Tuna hmb...get your sushi on.

hey sharky, what is the "whiskey" line?

I've been eating a lot of albacore recently, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite recipes.  This seems like a good place to do it.  Go buy a tuna off of sharky's boat and give it a go.

First off, make sure your tuna has been iced down as soon as it was brought on board.  The quality of meat degrades with every minute is sits there.  I'm sure sharky takes care of his fish.  He wouldn't be able to sell it if he didn't.  I like to keep my fish well iced overnight before cleaning.  The meat really firms up and is easier to clean.  As I takes cuts off I wrap in paper towel to absorb and excess moisture.  When you remove the paper towel, any "dirt" will come off with it.  Do not rinse in fresh water.  It will immediately get to work on the meat, degrading it and making it more mushy.

My whole process starts with the cleaning.  I clean the fish keeping in mind the various cuts and how I like to use them.  First thing I do is gut the fish.  I don't want guts spilling out all over my cut meat.

Next thing I do it cut the head off with a generous amount of collar attached because I love me some grilled kama.  Make a  straight cut from just in front of the dorsal fin, right behind the pectoral fin, and down to just behind the pelvic fin.  Repeat on the other side.  Albacore have pretty soft fins.  Bend the head back and the whole thing will pop right off.  Cut from the Gill opening to the top of the head on both sides.  Bend the head back again and it will just pop off.  Separate into 2 halves removing the remaining backbone and center bones.  Clip the pectoral fins and pelvic fins off.  I use a pair of large dykes to do this.  Remove the blood line and cut away and membrane.  Done.

Now I quarter the fish.  But first I remove the bellies.  I love me some smoked tuna belly.  You can just cut the 2 sides off, or if you want a little more meat, you'll see a crease where the belly joins the body.  Follow that up a little and then cut through to the skin.  If I'm going to smoke right away I cut the remaining rib bones and membrane off.  If I'm going to freeze I freeze as is and cut the remaining rib boes and membrane off right before I brine.  Leaving them of protects the meat better when freezing.

Now I cut through the skin at the top and bottom on both sides.  Some people like to peel the skin off at this point.  I don't.  I like to use the traditional knife slicing away the skin.  Peeling it off leaves a little of black material and a thing fatty layer on the loins which I find objectionable after freezing.  The flavor can permeate the meat.    So I skin after quartering removing a very thin layer of the meat (actually the fatty layer).

To quarter, first make a cut down the lateral line, then remove the top and bottom quarters.  I do so by cutting from the lateral line cut out to the top or bottom.  After removing the loin I remove all dark meat that you'll find along the lateral line.  Then I skin it.

The tail section, anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 the loin gets cut off.  I save that for canning.   There are some membranes the further towards the tail you get.  It can be a little chewy if you cook the tail sections, however, they soften up when you can.  The section of the bottom loin right above the belly is the best sushi cut IMO.  The top loin make the best medallions for steaks or cooking whole.

My favorite preparation is of the section of the bottom loin right above the belly.  We're talking sushi here, either straight up with soy and wasabi or tataki style.  I like to cook a very thin layer of this cut.  Some will grill it on high heat, but I like to boil it.  Yes, boil!  It makes the cooking very uniform and is quick and easy.  Bring a pot of salted water to a boil an drop the loin in for about 20 seconds.  Take it out, wrap in paper towel and immediately put in the refrigerator to cool.  Once cool slice crosswise to desired thickness.  If soy and wasabi is your end goal, now is the time to eat it.  Have at it.  Or try soy and hot mustard powder instead of wasabi for a little variety.

If tataki is your end goal, well, now is the time to prepare it.  My style of tataki is really tuna with ponzu and onions and sesame.  More traditional tataki uses ginger.  You can use that, but I don't.  I find it too overpowering.  Or I use pickled ginger on the side.  While the loin is cooling, you should be preparing your ingredients.  Thinly slice a quarter of a sweet onion.  If you don't have a sweet onion, use a white onion, but soak it in cold water to remove a little of the "heat".  Toast some white sesame by putting it in a hot pan stirring it until it starts to brown.  You'll see the oils of the seeds releasing.  Stop cooking it then, otherwise it will take on a burnt flavor.

Oh.  You'll need some ponzu sauce for the tataki.  You can store buy it, or use a recipe like http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/recipe-of-the-day-ponzu-sauce/ .  You don't need all the ingredient if you don't have it.  Even just equal parts of citrus and soy will do.  I have a meyer lemon tree so use that for my citrus, but different mixtures of lemon, lime, and orange juice work well.  A splash of mirin makes it even better.  A spash of rice vinegar makes it even better.  And a splash of dried bonito flakes makes it even better.  I don't usually have dried bonito flakes on hand so most of the time I skip that.  But it's pretty good if you have it on hand.

Arrange the sliced tuna and onions.  Drizzle with ponzu.  Then sprinkle the sesame.  Sprinkle some cayenne if you like a touch of heat.  Most of the time I skip the cayenne, but it depends on my mood.  Or you can serve with wasabi.  If you prepared it fast enough, it should still be cool.  Or refrigerate it a little to cool it.  Then enjoy.

My next favorite is the collars, or kama.  I do a quick marinade in equal parts of soy and mirin with some grated ginger tossed in.  You don't need a lot of marinade, just enough to get the meat wet.  And you don't need to marinade long.  A half to a full hour should do.  Cook on a hot grill.  Be careful as the fat will render off the belly part and the grill will flare up.  You don't want to burn the collar but a good crisp is worth it.  The shoulder part of the collar is cooked rare, but the lower part will be cooked though, rendering a little of the fat out of the belly section.  That is the perfect cook for me.

I like to cook the upper loin a couple of different ways.  If steaking out some medallions (I like them thicker so the center stays rare, like 1.5 inches), I like to marinate in italian dressing for an hour then cook on a hot grill leaving the center rare.  You can cook them through if that's your thing.  Or roil the whole loin in sesame seeds and grill whole.  I like to use both white and black seeds, again leaving the center rare.  Cut after you cook it.  If the fish is particularly big, I'll cut a steak away from the outer part of the bottom loin to cook, leaving the inner part for sushi.  Otherwise the bottom loin is too big IMO for the sushi preparation above.

For a twist try this.  Cut 1 inch chunks from the top loin.  Wrap in bacon and pin with a toothpick. Either cook on the grill or in a pan.  Before it finishes, coat with Heinz 57 and caramelize it.  You can substitute your favorite BBQ sauce if you like, but I like the vinegary flavor of Heinz 57.  It sounds weird, but it is oh so good.  If BBQ sauce is not your thing, wrap a chunk of pineapple into it instead.

For smoking the bellies, I like to marinate in equal parts of soy and mirin, plus some grated ginger, for 12 hours.  Rinse well, air dry for an hour or more to build the pellicle.  Then smoke on a high heat to render off some of the fat in the belly.  If you are smoking in a Little Chief, I don't think it gets hot enough.  I usually use a Little Chief, so I'll smoke for 2-3 pans worth of cherry wood first.  I go by look more than anything, just a little to the dark side. Then finish off on a hotter grill to finish rendering off a little more fat.

I have a lot of tuna put away right now and like to try different things.  So please do share your favorite recipes!!!

-Allen

hey sharky, what is the "whiskey" line?

Long center line.  Also called the shotgun line.

-Allen

Allen is correct about handling the fish. When i boat the fish i cut a gill and then shove the deck hose down into the belly to wash out the contents and the stomach acid. I leave it in the bleed barrel for no more than 10 min. After that it goes straight into an ice, salt water slurry. The salt water brings the fish down to below freezing without hard freezing it. At the end of the day i drain the water out of the slurry so the gills don't go grey and the eyes stay clear. I only sell to a wholesaler who deals in sustainably caught seafood for the restaurant trade or off the boat so my fish have to be in great shape. Nothing like the "Oregon canning tuna" The process for salmon it's even more complicated. We refer to that process as "princess dressed". Salmon have to be gutted and gilled and blood removed within 10 min. We even use the spoon to force the blood out of the veins in the stomach. It makes a big difference in taste....I'm starting to sound like a used car salesman...

Hey snarky,

What's the average weight of the fish? 

Thanks,
Nate

Is there some more Please let me know I will stop by today..Thanks

Since Sharky dosen't seem to be online yet,

I stopped by and picked up a 17 pounder yesterday, he had a couple smaller and it looked like allot of about the same size and up. 

Also looked like he had plenty buried down in the ice.

My first experience with a whole albie, dinner last night, some for the freezer, and a load going in the smoker this morning.

Yum!!

Sharky, from what time to what time are you there?

after MBK, I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Ariel and Niko (Sharky)....go get your tuna!!!!!

...check out the net on his boat....you can snag a low flying aircraft with that thing 

* I even brought my own personal fillet master....

...check out the net on his boat....you can snag a low flying aircraft with that thing 

* I even brought my own personal fillet master....

 

Nice shot of Ariel Sea...

  Not to many better with a Cemintar...

 ConGrats Sharky!!!

  So Kool your living the Dream....

First person to spot what's wrong with this picture gets another $1/lb off

Um...you're running salmon hooks on it? I'll have to swing by and tap a rodtip on your window again to wake you out of your signature Sharky dreams. Also, Mike said I could have his slip until he gets back and I go to put my boat in and there are 2 rat boats in it. Of course, as usual, Mike's voicemail is full and cellphone off for the last week. I'll see you soon buddy

Is this still happening? I'd love to get down there on Saturday the 21st!
Thanks,
Andrew