Ahoy! Fans of Yellowfin Tuna, Need Grilling Help

thirdeye

thirdeye

somebody shut me the fark up.

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I most always have a plan when cooking something that is not usual for me, but today is an exception. I walked into the market for some salmon for dinner and walked out with a sockeye fillet and a piece of Yellowfin tuna.... I know it's short notice (like I'm starting a fire in a couple of hours).... but can anyone give me some last minute pointers, guidance or advice on how to handle the tuna?

6Rr1P20.jpg
 
I would give it a nice seasoning, and smoke very low, almost cold, for a while to develop smoke flavor, then sear it hot and fast and try not to take it past medium rare or medium.

Or just go right to hot and fast, but still not past MR or M.
 
Cook it like a nice steak. Cook it to medium rare. It will remain nice and moist and tender.

As for seasonings, my favorite on the grill for Tuna is Cajun Blackened seasoning. The tuna has a nice meaty texture and the flavor stands up to the bold flavors of blacken seasoning.
 
Hot and fast. Rare to medium rare at the most. You can usually just do tuna with a really hot skillet, about a minute per side.
 
P.S. you just made me miss my old bartending gig when I was in my early 20s. I would trade a couple of beers to the people that would rent out charter boats here in va beach for a couple mahi fillets and tuna steaks. I ate like king during the summer.
 
Rub it with olive oil, liberally apply Cajun blackened fish seasoning (Weber's N'Orleans Cajun is my favorite), cook on your kettle direct over very hot lump charcoal, searing it for about 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Center should still be very rare, don't over cook it.
 
Depends on how you like your tuna. It's not an oily fish and cooked done it will be on the dry side. To cook well coat with evoo, salt, pepper and on a hot grill cook for 5 minutes per side and no rest is required. Serve with salsa or heated butter with a little lemon juice. For medium rare cook on a very hot grill for 90 seconds per side. The salmon looks great. I took 50 lbs home from Alaska and we finished it in 7 months.
 
I cook tuna all the time. I toast sesame seeds in a skillet. Coat the Tuna with EVOO , add some salt and pepper. Roll the edges in the toasted sesame seeds. Put it on the HOT grill. I cook on a Kamado Joe, and usually have the temp at 450-475 when doing the tuna. Drop it on the grill, you can watch the sides to know when to flip it. Flip it once, removed and squeeze some lemon juice on it. Slice it thin and eat. I usually put it on a salad.
 
I prefer my tuna cooked through, but just barely.

My recipe, mix EVOO and soy sauce in a dish. Put the tuna in the mix, leave it for a few minutes on one side then flip it over and leave it for a few minutes on the other side.

On the grill, use cast iron. Skillet, griddle, whatever. I go over medium heat. Slap the tuna on when it's hot, cook until it looks cooked about to the middle, then flip and cook until it looks cooked the rest of the way (you can see the color change on the side). Pull it off the heat and enjoy.
 
Haveuseen1? said:
I cook tuna all the time. I toast sesame seeds in a skillet. Coat the Tuna with EVOO , add some salt and pepper. Roll the edges in the toasted sesame seeds. Put it on the HOT grill. I cook on a Kamado Joe, and usually have the temp at 450-475 when doing the tuna. Drop it on the grill, you can watch the sides to know when to flip it. Flip it once, removed and squeeze some lemon juice on it. Slice it thin and eat. I usually put it on a salad.
Click to expand...
This is some good advice, the only thing I do different is brush a little terriyaki sauce on. I sear it hot on the Weber, watch the sides turn white. When they're white halfway up, flip it and let the other side creep up the same way. Pull it off and it should be rare-medium rare. A lot of folks shy away from rare tuna but hat is the best way to eat it and I've converted more than my share of folks to order it cooked rare. I like about an 1/8" outer cook, just hot in the middle, maybe 125-130 IT. Tender and MOIST!
 
I like the simple seasoning approach (on this on anyway) and the tip about the sesame seeds on the sides of the steak :thumb:. I'm leaning on a pan sear using my small Egg, and cook the salmon on the large Egg. I can cook the tuna while the salmon is resting.

Just in case I'll make a small batch of meunière sauce inside. I'm feeling more comfortable with this cook.
 
aawa said:
Cook it like a nice steak. Cook it to medium rare. It will remain nice and moist and tender.

As for seasonings, my favorite on the grill for Tuna is Cajun Blackened seasoning. The tuna has a nice meaty texture and the flavor stands up to the bold flavors of blacken seasoning.
Click to expand...

^^^This is my favorite way to cook tuna as well. I like to serve it with some Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chili sauce for dipping.
 
I like the Alton Brown tuna loin he cooked on the chimney. Rare in the center.

That's a good looking cut of fish for sure. Definitely post picks of the route you went!
 
Well, the results turned out pretty good. As always, there were many suggestions to choose from and my final battle plan was.... A light coating of olive oil, salt, pepper and sesame seeds on the edge only. I used a CI griddle over a hot fire. I did 3 turns, about 1 minute apart and when I pulled it the internal temp averaged 120°. We had a brown butter/lemon/garlic pepper sauce for the table (it was great with and without)

The pro's: Good flavor, texture, tenderness and moistness. I was good with the final internal and the warm pink center. I liked having the seeds on the edge.

The con's: I underestimated the amount of heat to get a crispy sear in the CI griddle. Even though my cook time was 3 minutes total, I'll use a hotter fire next time.

Things to do: Experiment with other seasonings, play with hotter fire/CI griddle or pan, try searing on the grate, test my threshold by going a little more rare. :mrgreen:

Here is the turn, turn, turn, slice-and-serve collage.

8OnWIT1.jpg
 
Tuna tataki. You threaten each side on the grill, slice it and serve it with a citrus based sauce.
 
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