Tuna recipes

[quadrafire]

Filled the freezer this weekend and looking for ideas. I have a canner, smoker, grills, oven etc.  Post up some of your favorites to get me pointed in the right direction.
I have weeded through some old threads and have some ideas, but lets put them in one place.
Thanks in advance.

[lokidog]

Roll a loin in cracked pepper and sea salt, sear in a dry cast iron pan on high heat until center is done to your taste.  You might split the loin lengthways if you like it less pink in the middle.  I think that was it, very tasty.

I've also done tuna jerky but that was with yellowfin which is a lot less fatty.  Albacore might be a bit soft.  Soy sauce and beer marinade with whatever spices you like.

[KNOPHISH]

I made some smoked tuna dip last night. it's the yummiest. Check Ifish link below for some recipes. or maybe google tuna bomb. another 1 I like from there is a cilantro basil marinade to die for.

http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=377113

[WSU]

Tuna bomb is awesome.  The big key is don't over cook it.  It should be just seared and raw in the middle.  Sushi is good too.  Canned albacore is great. 

I seem to go on a tuna bender for a month after filling the freezer from a tuna trip!

[wafisherman]

I had some great tuna that was marinated in Italian dressing and cooked on the grill.  Simple and VERY good.

Pan seared as mentioned above is always good.  Fish taco recipes are good to look intro.

Flake up any leftovers and add to a thick creamy white sauce and serve over your favorite pasta.

[quadrafire]

Checked out that tuna bomb recipe. Looks pretty danged good.

[Tight Spin]

Deep fry it just like you do for fish & chips. Its excellent

[The scout]

cover the bottom of a pan with olive oil, add just as much soy sauce, about 10 drops of sesame oil get it hot and right before you drop the fish add fresh garlic (otherwise it will burn) you can visually see the fish cook just maybe a minute a side depending on how you like it. I usually slice the loin in about 3/4 inch pieces to do this. this is my favorite way to have it.

[Rick]

Smoked tuna sandwiches might be the best sandwich on earth

[quadrafire]

Smoked tuna sandwiches might be the best sandwich on earth

give me your smoked tuna recipe

[BOWHUNTER45]

I have some fresh tuna and the bomb seems to be the treat ...Dang that looks good 

[quadrafire]

All of the "foodies" must be out hunting, not alot of recipe input. I do thank those that have responded.
Gonna start thawing some tonight and get the smoker and pressure cooker fired up this weekend. The "bomb" will be on the menu this weekend as well. 

[quadrafire]

Well here is a bit of my fruit. Have done 40 half pints. 1/2 plain with a dash of salt. The other half brined the same as the smoked rinsed well before canning. The brine was 1/2 brown sugar 1/2 kosher salt with a heavy pinch of garlic powder. Dry ingredients coating all pieces for 20 min then rinsed. For canning they went right into the jars packed tight. 15 lbs for 110 min. The rest went to the smoker at 160 for about 2.5 hrs. Alder being the flavor of the day.
The plain canned was not much different than good canned albacore from the store. But nice I know where it came from and how it was handled the smoked/canned I haven't tried yet. The smoked  chunks are good but I think could have "brined" for a bit longer. Perhaps an hour or two??  I try to remember to report back on the smoked/canned when I try them

[quadrafire]

Oops upside down. Hope they don't leak. Not sure how to fix it from my phone. You get the idea!!

[ipkus]

Ok, I'll admit I'm a bit of a foodie and due to my full blown addiction to tuna fishing I've spent lots of time figuring out the ways my family really enjoys eating it.  Here's some of them;

Canning-

Absolutely blows away anything you can buy in the store.  All done in wide mouth 1/2 pints, the perfect size to grab, crack the lid, and eat for a filling snack.  Need more?  Open more.  11 lbs. at 110 minutes.  Higher pressure = higher temperature.  Higher pressure or more than the 110 minutes means you are cooking it more and canned food is no different than baked/grilled/fried etc.  DON'T OVERCOOK IT!  I do 90% of our canned tuna 3 ways;

1.) Garlic - Buy elephant garlic so that the cloves are all large and place one in each jar.
2.) Jalapeno - Two thick cross cuts (3/8") per jar.  Leave all pith and seeds in the slices for just a touch of heat.
3.) Smoked - Cold smoke whole loins for 30-45 minutes (I just use a Traeger).  Tuna takes smoke really quickly so don't overdue this or it will be bitter after you can it.

Some other things to play around with are sweet chili sauce, red pepper flakes, course ground black pepper, ginger and soy, different peppers (habanero!), lemon pepper, dill and onion, and various spice mixtures.  There are literally tons of ways to do it that taste great, but it takes some experimenting to figure out the right amount of whatever you choose to put in is.

All jars get a small chunk of belly meat and 1/4 t. salt.  Leave 1/2" of room at the top of the jars.  Also, it is critically important that you wipe down the rims of the jars very well after you load the tuna loin in them as the tuna is so oily it will create seal problems if it's not clean.  I due it with a wet paper towel and press/wipe firmly.  I use the 23 qt. Presto canner and can stack 32 wide mouth half pints in each batch.  I add enough water to come halfway up the bottom layer of jars and add 1/2 cup of distilled vinegar.  If any of the jars burp juice the vinegar makes them clean up much easier when done.

They're good to go as soon as they cool down, but if you let them age a year or two you really notice the added flavor penetrates the whole chunk of tuna.  It's impossible to wait that long unless you put up a large supply!

Cooking-

Tuna is best cooked no more than medium rare.  Not a fan of raw/undercooked fish?  This is where you start expanding your horizons a little, or you are truly missing out.  All our tuna gets cooked over very high heat, very briefly.  Some have already been mentioned;

Tuna Bomb recipe is money.  So is the cilantro/basil marinade.  Use your favorite beer batter recipe with tuna for fish and chips, I prefer it to halibut.

The way we do it most often, because it is quick and easy is similar to The Scout's;

Mix 1 T. sesame oil, 2 T. olive oil, 3 T. soy sauce, and a dash of chili oil.  Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 thinly diced green onion.  Cut 2 loins cross wise approx. 1 3/4" wide.  Place the fish and the marinade in a gallon ziplock for 45 minutes.  On either a propane grill or pan on the stove, sear the tuna pieces for 60-90 seconds per side.

More later...