Charcoal-Grilled Tuna Steaks with Red Wine Vinegar and Mustard Vinaigrette

By LaLaCooks

From Season 11: Summertime Supper Fare

Why this recipe works:
Most grilled tuna steaks are either rare in the center with no char or have a great sear enveloping a dry, mealy interior. We wanted a thick layer of hot, grilled tuna with an intense smoky char wrapped around a cool, delicately flavored, tender, and moist center.

We began by selecting tuna steaks that were thick enough to stay on the grill long enough to achieve a decent crust without overcooking. Our initial test of cooking methods proved that using direct heat with a hot fire and getting the tuna on and off the grill as quickly as possible worked well. We started by covering the grill with aluminum foil while it preheated so it became ultra-hot for a clean release for the fish, which can often stick to the cooking grate. For the charred flavor we were after, we turned to an ingredient that can enhance browning—oil. Oil helps to distribute heat evenly over the surface of the fish, including those areas not actually touching the cooking grate, and it adds a little fat to lean tuna, which keeps the exterior from getting too dry and stringy. But oil alone didn’t infuse our fish with grill flavor. We discovered that to moisten the tuna’s flesh, the oil needs to penetrate the meat’s tiny muscle fibers. Instead, we turned to a vinaigrette. The dressing (and its oil) clung to the fish, moistening its exterior and solving the problem of dry flesh. To improve browning we added honey to our vinaigrette. The sugars caramelized quickly on the grill, helping deliver a perfectly browned crust on our tuna steaks. (less)


WATCH THIS RECIPE
Ideally, grilled tuna should combine a hot, smoky, charred exterior with a cool, rare, sashimi-like center. So how do you make fish that’s both very hot and very cool?

We prefer our tuna served rare or medium- rare. If you like your fish cooked medium, observe the timing for medium-rare, then tent the steaks loosely with foil for 5 minutes before serving. To achieve a nicely grilled exterior and a rare center, it is important to use fish steaks that are at least 1 inch thick.

Ingredients

• Vegetable oil for cooking grate
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• Table salt
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or rosemary leaves
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 6 tuna steaks , 1 inch thick (about 8 ounces each) (see note)
• Ground black pepper

Details

Adapted from americastestkitchen.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Light large chimney starter filled with charcoal (6 quarts, about 100 briquettes) and allow to burn until coals are fully ignited and partially covered with thin layer of ash, about 20 minutes. Build modified two-level fire by arranging all coals in even layer over half of grill, leaving other half empty. Loosely cover cooking grate with large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil; position grate over coals, cover grill, and heat grate until hot, about 5 minutes. Remove foil with tongs and discard; scrape grate clean with grill brush. Lightly dip wad of paper towels in oil; holding wad with tongs, wipe grate. Continue to wipe grate with oiled paper towels, redipping towels in oil between applications, until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times. Grill is ready when coals are hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grate for 3 to 4 seconds).

2. While grill heats, whisk vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, mustard, honey, and thyme or rosemary together in large bowl. While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle oil into vinegar mixture until lightly thickened and emulsified. Measure out ¾ cup vinaigrette and set aside for cooking fish. Reserve remaining vinaigrette for serving.

3. Brush both sides of fish liberally with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill fish without moving until grill marks form and bottom surface is opaque, about 1½ minutes. Carefully flip, cooking until grill marks form on second side, about 1½ minutes longer for rare (opaque at perimeter and translucent red at center when checked with tip of paring knife) or 3 minutes for medium-rare (opaque at perimeter and reddish pink at center). Transfer to large plate and serve immediately, passing reserved vinaigrette.

TECHNIQUE
VINAIGRETTE FOR FOOLPROOF GRILLED TUNA
A simple dressing of oil, vinegar, mustard, and honey not only adds flavor but is the secret to grilled tuna with a hot smoky crust and rosy interior (plus less fishy odor!). Each component brings its own particular benefit to the mix.


MOISTURIZER

Oil keeps the fish moist and traps the fat-soluble compounds responsible for smoke flavor, leading to richer grilled taste.


ODOR NEUTRALIZER

Vinegar neutralizes the odoriferous compound trimethylamine, created when fish is exposed to heat.


MASTER EMULSIFIER

Mustard helps hold the vinaigrette together so it properly coats the tuna steaks.


BROWNING BOOSTER

Two teaspoons of honey help the tuna brown quickly before the interior has a change to overcook.

TECHNIQUE
NOT-SO-GREAT GRILLED TUNA: THE INS AND OUTS
NICELY CHARRED BUT OVERCOOKED

Tuna with a smoky, well-browned crust, usually features dry, overdone flesh.


PERFECT INTERIOR BUT NO CHAR

Tuna with a cool, rare center often has a pale, tasteless exterior.