![]() ![]() Most fish that are to be eaten raw must, according to the FDA’s guidelines, be deeply frozen for a certain period before being consumed. Not only is it ruined by overcooking, but it needs careful temperature control along the way. To get the most out of a tuna steak, you need to be very careful with temperature. Shop from a reputable, knowledgeable, quality supplier of fish and there’s a good chance all their tuna will be good enough to eat raw or rare, even without a fancy marketing term attached to it. That doesn’t mean all tuna is going to be good for steaks or sushi. All that it indicates is that the seller thinks it will be both fresh and tasty enough to be eaten raw (or rare). It signifies nothing of importance in the real world. “Sushi-grade” is a term invented by clever marketers and has no meaning. When you shop for tuna steaks, you will certainly be faced with people telling you that this-or-that tuna is sushi grade. (More on not overcooking tuna below!) Should I use Sushi-grade tuna? And in fact, if you overcook it, it transforms from a delicious steak into something almost indistinguishable from canned tuna, with an overly of a sharp, almost metallic flavor. That means it is much easier to cook a tuna steak into a dry, crumbly mess than beef. Like all fish, however, the connective tissues in tuna are much easier to break down by cooking than those of beef. Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking, pg 194 During cooking, fish myoglobins denature and turn gray-brown at around the same temperature as beef myoglobin, between 140 and 160☏/60 and 70☌. Fish myoglobin is especially prone to being oxidized to brownish metmyoglobin, at freezer temperatures down to -22☏/-30☌ tuna must be kept frozen well below this to keep its color. The meaty color of certain tunas is caused by the oxygen-storing pigment myoglobin, which these fish need for their non-stop, high-velocity life. All that fast swimming takes some serious muscle, and even the muscles that, in other fish, are bland and pale are deeply imbued with oxygen-storing hemoglobin and loads of energy-creating enzymes. ![]() They are speedy swimmers, reaching steady speeds of up to 40 mph. Tuna is a large oceangoing predatory fish that can grow up to 1,500 lbs. To understand how a tuna steak works, we need to look at the fish itself. If you can find or afford bluefin, though, go for it! Usually what you’ll find is ahi (also called yellowfin) tuna loins offered as steak. Now, you won’t be seeing that kind of tuna sold as a steak, generally. The belly of the tuna, called toro, is super fatty (read: delicious) and can fetch prices of up to hundreds of dollars per pound. In fact, it is among the most beloved and sought after fish in the world, with a rich history dating back to the Roman empire. Tuna is far more than the cheap canned meat you buy for sandwiches. With a Thermapen ® on hand, you really can recreate this high-end restaurant entree with the greatest of ease and confidence. Here, we’ll discuss the thermal principles behind a seared tuna steak so that you can make it properly for yourself. And when it’s overcooked, it loses much of its charm. But it is, alas, all too often overcooked. Seared to form a delicious crust but still rare inside, a steak of quality tuna is not at all fishy but is savory, meaty, with a slight sweet freshness that is incredible. If you’ve never had a tuna steak, you don’t know what you’re missing. ![]() And that’s why we’re glad there’s such a thing as tuna steak. But sometimes, just sometimes, we feel like we could use a break from steak. Ribeye, NY strip, picanha… tenderloin filet-we love them all. If you’ve read this blog for long, you know we have a great love for steaks. ![]()
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