Yellowfin Tuna

[MaggieTheCat]

aka Maggie continues to broaden her culinary experiences.

So, I got some yellowfin tuna at the grocery store today. First time I've ever prepared it -- or any kind of tuna steak, for that matter. I would really like to serve it seared and rare, but I want to know if it'll be safe for consumption. The label for the tuna at the fish counter said it was previously frozen. Is this going to affect whether I can serve it rare or not? How long can I keep it in the fridge? We bought it today (Saturday) and I'm not sure how long it had been sitting at the fish counter, but the earliest I can probably prepare it would be Tuesday (we're going out tomorrow and I have dinner reservations with some other friends of mine on Monday. I actually forgot about the Monday night reservation and was planning on doing the tuna on Monday before I remembered I already had plans.) Should I freeze it now and thaw it on Tuesday?

[Jester]

Okay, this is probably too late to be of use, but I will pipe in with my comments.

1. Tuna is a fish you can (and really should) serve rare. Seared rare tuna is one of the great pleasures in life, if you ask me.

2. 3 days after purchase you should be fine. Personally, I would never RE-freeze fish, especially a fine specimen like yellowfin. Generally speaking, buy your fish the day you plan to use it or the day beforehand. You are fine going a few days, but if you want your fish to really kick ass, buy it as short a time before the planned meal as possible. If you live in an area where you can get FRESH fish (as in never frozen) as I do, always opt for the fresh fish.

Any more questions, just ask.

[Whiskey]

Don't refreeze that fish! It'll destroy the texture. Its fine to serve rare, as jester said, thats the way tuna should be consumed. They (flash?) freeze the tuna before hand to kill anything in the fish.

why didnt i see this thread until today? :|

[lupo pazzesco]

why didnt i see this thread until today? :|

You were drunk...?

I echo everything Jester said about the fish. Do. NOT. Re-freeze!! And if you can, sear it. Serve it rare. So freakin' yummy I can't even tell you!

I want tuna now...

[MaggieTheCat]

Okay, I went with my gut which told me not to refreeze it either. I'm planning on making it tonight so I'll let y'all know how it turns out. Jester, I wish we could get fresh fish around here, but I don't think we can...San Antonio is not known for its bodies of water. We could probably get catfish, but my husband had catfish all the time as a kid and is not a fan of it now.

The tuna turned out great! I let it marinade at room temperature for about 25 in a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, and brown sugar, (I also reserved a little bit of the sauce before marinating the fish in it, as a dipping sauce for after the fish was cooked.) I think I overcooked the fish just a tiny little bit, but it was still pink through most of the middle and very flakey and tender. I might try cooking it 30 seconds or a minute less next time. My husband loved it, and he is not a big fish fan; he remarked that it didn't taste "fishy" at all. He really liked the dipping sauce too.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

no, i really mean, congratulations! Perfectly-cooked food is always exciting, it happens so rarely for most of us-- so you get the pride of being spot-on, and nomming on deliciousness. And, since it's a red-meat fish (tuna, iirc...), it's very healthy and full of good fatty acids and such!
May you have repeat performances!

[MaggieTheCat]

Thanks. ^^ I always get excited when dinner turns out as good as or better than expected.

[Whiskey]

Thanks. ^^ I always get excited when dinner turns out as good as or better than expected.

get ahold of some plum sauce the next time you eat tuna

[AdminAssistant]

get ahold of some plum wine the next time you eat tuna

There I fixed that for ya

[Whiskey]

get both. I wish I knew where to get plum wine in my city.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Plum wine. I've seen it in Asian groceries, 'upscale market-style' groceries that like to be hoity, places like Fred Myers and Piggly-Wiggly, state liquor dispensaries once or twice, and sometimes sushi and/or Chinese food places sell it by the bottle. Of course, quality and brands vary, as does customer demand-- so what one store sells, the other may not, even if they're part of the same chain.

[Whiskey]

Plum wine. I've seen it in Asian groceries, 'upscale market-style' groceries that like to be hoity, places like Fred Myers and Piggly-Wiggly, state liquor dispensaries once or twice, and sometimes sushi and/or Chinese food places sell it by the bottle. Of course, quality and brands vary, as does customer demand-- so what one store sells, the other may not, even if they're part of the same chain.

bevmo actually has 1 or 2 bottles. next time I hit up a sushi bar, ill see what brand they carry.

[teh_blumchenkinder]

Now, remember-- buying it from a restaurant is most likely going to be a bit more expensive than, say, from an import-store. (Also, cost-plus world market ought to have plum wine, if it doesn't that's a travesty of unnatural proportions-- if you have one-- AMAZIIIINNGGG store). It's also more likely to be popular with palates, since it's survived in the restaurant. ... However, some places sell PBR and Coors and suchlike.

[MaggieTheCat]

I love plum wine, but wine also usually makes me horribly sick. I get terrible headaches, even if I only drink half a glass, and sometimes it even gives me a stomach ache.

[Whiskey]

However, some places sell PBR and Coors and suchlike.

those people dont have palates. Ill talk to my wine guy too, see what he says.