Rare seared tuna steak

16 Comments

  1. Very informative article, thanks. May I assume the same instructions apply to grilling tuna steaks, ie remove from heat @65F? I have seen some articles that suggest near-freezing before grilling, do you think this necessary if grilling? We enjoy most all fish and shellfish on the grill so any tips on how to manage will be appreciated.

    1. Michael,
      Near freezing before grilling is a pretty good idea, especially if you want lots of grilled flavor. Two-3 minutes of total grilling time won’t get you a lot of grilled flavor, but by nearly freezing the tuna, you can leave it on the heat a bit longer. Good idea!

      1. You could also cold smoke the tuna, let it sit for a bit in the fridge and than grill it. It’ll have way more flavor that way from the grill.

    2. I have 2 beautiful Ahi steaks. About 1 1/4 tick thick. While I love it rare, as it should be, I’m on medication that requires all my meat fully cooked. Mid-week at the least. Should I soak or marinade to get it well done without it being dry? What is your opinion on how to cook this? We are going blackened.

      1. Tiffany,
        That is a tough question. I’d probably dry brine them. Dry brining helps to neutralize some of the proteins that will dry out in cooking, so that will help some. But fully cooking it will have other enzymatic and protein effects that are unavoidable.
        Something you might consider is to change your method completely. Maybe seasoning them overnight and then poaching them gently in olive oil with a few crushed cloves of garlic and then using them to make an amazing salad Nicoise would be better than going for the steak. That would be delicious!

  2. We get fresh Ahi from Costco that`s good,my trick for a good sear and very rare center is to leave it in the fridge just prior to cooking.Try to pick the thickest piece you can get,works for me.

  3. Finally somewhere that says something can rise for more than 10 degrees. I’ve been finding 20 degree raised on burgers. And 30 degree raises on roast beef.

    However I’m surprised by the final temp of 90. Another link “best temps for seafood” on thermoworks, recommends 115. I’ve also seen 120 recommended.

    1. Kane,

      We were surprised by the carryover, too! Our “Best Temps” post actually says below 115°F. We found it difficult to get a good doneness at 105°F—it was too cooked around the edges—but 90°F was great.

  4. You should make this post like into a definitive guide or something. I bet a lot of your new readers that come to this site would want to be able to find this post. It’s too good to keep secret!

  5. When you pull it from the heat should you leave it rest in the pan or transfer to a plate right away till carry over temperature is reached?

  6. I don’t get this “carry over” stuff. When you pull something off the heat, stop supplying it with energy, it should begin to cool immediately, not continue to get warmer. I can’t think of any physics that would allow that. Can you explain it?

    1. Delighted to!
      While we are no longer supplying the mass with energy, the heat energy that is in the mass is unevenly distributed. There is a higher concentration of heat closer to the surface than there is in the center. When we remove the external heat, we stop adding more to the surface, but the heat likes to settle to equilibrium. Some of the surface heat will vent to the atmosphere, but most of the temperature gradient will equalize within the food-mass itself.
      Think of a tree cross section, with each ring representing a different temperature A temperature ring that is 2 inched into the tree will heat the next ring down. (You could also say that the next ring down cools the next ring up, which is equally true, but bends the brain a little bit more.) That ring is, meanwhile, heating the ring below it. It’s like a fireman’s brigade of heat being handed down the rings to the center until all the rings are at the same temperature.
      So carryover cooking doesn’t happen because of external heat (obviously, we took that heat away), but because there is enough heat inside the meat to warm and cook other parts of the meat.

      I hope that helps!

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