There are a number of interesting and delectable Albacore tuna
recipes to choose from. Being a wide ranging, ocean going species,
Albacore is part of the cuisine of such diverse cultures as Japan,
Hawaii and Mexico.
Wild Albacore Tuna has a soft delicate texture, which makes it
easy to overcook, so many recipes put an emphasis on very short
cooking times.
Tuna can be seared, barbecued, baked, steamed and fried, as well
as cured in citrus juice or rolled au naturel in a favourite sushi
recipe. With a mild taste and a lovely colour that turns from rosy
pink to ivory white when cooked, tuna is appealing to children and
goes well with a variety of spices.
Sushi or Sashimi
The best way to eat it, of course, is sashimi style, or raw.
Unlike most coastal fish, tuna
have no parasites because they never come
in close enough to shore to complete a parasitic life cycle. This
fact makes it the fish of choice for the preparation of sushi and
sashimi, and properly frozen-at-sea tuna retains ultimate
freshness so it won’t leave a ‘fishy’ aftertaste.
With its delicate mild flavour and buttery texture, as well as
its naturally convenient shape for slicing, it’s a purist’s delight,
and I urge even the most squeamish of you to have a go! Simply slice
a tuna loin at about a 45° angle into
triangular sections and arrange attractively on a plate with a side
dipping sauce of wasabi powder puree and soy sauce. Slicing is
easier when the loin is still slightly frozen - it will thaw very
quickly once cut.
For a classic rectangular cut, simply cut the top triangle off
with a horizontal cut along the length of the loin, square the sides
with vertical cuts (belly flap down if there is one), and slice as
previously. The trimmings can be made into Tuna Balls or Creamy Tuna
or Tuna Curry.
If raw fish really doesn’t appeal to you, here is a recipe that
anyone with an oven can cook easily and quickly:
Baked Albacore Tuna Loin Recipe
1 tuna loin, thawed
2 T mayonnaise
Juice of ½ lemon, or 2 T white wine
Salt and white pepper to taste
Chili powder optional
Garlic optional
Place thawed tuna loin on a lightly-oiled piece of aluminum foil.
Sprinkle with salt and white pepper to taste, and maybe a little
pureed or powdered garlic.
Mix mayonnaise and lemon juice and optional spice in a small bowl
and baste the loin with the mixture. Don’t worry if the mayonnaise
curdles a bit - the flavours will blend in cooking. Wrap the fish
with the foil and bake in a preheated hot oven at 450° F for 10 to
15 minutes. Ideally, the tuna should be slightly pink in the middle.
The foil and mayonnaise keeps the moisture locked in so this recipe
is fairly forgiving.
Creamy Tuna
An easy, kid-friendly recipe is to add tuna chunks to a white
mushroom sauce and heat briefly to make Creamy Tuna. Serve over rice
or noodles. This is a great way to use leftover tuna. A variation is
to use cream (or yoghurt) or tomato based curry sauce to make Tuna
Curry.
Another superior way to prepare tuna is to sear it. Try this
recipe:
Seared Tuna / Barbecued Tuna Recipes
Seared Tuna Recipe
1 Albacore tuna loin, cut in two
2 T canola oil
3 T soy sauce
2 T Dijon mustard
½ cup white wine
2 T unsalted butter
1 T chili oil optional
White pepper to taste
Sprinkle loins with soy sauce. Add white pepper. Baste with canola
oil. Olive oil may burn so canola oil is better for this recipe.
Sear the outside of the tuna on all sides in a very hot frying pan.
Set aside.
Add the white wine to the drippings and reduce slightly. Add Dijon
mustard and reduce until the sauce thickens. Add the butter, reduce
heat and melt into the sauce. Drizzle the sauce onto a platter or
individual plates, and add sliced seared tuna on top. Dot plates
with chili oil if desired.
A popular variation of seared tuna is Barbecued Tuna Recipe:
Mix together barbecue spices of your choice, which may include
chili powder, cayenne, mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce and cumin or
commercially available mixes. Add a little flour to help spice mix
adhere. Sprinkle tuna loin with spice mixture. Baste with canola oil
and sear on each side on a very hot grill. This can be done to suit
taste but ideally the tuna shouldn’t need more than 2-3 minutes a
side.
Sushi rolls are also easy to make. Here is a tasty, easy to make
recipe:
Spicy Tuna Sushi Rolls Recipe
½ pound cubed tuna loin
4 cups sushi rice
4 sheets Nori seaweed paper
2 T mayonnaise
1 t hot sauce
Chop tuna into small chunks. Add hot sauce and mayonnaise and
lightly stir. Wad one cup of sticky rice onto each Nori paper, add
tuna mixture evenly and roll tightly in your bamboo sushi mat. Cut
roll into pieces and serve with Wasabi Mayo Dipping Sauce.
Wasabi Mayo Dipping Sauce Recipe
3 T mayonnaise ( or cream cheese)
1 t wasabi
1 t mirin
Mix in small bowl and serve with tuna recipes.
A delicious and hearty way to use up Albacore tuna ends and
trimmings is to make Tuna Balls.
Tuna Balls Recipe
Up to ½ pound diced tuna
1 t hot chili, diced (or pimiento, optional)
2 T green onion minced or chopped
3 T mayonnaise
1 cup flour
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, whisked
Salt and pepper
Cooking oil
Add salt, pepper, mayo, chili (pimiento optional) to the diced tuna
and stir until tuna is coated. Roll about 1 Tablespoon of the mixture
into balls with your hands, dip in the flour, egg wash and bread
crumbs consecutively and either deep fry or pan fry with a generous
amount of cooking oil, about 2 minutes for deep frying, a little
longer in the pan.
One of my favourite tuna recipes is Ceviche, a flavourful Mexican
tuna salad that uses fresh late summer (in our northern climes)
ingredients. The tuna is not cooked with heat but cured in the
citrus juice. A serving of ceviche in the winter is like taking a
mini culinary vacation.
Ceviche Recipe
1 pound diced tuna loin
5-6 limes or half lemon, half lime, enough to cover fish
1 cup onion
1 cup fresh diced tomato
1 cup sweet green pepper, minced
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
½ t oregano
¼ t salt and pepper
1 dash Tabasco sauce
Cover the diced fish with fresh citrus juice and refrigerate
overnight, stirring once or twice to evenly saturate the fish. This
process ‘cooks ‘ the tuna.
Pour off excess juice leaving the fish moist. Add all the remaining
ingredients and refrigerate a few hours before serving on a bed of
lettuce or on its own with tortilla chips.
