Cooking Tuna

[SkiEvil]

Tracy's thread got me to thinking about cooking fish, tuna specifically. I love Ahi
Tuna in a restaurant and would love to cook it at home, however I am always skeptical about my ability to cook fish to the point where I will not get myself or my family sick. So a couple of questions:

Selection: Does AHI or Sushi grade Tuna sold at the grocery store equate to restaurant grade tuna? How can I judge visually? What questions should I ask?

Prep: Marinade or not?

Cooking: Cook on the grill? Braise in a pan?

[Free Range Lobster]

a: sushi grade = restaraunt grade+
b: light seasoning
c: undercook it otherwise it comes out like total shit and you ruined a perfectly good piece of tuna

[Tuckerman]

Tuna is the easy one because its best very pink on the inside and just a bit of brown on the outside maybe 4 or 5 mins a side. At the store make sure it has no bad smell to it. I like to cook it on a grill with a marinade a little wasabi on the side.

[snowsprite]

I like it grilled (careful though, lo heat)

It can definitely take a light marinade--I think this makes it better

Sprite

[lemon boy]

4 or 5 mins a side.

I think you meant to say 4 or 5 seconds a side.

[frozenwater]

I get the best grade available, then heat a heavy duty pan on the oven super hot. Throw the tuna in there and cook it for one minute, turn and another minute and it is usually perfect.

I then do a wasabi sauce and a homemade hoisen sauce and slice it into about 1/4 inch strips. YUMMY!!!

[MrZach]

Great blog explaining tuna grades (it's pretty subjective):
http://beyondsalmon.blogspot.com/200...two-tunas.html

[pechelman]

white and black pepper corns cracked + seasame seeds + canola oil

cover the fish in that

get a cast iron skillet and turn that bitch up
throw the fish on there for about a min on a side as frozen said

its also good with a soy\rice wine vinegar\seasame oil or a ponzu sauce

it also helps if you start with fish that isnt completely cold so it cooks more evenly throughout

[Dantheman]

"Cooking" and "sushi-grade ahi" should not be uttered in the same sentence. Thinly sliced with a wasabi/soy dipper is a ticket straight to nirvana. The best way to not get sick is to buy very fresh fish from a reputable source and keep it very cold right until serving. Thankfully, that's what you want to do anyway because if it gets warm the taste will get funked as well. Basically, if it smells like the sea and not spoiled catfood you're good to go on all fronts.

If you must cook it (wife has raw fish phobia, small kids, etc.), cook it very hot and very fast. Get a chimney starter full of charcoal going (this would be a good time to use the real chunk hardwood stuff). While the charcoal gets ready cut thick steaks (2+") and give them a quick marinade in some soy, honey, seasame oil, wasabi powder and maybe a little water. Don't put any acid in the marinade, it will start cooking the fish. When the charcoal is ready, pat the fish dry and give the steaks a generous sprinkling of sesame seeds.

Take a grill grate and put it right on top of the chimney starter. Do not spread out the coals, that jet engine you have going is exactly what you need to cook the tuna. Cook the steaks about 30 seconds a side, just long enough to toast but not burn the sesame seeds. Let the steaks rest about a minute and then slice about 1/4in thick. Inside, you should have about 1/4 of med-well on each side with 1.5in of perfect rareness in between. Serve with the same soy/wasabi dipper.

[ridinshockgun]

maybe 4 or 5 mins a side

You just ruined my tuna steak.

[fez]

when looking at the tuna, look for deep dark ruby red. if the fish has a pink bubble gum color to it, it has been frozen. even if it is marked as sushi grade, it may have been frozen. also look for an opalescent sheen, if the tuna has a color that looks like a little oil on water, do not buy it.

as far as cooking goes, high heat, brief time. either a very hot grill or a hot cast iron pan. and LB nailed it, 5 sec per side is plenty, just looking to carmelize the outside of the fish a little. i tend to go with more mild flavors, maybe a fresh fruit salsa, something like that. try to avoid overpowering the flavor of the fish.

[Tippster]

The best way that I have found is to sparingly put some mayo on both sides, wrap in AL foil, cook in oven at 350° or on the grill at med., for 10 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness) - don't turn over.
When you unwarp it, it is perfectly cooked (steamed) and moist everytime!

This makes the baby Jesus cry. If you like fish cooked then stick to Swordfish or Mako, please - leave the dwindling Tuna to those who aren't afraid of it being rare.

If I spring for Sushi grade tuna I don't cook it - period. If you buy Ahi loins (the tube shaped cuts) follow DTM's perfect instructions but hold the sides with tongs. Give it a 1/4 turn every 15-30 seconds (I wait for the sesame seeds to start popping,) then turn.

If you're using a pan I'd recommend a cast iron skillet. Never use Olive oil to flash-cook tuna, it doesn't get hot enough before smoking, at which point the taste gets awful. The lighter the oil - safflower, canola, or (if you can afford it) Avocado oils are best, IMHO.

[fez]

actually i dont use any oil at all. seasoned cast iron and just a quick spray of cooking spray is all i would use for pan searing tuna.

[Tippster]

What do you think is in that spray? Canola oil.

[Dantheman]

What do you think is in that spray? Canola oil.

But it's nonfat cooking spray, canola oil is a fat so it can't be canola oil. Retard!

[RootSkier]

I like it Chevy Chase-Caddyshack style.

1) Heat a cast iron pan until it's fuggin hot.

3) Throw some salt over your shoulder.

2) Spray some Pam in your eyeball.

6) Cut the tuna. Ignore the hot pan.

[Tippster]

What was that? I couldn't hear you - I was busy licking the window!

[fez]

Great blog explaining tuna grades (it's pretty subjective):
http://beyondsalmon.blogspot.com/200...two-tunas.html

it's somewhat subjective, but very accurate. the only thing innaccurate that i saw is that the word ahi can refer to either yellowfin or big eye.

[bklyn]

Try dusting it with cumin, cayenne and black pepper before searing the outside.

[fez]

What do you think is in that spray? Canola oil.

you're right, but the spray allows a much lighter coat than even oiling the pan and dumping out any excess. the key is to just use enough to allow the fish to release from the pan without any of the tasty bits sticking to the pan. this will give the best sear. especialy if you heat your pan up before spraying it. if your cast iron is so well seasoned that it is better than teflon coated pans, then you could even dispense with the spray.

[lionelhutz]

when looking at the tuna, look for deep dark ruby red. if the fish has a pink bubble gum color to it, it has been frozen. even if it is marked as sushi grade, it may have been frozen. also look for an opalescent sheen.

a) almost all tuna, even the single most expensive bluefin tuna ever sold in Tokyo, are frozen. Tuna are 99.999 % of the flash frozen at many many degrees below zero immediately after being caught. The low temperature prevents the formation of sharp ice crystals in the meat which cause the dreaded "frozen fish" mush texture. When people say that fish is no good because it was frozen the freezing they talk of is freezing in a normal commerical freezer. The relatively high temp. causes the ice to form, pop the other cells and the result is crappy mush.

b) Look for the sheen- that's the best way to tell that tuna is a high quality. The sheen comes from fat and fat is good in tuna.

c) Light pink can be good. Toro - or belly meat is some of the most prized of all tuna. It is VERY LIGHT PINK because it is almost all FAT.

[atomicboy]

I cook tuna about every other week sometimes more when the pocketbook allows. The key is to find a good fish monger at a local shop and have him take care of you. Yes you pay more but you get the best tasting fish without any problems at a price you can afford. The stuff I see at the local market is usually crap but if you must buy from there buy with your nose first and your eyes second. Good tuna will have no smell at all and will be dark red with no separation of the muscles.

If you do not have a seasoned cast iron skillet and use a pan of another sort make sure you use the proper oil. The only oil to use is peanut oil. Why? Peanut oil has the highest smoke point thus it will hold up when your pan is a branding iron as everything else will just go up in smoke. As for how long to cook on each side depends on how thick the cut of fish is. For an inch of thickness I would not go longer than 15 seconds per side.

[atomicboy]

a) c) Light pink can be good. Toro - or belly meat is some of the most prized of all tuna. It is VERY LIGHT PINK because it is almost all FAT.

Yes that is correct and if you happen to ever try Toro you will pay for it but it is well worth it. Toro should never come close to a pan. If you can find it late fall/winter find Otoro the fattest belly meat of the bluefin. You will have to mortgage the house to pay for it but everyone should experience the taste at least once as it is better than butter.

[lionelhutz]

Yes that is correct and if you happen to ever try Toro you will pay for it but it is well worth it. Toro should never come close to a pan. If you can find it late fall/winter find Otoro the fattest belly meat of the bluefin. You will have to mortgage the house to pay for it but everyone should experience the taste at least once as it is better than butter.

TORO is so good. I second this comment. It melts like chocolate on your tounge.

[Dantheman]

a) almost all tuna, even the single most expensive bluefin tuna ever sold in Tokyo, are frozen. Tuna are 99.999 % of the flash frozen at many many degrees below zero immediately after being caught. The low temperature prevents the formation of sharp ice crystals in the meat which cause the dreaded "frozen fish" mush texture. When people say that fish is no good because it was frozen the freezing they talk of is freezing in a normal commerical freezer. The relatively high temp. causes the ice to form, pop the other cells and the result is crappy mush.

Close, the key word is flash frozen. Very low temps are important, but not as important as a very short trip from raw to frozen. The longer that trip, the longer ice crystals have to grow.