano
2 teaspoons paprika
1-2 teaspoons black pepper (according to taste)
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt (according to taste)
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (according to taste)
In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Using a paper towel or similar, dry off your choice of meat/fish and then coat both sides with the spice mixture. Allow to sit at room temperature for up to 30 minutes.
**This was enough rub to coat both sides of 3 tilapia fillets (approx. 1.5 lbs).
Here's how I cooked the fish if interested:
Heat a skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat until almost smoking. Place the fish fillets in the pan, and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, or until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork. Squeeze on a little bit of fresh lemon juice for added flavor.
