The grill offers you two ways of preparing tuna. One method is to grill a thinner tuna steak over high heat until it is cooked through. The other method is to quickly grill it over very high heat, searing the outside, which leaves the fish mostly raw, but seared tuna is an Asian favorite that's becoming more and more commonplace in the U.S.
The Basics of Grilling Tuna
No matter how you prepare tuna, always shop at a reputable market with only the highest quality seafood available. Look for tuna with deep red, even color without dark patches. Tuna is great for grilling and is uniquely meaty and delicious. Luckily, it is also easy to cook.
Tuna is a very lean fish and tends to dry out quickly on the grill. While serving with sauce will help, if you cook tuna beyond medium rare it is most likely be dry. To help combat dryness, you can marinate the tuna. Anything with a lot of acid will begin to cook the fish before it hits a heat source (similar to the way ceviche cures fish in acidic citrus juices), so the marinade should be pretty mild and the tuna should not marinate for very long. Use a drizzle of high-quality olive oil, herbs, spices, and a small amount of lemon juice or flavored vinegar and marinate for just a few minutes while the grill heats.
Watch Now: 8 Tricks for Perfect Seafood on the Grill
Fully Cooked Grilled Tuna
If you choose a piece of tuna that is about 1-inch-thick, it will grill in about 8 to 10 minutes, provided that your grill is very hot. Remove tuna from the grill before the surface starts to get crusty and burns. Unlike beef, lamb, or pork, you do not need to let tuna rest before serving. Get it off the grill and onto the plate right away.
Seared Grilled Tuna
For seared tuna, purchase a piece of tuna that is about three inches thick. Prepare it simply with a light brushing of oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Preheat the grill until it is very hot. The major difference between grilling and searing tuna is the level of heat. Some gas grills simply can not produce the intensity of heat necessary to properly sear a piece of tuna. In this case, use a heavy cast-iron skillet. The iron skillet will absorb and hold the heat, giving you a good sear as long as you preheat the pan. If you trust your grill to produce the level of heat needed, then go straight to the grate;otherwise, use the skillet or a heavy-duty griddle.
Charcoal grills will allow you to bank up hot coals under the grate to get the kind of intense heat you need. The tuna sears for less than one minute per side, leaving the interior raw. Sear your thick cut of tuna on all four or six sides for about 45 seconds per side. The result is a piece of tuna that has a fantastic seared crust all around and a heated but raw middle.
How to Serve Grilled Tuna
If you've cooked your tuna through and it's a little dry, or you just want to add more flavor, serve it with a sauce or a salsa. Pineapple ango salsa, ginger and lime sauce, or buttery lemon chive sauce all compliment grilled tuna nicely.
Thinly slice seared tuna the way you would a steak and serve it immediately with a spicy wasabi sauce or a balsamic reduction. Tuna can be served with grilled vegetables, rice, or as part of a Niçoise salad bowl.
Properly preparing the grill by cleaning and oiling the grill grate reduces the chances the fish will stick. Drying and lightly oiling the tuna also helps ensure it doesn't glue itself to the grill grate. Using thick tuna steaks makes it easy to leave the center rare.
Generally, sear the steaks for 1-2 minutes on each side. Check that the temperature is at least 125 degrees. If necessary, move the tuna to a low-heat area of the grill to cook for a few more minutes until it reaches your desired doneness.
So how long should tuna steaks be left out? At a minimum, you'll want to remove them from the refrigerator 20 minutes before you're going to toss them in the pan or on the grill. That's enough time for them to reach room temperature.
If you choose a piece of tuna that is about 1-inch-thick, it will grill in about 8 to 10 minutes, provided that your grill is very hot. Remove tuna from the grill before the surface starts to get crusty and burns. Unlike beef, lamb, or pork, you do not need to let tuna rest before serving.
Yes, it's important to flip tuna once halfway through grilling to ensure even cooking on both sides. Tuna is cool in that it drastically changes from bright/deep red to a light pink/almost beige kind of colour as it cooks making it easy to tell how done it is just by looking up the sides.
Just like a beef steak, tuna steak can be served from extremely rare to well done. Consider cooking times depending on how you prefer your tuna to be served. The centre of the steak should still be pink – be careful not to overcook it or the fish will be dry.
In fact, washing tuna steaks (or any animal protein, really) prior to cooking is a terrible idea that does nothing in terms of removing harmful bacteria from the meat's surface. What actually kills the bacteria that causes food poisoning is cooking the food to a safe internal temperature.
Tuna dries out quite quickly and turns crumbly, so it should be cooked very briefly over a high heat in a frying pan, on a griddle or over a barbecue; or cooked under oil (confit), sous vide or simmered in a sauce.
This is important: otherwise, the inside is still cold when the exterior is cooked! Allow it to sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes prior to cooking. It makes a big difference!
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.
Carefully turn over and sear on the other side for around 1 ½–2 minutes, or until the steak is lightly browned and comes away easily from the pan. Put on a plate to rest for 1 minute before serving. Ideally, you want the tuna steak to be about 2cm/¾ in thick so they are slightly pink in the middle when cooked.
The trick to a perfectly cooked tuna steak is to leave the center pink, much like a beef steak. After a few minutes, test the tuna with a meat thermometer and look inside as you flake. Stop cooking when it reaches your preferred level of pink.
Because it's easy to overcook tuna, some special precautions are in order. Always buy tuna steaks at least one inch thick.Grill your tuna on a very hot fire or sear it in a well-heated pan. Remember that once you remove the tuna steak from the heat, it will continue to cook for a few minutes.
A tuna steak marinade is an emulsion of oil, acids (like citrus juice or vinegar), and assorted spices and seasonings used to tenderize and flavor fresh tuna steaks. When home cooks marinate raw tuna steaks, the solution adds flavor and tenderizes the fish, yielding juicy tuna steaks.
If you want to grill fillets, skin-on helps to lessen sticking. Place the fish fillet skin-side down, perpendicular to grates. Then, cover the grill and cook it as directed until the skin is browned and the fish releases easily when lifted with a thin, metal spatula.
Alternatively, many chefs have used mayonnaise to coat the fish and protect it from sticking. Liberally brush both sides of the fish with mayonnaise, and sear on a hot grill. The mayonnaise adheres well to the fish providing a protective layer that keeps it from sticking.
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