StovetopAmerican
Seared tuna steaks
Rare is the point. A hot pan, a minute per side, 115°F if you probe. Cook it through and you bought expensive jerky.
Made it?
20 min · 15 min hands-on · pull 115°F · rest 3 min
Ingredients
2 lb on the fire · ~1.4 lb to the table · 3 plates at 8 oz
- tuna steaks, 1 inch thick4 (2 lb)
- oil1 tbsp
- kosher salt1 tsp
- coarse pepper or sesame1 tsp
Method
- 1
Pat dry. Salt. A crust of pepper or sesame is optional. Heat iron until it smokes.
- 2
1–1½ minutes per side for a rare center, about 115°F. Sear the edges 20 seconds.
- 3
Rest 3 minutes. Slice across. A soy-citrus dip at the table, not a long soak before.
If you don’t have it
- Tuna → Swordfish if you want it cooked through. Swordfish pulls at 130. Tuna pulled at 130 is a different, drier steak.
- Pepper crust → Sesame, or salt only. A thick crust is decoration. The sear is 90 seconds.
Same cook, different day
Sesame-crusted
A nicer plate. Press sesame on after oiling. Same 115°F center.
Grill instead
Patio. Screaming grate, 1 minute a side. Oil well so it does not stick.
Spice-rub rare
You want chili. A thin dust of chili and orange zest. Not a wet paste that steams.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making texas toast.
When you pull the meat. The rest window. Drippings or butter on thick slices. 30–45 seconds a side on the hot grate. Salt.
8 min
- With this dish, try making grilled onions.
Alongside a tri-tip or skirt. Thick rounds, oil, salt, the cool then hot zone until soft and marked.
25 min
- With this dish, try making baked potato.
In the oven when a reverse-sear steak goes on, or the last hour of a roast. Scrub, oil, salt the skin. 400°F until a probe slides, 50–70 minutes. Split, butter, sour cream, chives. Foil only if you like wet skin.
1 hr