Tips for Cooking Tuna By: James Smith

Looking for a delicious and simple way to grill up that fresh tuna steak that you just caught or bought from the local seafood market? Grilled tuna steak is a delightful and exciting entree for any special meal. There are various methods to spice up and flavor your catch, but today we want to talk about a popular method using wasabi powder. This unique spice is being used by many top chefs to add a special flare and flavoring to the tuna.

Assemble the following recipe ingredients:

• tuna steaks, cut to a thickness of 3/4 inch to 1 1/2 inch each ( your preference )
• 4 to 6 ounces of butter
• 1 cup of teriyaki marinade
• 1 tablespoon of wasabi powder
• 2 chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil, peanut oil, or vegetable oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Get started by marinating the tuna in the teriyaki marinade. Place the tuna into the marinade and completely coat both sides of the meat. Cover, place into the refrigerator and let the tuna sit and marnate for an hour or more, overnight is good too.

When ready, start up your grill and get it good and hot, but not too hot. Ideally bring it to the same temperature as if you were grilling a regular beef steak on the grill. Then mix the wasabi powder, butter and the green onions together and place it aside for the time being. Once the grill is to the ideal temperature and you are ready, then brush the oil onto the tuna steaks and season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. While grilling, periodically baste the tuna with the left over teriyaki marinade. This will help to keep the tuna moist and add additional flavor. Cook until they are done to your desired temperature, then serve with the butter. You can also let some butter melt on the tuna fillets as they are cooking as well.

Alternative set of recipe ingredients and marinade flavoring:

• tuna steaks, 1-inch thick
• Sesame oil
• 1 rounded tsp. cornstarch
• 1/3 c. rice vinegar
• 1/3 c. mirin
• 1/3 c. soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. minced crystallized ginger

Popular tuna species:

Tuna is a popular, delicious and rich tasting seafood that is prepared in many ways. It is perfect for grilling, sautee, and broiling. The flesh of tuna is pink because the tuna's muscle tissue has a higher oxygen capacity than other fish species.

• Bluefin: An important source of seafood, providing much of the tuna used in sushi. It is a particular delicacy in Japan where it has been reported that the price of a single giant tuna can exceed $100,000 on the Tokyo fish market.

• Yellowfin: found in open waters of tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, though not in the Mediterranean Sea. It has been reported to be up to 94 inches in length and 440 lb in weight. The second dorsal fin and the anal fin are both bright yellow, thus the common name, and they are very long, as are the pectoral fins. The main body is very dark metallic blue, changing to silver on the belly.

• Albacore: found in the open waters of all tropical and temperate oceans, and the Mediterranean Sea. It is a prized food, and a significant fishery. Methods of fishing include rod and reel, long-line fishing and purse seining and are highly sought after by sport fishers and recreational fisherman.

• Bigeye
• Blackfin

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