Now and again I’ll actually take a shower and shave, put on a clean shirt, scrape the muck from my sandals, wash the truck and head to one of the over-the-top uptown grocers that dot the Lone Star landscape.
Grocers back home in Montana tend to be a lot more pragmatic and utilitarian; visiting a really upscale grocery store back home means you only have to bag your own goods half the time and the aisles are mostly clean.
Don’t get me wrong, as a die hard foodie wandering the local food emporiums can be a genuine adventure and watching the locals forage can make for jaw-dropping and at times provocative entertainment.
I rounded the corner in one such market just the other day and to my amazement several hundred pounds of sashimi grade blue fin (intact) was just being loaded into the fishmonger’s case.
After leisurely chatting a bit with the gentleman in charge (all the while infuriating the two women – obviously striving between the two of them to actively support at least one busy cosmetic surgeon – impatiently standing in line behind me) I escaped with four precious tuna steaks snugly wrapped in butcher paper.
I could see them on the grill as he handed them to me.
This is probably our favorite home prep for good fresh tuna at home – a subtle rub complementing a nice charred sear on the grill. It’s then either this outrageously good ginger wasabi butter or a spunky apricot chipotle slather to top it off.
Tuna and rub
4 fresh ahi tuna steaks 1 and 1/2 inches thick
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp five spice powderGinger Wasabi Butter
1 stick salted butter
4 green onions, minced
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tbs + 1 tsp unflavored rice vinegar
2 tsp light sesame oil
2 tbs soy sauce
4 tsp wasabi powder mixed with 2 tbs water
Rub the tuna. Mix the fresh ground pepper, kosher salt, granulated garlic and five spice powder. Dust both sides of each tuna piece with the rub and let sit at room temp for 20 minutes.
Light it up. Preheat the grill to high. This is by far better over real wood heat – we’ve taken to using mesquite or oak charcoal with some oak thrown in for heat and flavor. It’s worth it.
Make the ginger wasabi butter. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Saute the ginger and green onions for just two minutes, then add the rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce and wasabi mixture. Mix to combine well, turn off the heat and leave on the burner.
Sear the tuna. Tuna to the grill for a scant 90 to 120 seconds per side. The rub should char nicely and the tuna grill mark; cook to taste with at least 40% of interior should be pink by our humble reckoning.
Serve NOW. Transfer to warmed plates and drizzle generously with the ginger wasabi butter. Roll your eyes with every delightful bite.
Enjoy.
Tags: Friday Feast
