The Tastiest Way To Make A Tuna Steak According To A Pro

Tuna is meaty, tender, and easy to prepare as a flavorful centerpiece to a meal, hardly requiring any additional ingredients. As long as you monitor your tuna consumption to avoid ingesting high levels of mercury, it's also a great lean, nutritionally dense source of protein. Thankfully, when it comes to cooking tuna steaks, there are a number of tasty options at your disposal. Chowhound spoke to Victoriano Lopez, Executive Chef of La Mar Cocina Peruana in San Francisco, and he was full of tips for preparing this popular fish cut like a pro.

At La Mar, Chef Lopez serves Peruvian cuisine with a particular focus on fresh seafood, and tuna features heavily on the menu. When cooking tuna steaks at home, Lopez says, "You can cook a tuna steak in a hot pan seasoned with salt, pepper and clarified butter, on the grill, or in the oven, but my favorite and recommended way is on the grill." While tuna steaks are indeed delicious when marinated and broiled or seared with oil (rather than butter), they are undoubtedly one of the top fish that belong on your grill, and Lopez is clear about why he prefers this method. "Cooking tuna on the grill gives it a slight golden color and adds a lightly smokey flavor, which is just the way I like it," he says.

Once you've decided to grill tuna steaks, you'll want to make sure that you're doing it right — after all, there's nothing worse than ruining an expensive cut of meat or fish due to poor preparation. Even though tuna fillets can indeed be quite pricey, Chef Victoriano Lopez's first grilling tip is to avoid skimping on quality. "I recommend that you buy high quality, large tuna filets that come from the largest tuna," he says, adding, "It will give you steak-sized filets that contain more of their own fat, so the flavor will be better."

Generally, fattier fish flourish better on the grill because of its direct high heat, which is important to keep in mind when selecting filets at the fish counter. Next, it's crucial to keep your tuna steaks from overcooking. Lopez stresses, "It is also very important to not cook the tuna for too long. It will become tough and lose its flavor." Tuna steaks are best when cooked to a temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit and medium rare, according to Lopez. Keep an eye out for telltale signs that the tuna is done, namely the appearance of a grey exterior and a pink, rare core.