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Cooking thick tuna steaks ... reverse sear, or is that over-thinking it?

Stormbringer
Stormbringer Posts: 2,477
in EggHead Forum
Now we're down with reverse searing thick rib-eye steaks, I was considering cooking tuna in the Egg. Does one reverse sear a thick tuna steak using the same technique, or just go for a hot sear direct over coals?
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| Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
| My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.com
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Comments

  • Wolfpack
    Wolfpack Posts: 3,552
    Not sure how you like your tuna cooked but I like it seared only. So high heat for 60 seconds per side-
    Greensboro, NC
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  • saluki2007
    saluki2007 Posts: 6,354
    I like mine rare, so I go with a quick hot sear.
    Large and Small BGE
    Central, IL

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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    As stated above, it depends how you like it cooked.  I'm in the quick sear camp as I like mine raw in the middle.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 36,797
    Another vote for the high heat sear...
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period. CHEETO (aka Agent Orange) makes Nixon look like a saint.  
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
    I'm in the "High Heat Sear" camp myself.

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,477
    OK ... so probably over-thinking it, as usual (at least according to SWMBO) :).

    I've not tried tuna that thick before, I was working on the premise that as 2 inch thick ribeyes turn out better than single 3/4 inch ribeyes, a 2 inch thick tuna steak would work. I don't like it raw in the middle, more a medium-rare I guess.
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    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.com
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  • buzd504
    buzd504 Posts: 3,877
    There's nothing really to render with tuna, so I don't think it would benefit from any low cooking at all.  If you like it cooked more, just cook it longer.  You can't really burn the outside, in my experience.

    But I like it rare too. 
    NOLA
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  • da87
    da87 Posts: 640
    SWMBO doesn't like the seared outside/raw inside so I cook hers for 3 - 4min per side at about 350 (direct), pull it, go to wide open on the egg, and sear both of ours as above.  Hers hits medium
    Doug
    Wayne, PA
    LBGE, Weber Kettle (gifted to my sister), Weber Gasser

    "Two things are infinite:  the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe"   Albert Einstein
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  • rsterman
    rsterman Posts: 119
    Being firmly in "the rarer the better" camp with most fresh seafood, obviously go with a high heat fire and one minute a side.  Nothing ruins sushi grade yellowfin more than over-cooking.  The flavor disappears and the flesh gets chewy.  But to each his own.  You may find you start to really like it that way. But hen you can up ensuing cooks 30 sec/side until you find the sweet spot.  I,hope you start to trend toward "The Rarer the Better" camp.  Enjoy @ any rate.   ;)
    Berlin, Maryland
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  • lkapigian
    lkapigian Posts: 11,549
    Wolfpack said:
    Not sure how you like your tuna cooked but I like it seared only. So high heat for 60 seconds per side-
    I agree, just show the tuna the egg and leave 
    Visalia, Ca @lkapigian
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  • theyolksonyou
    theyolksonyou Posts: 18,459
    You lost me at "cooking" tuna 

    maybe pass it by the egg on the way to the cutting board. 
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Here's Alton Brown cooking a thick tuna steak on a chimney. The cooking part starts at about 17:50. At the end, he slices so you can see if that's how you like it. Been a long time since I watched the whole show so I don't remember what all is on it. But I'm sure you already have that part figured out.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAkbhtaaZL0

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Legume
    Legume Posts: 15,936
    Pulled tuna with BBQ sauce?
    THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER
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  • JRWhitee
    JRWhitee Posts: 5,678
    500 degree cast iron on the egg, some oil and 60 seconds a side for me
                                                                
    _________________________________________________
    Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story!
    Large BGE 2006, Mini Max 2014, 36" Blackstone, Anova Sous Vide
    Green Man Group 
    Johns Creek, Georgia
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  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 21,676
    Mine usually comes pre-cooked.  I drain the water, mix with mayo, celery, salt, pepper, and mustard.  If I'm feeling fancy, I will add diced apple.

    I would rather light a candle than curse your darkness.

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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    Ozzie_Isaac said:
    Mine usually comes pre-cooked.  I drain the water, mix with mayo, celery, salt, pepper, and mustard.  If I'm feeling fancy, I will add diced apple.
    You need counseling.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • Hans61
    Hans61 Posts: 3,901
    Think sushi :-) my experience is that the more it's cooked the fishy-ier it tastes - go sear 130 per side and don't look back
    “There are three rules that I live by: never get less than twelve hours sleep; never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city; and never get involved with a woman with a tattoo of a dagger on her body.”
    Coach Finstock Teen Wolf
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  • Carolina Q
    Carolina Q Posts: 14,831
    Hans61 said:
    ...the more it's cooked the fishy-ier it tastes 
    Then you're buying bad tuna.

    I hate it when I go to the kitchen for food and all I find are ingredients!                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

    Michael 
    Central Connecticut 

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  • Ozzie_Isaac
    Ozzie_Isaac Posts: 21,676
    edited March 2017
    Hans61 said:
    Think sushi :-) my experience is that the more it's cooked the fishy-ier it tastes - go sear 130 per side and don't look back
    I agree, with it tastes more like cooked fish as opposed to tuna.  I wouldn't say "fishy" like bad fish, just more like cooked fish.

    I like raw tuna a lot more than cooked tuna.  I went to a good sushi restraunt.  SWMBO ordered a tuna type roll that was fried.  It was a thick batter and fried a touch to long.  It actually cooked the tuna.  I had the almost identical roll not fried and it was way better.

    I would rather light a candle than curse your darkness.

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  • bgebrent
    bgebrent Posts: 19,636
    Ozzie_Isaac said:
    Hans61 said:
    Think sushi :-) my experience is that the more it's cooked the fishy-ier it tastes - go sear 130 per side and don't look back
    I agree, with it tastes more like cooked fish as opposed to tuna.  I wouldn't say "fishy" like bad fish, just more like cooked fish.

    I like raw tuna a lot more than cooked tuna.  I went to a good sushi restraunt.  SWMBO ordered a tuna type roll that was fried.  It was a thick batter and fried a touch to long.  It actually cooked the tuna.  I had the almost identical roll not fried and it was way better.
    Don't listen to this heretic.
    Sandy Springs & Dawsonville Ga
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  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,477
    edited March 2017
    Ozzie_Isaac said:
    Hans61 said:
    Think sushi :-) my experience is that the more it's cooked the fishy-ier it tastes - go sear 130 per side and don't look back
    I agree, with it tastes more like cooked fish as opposed to tuna.  I wouldn't say "fishy" like bad fish, just more like cooked fish.

    I like raw tuna a lot more than cooked tuna.  I went to a good sushi restraunt.  SWMBO ordered a tuna type roll that was fried.  It was a thick batter and fried a touch to long.  It actually cooked the tuna.  I had the almost identical roll not fried and it was way better.
    @bgebrent I think he might be onto something, as is @Hans61 and everynoe else who said sear and I'm done. :)

    Thanks for the advice folks. As usual, asking a question on this board has ended up challenging preconceptions about what a basic food item is actually all about. So rather than try to emulate the epic success of reverse searing rib-eye steak onto tuna, think about that a good tuna should really be.

    And that doesn't mean just in sushi. :D
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    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.com
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  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Do you sous vide?  I think that would be a good option that might be a compromise. If you don't have a sous vide rig you could just do it in a cooler with zip-loc bags.  110 degrees for an hour or so just so it is not cold in the middle. 

    http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/09/sous-vide-tuna-recipe.html

    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

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  • Stormbringer
    Stormbringer Posts: 2,477
    SmokeyPitt said:
    Do you sous vide?  I think that would be a good option that might be a compromise. If you don't have a sous vide rig you could just do it in a cooler with zip-loc bags.  110 degrees for an hour or so just so it is not cold in the middle. 

    http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/09/sous-vide-tuna-recipe.html
    Ah interesting, yes we do own a sous vide. Thanks. I think a trial run of both SV and straight sear and compare the results.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    | Cooking and blogging with a Large and Minimax in deepest, darkest England-shire
    | My food blog ... BGE and other stuff ... http://www.thecooksdigest.com
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  • ToTheMax
    ToTheMax Posts: 150
    Depends on how thick it is. I get mine thick, and I like them raw in the middle. So I do 90 seconds per side on the CI in the egg at I think 400. It gives a nice crust, but they're raw and cold in the middle.

    I gave that advice to someone on the forum, but their tuna steak was thin, so theirs turned out medium-well.
    Northern Virginia
    LBGE ~'14
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