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Juicy Grilled Tuna Steak Recipe with a Zucchini Salsa
If you cook tuna to more than medium rare, it has a tendency to be too dry. This is why a lot of people complain that tuna is a dry fish but the truth is that they are overcooking it or they ate it in a bad restaurant which overcooked it and therefore dried it out. The best way to eat this fish is rare, when the meat is tasty and juicy.
You can either grill the tuna over a very high heat for one or two minutes on each side or you can grill it over a high heat for five minutes on each side until it is cooked through. The first method leaves the inside almost raw but cooks the outside. It is worth remembering that tuna is very lean and can dry out quickly on the grill. Its leanness does mean that it is low in fat though. If you cook your fish too much, a salsa will disguise some of the dryness.
Tuna steak recipes are a great idea if you want to grill some fish. As long as you know that you must be careful with tuna and not dry it out, your fish should come out perfectly and be moist and delicious. Serve this dish with steamed asparagus cooked to al dente (tender but still with some of its "bite" left) or with a green salad or even a corn on the cob. You can do the corn on the cob on the grill if you want to.
An Easy Tuna Steak Recipe with Tangy Salsa
Ingredients -
4 tuna steaks
½ cup sliced green onion
2 lbs zucchini, unpeeled, chopped
2 lbs tomatoes, peeled, chopped
1 minced clove of garlic
1 teaspoon sugar
1 small bay leaf
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil, as needed
Salt and black pepper, as needed
Fresh chives, for garnish (optional)
Preparation:
First start making the salsa. Cook the garlic and the onion in a teaspoon of oil until the onion is soft. Add the bay leaf, sugar, zucchini and some salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring it occasionally. Add the tomatoes and heat through. Remove the bay leaf.
To grill the tuna, simply brush the steaks with some oil and add salt and pepper. You can also add lemon juice or vinegar but beware - anything too acid will start cooking the fish before it is even on the grill!
If your tuna is about an inch thick, allow 8 to 10 minutes to cook it through, which is 4 or 5 minutes per side. This means it will grill through completely, if you do not like the idea of the inside being raw. If you simply want to sear it, make sure your grill is red hot. If your grill does not get that hot, use a heavy cast iron frying pan because the metal absorbs the heat, resulting in a good sear.
Serve the warm salsa over the hot, seared tuna and decorate with chives. Tuna doesn't need to rest before serving, unlike pork, lamb or beef, so as soon it is done serve it immediately with the salsa.
(Serves 4)
Wine Suggestion:
Which Wine for Grilled Tuna Steak Recipe
Try a spicy white wine which offers both a zesty flavor and lightness, allowing it to complement the flavor of your tuna. The perfect California wine to serve with this grilled tuna steak recipe would be a Riesling. If you like rose wine, look out for Ironstone Xpression Rose. This California blush wine has lemon, peach, and berry flavors and, priced around $8; it is a real bargain too.
Photo Description:
As you can see from the picture, something as simple as a tuna steak offers you an elegant yet relatively simple entree idea. If the weather is good and you want to have a cookout, grilled tuna steaks are always popular. As long as you buy good quality tuna and you know that cooking tuna steaks for too long can dry them out, nothing can go wrong with this easy grilled tuna steak recipe. Grilling tuna steaks is simple and a homemade salsa is a great accompaniment. This grilled tuna steak recipe is sure to thrill your friends and family and of course tuna is a healthy source of protein, which makes it even more attractive.
Facts About Tuna
The word "tuna" dates back a hundred and thirty years and it is believed to have come from the English word "tunny" which comes from "thunnus," a Latin word. This delicious seafood is fished from the warmer parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean Sea for hundreds of years. Tuna is a member of the mackerel family and it is stronger-tasting than whitefish.
Tuna are able to cruise up to fifty five miles per hour and they move constantly. They consume about ten percent of their body weight every day in order to produce sufficient energy for their travels. Tuna can weigh between ten and six hundred pounds per fish. Most commercial tuna in the United States comes from California and Americans eat an average of three and a half pounds of tuna every year, most of which is canned tuna.
Canned tuna yields between two thirds and three quarters of tuna per can, although it varies. Canned tuna might be packed in oil, water or a sauce and the liquid is usually drained off before you use it. You can usually substitute canned tuna for canned salmon in recipes.
Cooking with Tuna
The fat in tuna makes it a good choice for smoking. Sushi-grade tuna is frozen soon after being caught. Thawed tuna is usually as good as fresh tuna. The best tuna is reserved for making sushi or for eating as sashimi (raw slices of fish). If you want to cook fresh a grilled tuna steak recipe, cook the fish to medium-rare only, searing it over a high heat to lock in the juices.
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