How to Season Tuna
The first step in your complete guide for how to cook tuna fish is adding your desired flavor enhancers.
Before cooking tuna steaks, check for scales. If any are present, rinse with cool water. Pat dry with paper towels. Measure the thickness of the fish with a ruler, so you know how long to cook tuna steak. Fresh tuna steaks love a good marinade recipe, which flavors this fairly mild fish and helps keep it moist during cooking. A short marinating time is all it needs, from 15 minutes to 4 hours in the refrigerator. Tuna pairs especially well with Asian-inspired flavors. Instead of marinating, you can brush the fish with olive oil or melted butter and season as desired. For example, try brushing tuna with olive oil and lemon juice, then sprinkle it with snipped fresh herbs (such as rosemary or tarragon), salt, and ground black pepper. Or try one of these delicious spice blends.
How to Cook Tuna Steaks 3 Ways
Tuna steaks need a watchful eye during cooking to remain tender and moist. Don’t be turned off if your tuna looks medium-rare, whether you’re baking tuna steak, skillet-cooking tuna steak, or grilling it. Because tuna steaks get dry and chewy when overcooked, the center should still be pink when it’s done cooking. Some people like their tuna even more rare in the center, so adjust these suggestions on how long to cook tuna steaks accordingly.
How to Grill Tuna Steaks
Take a break from beef burgers, hot dogs, and shrimp skewers, and become a pro at cooking tuna on a grill by following these simple steps. If desired, try this Test Kitchen trick for cooking tuna steak on a grill that’s even more flavorful: Brush tuna with additional melted butter or olive oil after turning. (So you’re fully prepared for cooking tuna steaks for your next barbecue, stock up on these 10 must-have grilling tools ASAP.
How to Cook Tuna Steaks in a Skillet
Searing tuna steaks in a hot skillet caramelizes the surfaces of the fish and locks in the moisture. For best results when mastering how to cook tuna steak on a stove, start with ¾-inch-thick steaks.
How to Bake Tuna Steaks
Here’s how to cook tuna steak in an oven to keep your stove top free for whipping up a side dish.
How Long to Cook Tuna Steaks
When you’re learning how to cook fresh tuna, don’t try to cook your tuna steaks until there’s no pink left in the middle. Remove them from the heat while the center is still pink to keep them moist and delicious, following the cooking times per the three methods above.
How to Buy and Store Fresh Tuna
Any method of cooking tuna will produce the best results if you start with a good piece of tuna. Here’s what to look for.
Fresh tuna comes in a long loin that a fishmonger (a person or retailer that sells fish) cuts into tuna steaks. Tuna season is usually late spring into early fall, but it’s available frozen year-round. If you’re wondering how to cook frozen tuna steak, you can follow the instructions above after thawing the tuna steaks in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours.Raw tuna varies from light pink to a reddish-brown color, depending on the variety. It can have a dark portion on the steak, which is edible but stronger in flavor. Sometimes this part is trimmed out before you buy it.Tuna steaks are sold skinned. Look for tuna with moist flesh and a fresh and pleasant, not fishy, smell.When purchasing, figure on one 4- to 5-ounce tuna steak per person. For optimum freshness, cook tuna the day you buy it.
If you’re anything like us, now that you’re practically a pro at how to cook tuna steaks in various ways, you’ll find as many ways as possible to sneak fish recipes into your family’s meal plan. Your taste buds and your heart will thank you (hat tip to the omega 3s!).
