Tuna Happens

We have a great relationship with tuna. It happens when it happens. Living on the coast, you can often buy tuna. But sometimes when tuna is running, you can get a GREAT deal on a wonderful fish. We usually pay $12 to $16 a pound for any fish at our local fish market. Grocery store prices are always cheaper, but the fish isn’t quality and is often frozen. But on occasion the sushi-quality yellow fin tuna is in abundance and we can buy it at $8 or $9 a pound. Once on the west coast we bought a whole fish at $2.99 a pound (and they filleted for us at the same cost).

When the high quality tuna shows up, we buy it.

Ingredients:

Zip lock bag, gallon or quart as needed

Quality olive oil. California at a minimum, we like Tuscan  Herb.

Balsamic Vinegar. We like 18 year old, but the white is pretty good too.

Garlic, we use minced jarred garlic

Fresh ground pepper

Tuna. We like a 1 inch thick tuna steak, about 1 pound.

Directions:

At least one hour (but more, or even overnight is OK) before cooking, put some olive oil, balsamic, garlic and pepper into a zip lock bag with the tuna steak. Two hours is usually what we do.

Fire up your grill and get it HOT. This is not something you are going to be cooking like a ham. You want a hot flame. We like to put a few hickory chips in a foil pouch for added flavor. Spray some PAM on the grill to keep the tuna from sticking. If it doesn’t flame up when you are spraying, your grill is to cool. Grind some more fresh pepper on both sides. Course ground is the best. Coat it.

Sear the tuna on each side for two or three minutes. You want the center to be pink. Bright pink. If you cook it through so it is grey…you have cat food.  You want 1/8th inch of the fish to be cooked, the rest is bright pink. If you have 1/4 inch, you are on your way to overcooking it.

Put the tuna on a cutting board and with a SHARP knife, cut 3/8 inch slices.

Serve with half a baked potato, bacon scallops and sauteed spinach and you have a home run of a meal.