Garlic-Stuffed Yellowfin Tuna
By Narayan • 22:21 on Sunday, June 29, 2003 • Comment
This is one of my favorites from Mark Bittman’s seafood bible, Fish. This recipe is best with the arugula, I think, but I always throw in just a tad of garlic regardless of what I stuff the steaks with. Definitely do this on a grill.
Don’t make the same mistake I made when I first attempted this recipe. Served with rice, a 1.25lb tuna steak will easily fill 2 adults, or maybe 3-5 waifs.
- Juice of 3 limes
- 1/4 cup high-quality soy sauce
- 1 medium-size clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon strong mustard
- 2 teaspoons peeled and finely minced fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup dry white wine or water
- 1 tuna steak, no less than 1 1/4 inches thick, about 1 1/2 lbs.
- Mix together all the ingredients except the tuna and arugula, marinate the tuna in it for no more than 1 hour (less is fine). Refrigerate if the weather is warm. Wash and pick over the arugula, remove woody stems.
- Start a charcoal or wood fire should be quite hot, or preheat a gas grill or broiler. Remove the tuna from the marinade and dry it gently with paper towels. Toss the arugula with the marinade. Using a sharp, thin-bladed knife (a boning knife, for example), make a small incision halfway down any edge of the tuna steak. Insert the knife almost to the opposite edge of the steak, then move it back and forth, flipping it over and creating a large pocket. Be careful not to cut through the top, bottom, or opposite edge of the tuna, and try to keep the entry point small.
- Stuff the pocket with the arugula, still drenched in marinade. If you’ve kept the pocket opening small, seal it with a toothpick, if it’s more than 1 to 2 inches wide, use a couple of skewers. Grill the tuna, turning once, about 6 minutes per inch of thickness (if your steak is 1 1/2 inches thick, for example, turn it after about 4 minutes and cook 4 to 5 minutes more). Serve, cut into quarters or 1/2 inch thick slices.
For garlic stuffed steaks, stuff the steaks with a mixture of 1/4 cup minced garlic, 1/2 cup chopped scallions (green and white parts), 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper. Let the mixture mellow in the fish mixture of soy and oil before and during grilling.