Well, since I got kinda ribbed (no pun intended) about liking seafood over red meat, I'm curious now...!



If you folks had to pick one, which would you choose: seafood or meat (i.e. pork, poultry, beef, etc.)...?

 

Tuna

 

I'm still trying to master the art of the "perfectly seared" tuna steak.

My tuna is never quite as tender/moist/buttery as that which I attain in restaurants. Why would this be? I don't think it's the cooking process, as I've attempted every variant.

It must be the Tuna I'm buying. Any Tuna buying tips, anyone?

 

Probably nothing new for you here, but this is how I do it:

Obviously, get the freshest tuna you can find. Its tough in Phoenix, but I've actually found Costco to be pretty good. It has to be dark red/purple colored.

I marinate it a little, either with olive oil + garlic + lemon/lime juice, or in teriyaki sauce (this stuff is great ).

Get the grill as hot as possible, then throw it on for 3-4 minutes per side. My grill sucks, so this might be overkill with a better grill. The only tip I'd have here is that it will continue to cook a little after you take it off the grill, so undercook it just a little.

 

Strangely enough I don't like any seafood except for canned tuna (my wife thinks this is strange because she said tuna is more "fishy" then a lot of other fish).

IMO..

Beef > Poultry for the most part...

 

I use to live by chicken, but after picking up seafood again esp sushi, I love teh fish

 

Chicken! I refuse to eat burgers & hot dogs, but occasionally I will eat a filet mignon

 

Depends what kind of mood I'm in... I like meat once in a while, but I also have cravings for stuff like Salmon, Tuna, Sushi, lobster, crab legs, etc.

So it depends. We've been on a big crab leg kick... ate 12 pounds of it Saturday night at our house (had company over, wasn't just my wife and I ).

But the best nights are steak and lobster night. Had some over at my neighbor's house... a filet and lobster for each of us. That was good shit... but that only happens once every two months or so...

 

Dunno how "duh" these suggestions are, but here goes:

The freshness and type of the tuna helps obviously and I don't think freshness is the problem. For some reason, I find bluefin tuna grills easier than bigeye.

As well, at Chinatown, I'm often able to score some "sashimi" graded tuna--which I in turn use for grilling...and usually, these taste the best...and of again, it's because the sashimi-graded cuts are because they are very fresh.

 

Tuna is rather mild, almost meaty tasting. However, canned tuna is just about the fishiest thing in the world next to a jar of anchoives.

 

Hoping to be able to pick up some halibut tonight...I've got an insanely mad craving for it. Almost as bad as my robot-lust!

 

When you say "seared" do you mean mostly raw with just the very very outside cooked? If so, what kind of tuna are you already buying? Scott prefers Ahi tuna cooked that way, but he only sears it for like 3-4 SECONDS on each side rather than 3-4 minutes like Beertoot, here, who is fully cooking his.

I don't really know how to cook them though, I'm just passing on what I've seen Scott do. And he swears by the Ahi.

 

If you don't like "fishy" fish, you may want to try out snapper, halibut, pickerel for starters...

There are more examples...but, those are the ones that come immediately to mind.

 

Right and I eat canned tuna....I think it's because I ate a lot growing up and just never associated it with it being fish...

 

I guess of everything said so far, you're preference for species is the most helpful.

Problem is, "Ahi" is such a broad term and restaurants narely go any deeper. So I never know what to match up with the "perfect" restaurant Tuna.

I may make Tuna tonight, just to try for the 10000th time to get that $40/plate taste and texture.

 

I should try it....Fish is actually one of the healtiest foods out there...

 

It's not fish, it's the chicken of the sea...

I love tuna. In fact, I have tuna noodle casserole here for lunch today!

My answer to the poll is that I much prefer seafood to red meat, so you've got a friend in me, Yum!

 

Yeah, give that a try. Cuz, if it's not your prep-work seeing how you're pretty good with your cooking skillz, it's gotta be the species of fish...

Bluefin is usually the preferred fish for sashimi...so, it's likely the best one for grilling with. Mind you, it's also the pricier when it comes to tuna. G'luck!

 

Actually like I said...my grill really sucks. 3-4 minutes cooks about a centimeter into the fish. The outside ends up nicely seared and hot, the inside is still completely raw though.

Maybe somehow this shitty grill actually helps cook tuna... its the only thing that really turns out well from it.

 

Absolutely. And that crap about mercury...? Sure, if you eat fish by the tonnes. Certainly, there are fishes that have more than others...and if you are genuinely concerned about that, there are many online articles that detail which species are lowest when it comes to level of mercury and etc.


Benefits of fish >>>>> benefits of meats, IMHO.

 

yeah, "seared".

and yeah, "Ahi", but Ahi isn't one type of Tuna. it's a word used to describe like a dozen species of Tuna...

in any case, I'm going to assume Scott uses Yellowtail... as do I.

and yes, i always just sear the outside... but... usually more like 15-30 seconds per side for a good sized steak (i like the interior to be a little warm - like at restaurants).

 

I'm going to have to try to locate some Bluefin. I've never cooked with it.

Actually, I'm not sure I've ever even seen it around here.

Does anyone have a favorite website to purchase fish from?

 

I am really embarrassed right now because I swear to God I thought "Ahi" was a species.

I'm going to keep my nose out of this one from now on...

 

I love both, however a good cut of meat is easier to find than a good seafood cut. I'm really turned off by anything other than super-fresh fish. So, I usually only put it in my menu rotation when I know I'll be shopping someplace reliable.

 

The problem is too few places encourage you to buy your fish frozen, as in most instances you should.

Most places won't even sell you frozen cuts if you ASK for them.

This is the only reason I wish I lived in a major city or on the west coast... quality seafood supply.

 

I thought "Ahi" was a species until I started buying/cooking the stuff too

 

Also, heres another question.

Do you guys typically buy pre-cut steaks or whole loins?

 

A new asian market opened up near my house. Along with about 500,000 gallons worth of tanks with live fish (catfish, talapia, lobster, crabs, frogs), they have some great frozen stuff. I got a 4 pound block of tuna the other day... looks like quality stuff and it was 1/3 the price of any of the normal places I go.

 

loins when possible.

 

It can still be very hit or miss out here.

I have pacific coast swordfish on the menu for saturday night, and I'm prepared to drive all the way down to Monterey (CA) to get some fresh cuts. That's a 2-hour drive to get to this place: http://www.philsfishmarket.com/.

I live in an excellent area for seafood (bay area) and I still have a problem finding good stuff - hence the excursion to Monterey.

 

Pre-cut here...

 

ah i saw that joint on TV last night!

 

phil's sells fish online, anyone order from there before?

 

The single best seafood meal I ever had in my life came from this place. It's a restaurant as well as a market. The restaurant sells bare-bones platters that you order at a counter and they bring out to you. If you're ever in the Bay Area, make the trip down. It's worth it.

 

Never ordered on-line. It warrants some investigation though.

 

Actually in looking at their on-line restaurant menu, it looks like the scaled up the foo-foo she-she level. That's disappointing.

 

Thinking better to order from the source/supplier than a market... but still...

I've ordered things other than seafood from Diamond Organics before... maybe i'll try their fish.

Don't we have a guy here that sells fish online?

 

I tell fish tales online...

We get our stuff from Santa Monica Seafood. http://www.santamonicaseafood.com/

But it's one of those snooty markets where you have to make sure you're wearing all your bling before you go in or they'll insinuate that you should buy your fish at Safeway like all the other plebes. Excellent fish, though.

 

Definitely meat over seafood.

Steak > chicken > turkey > fish

I don't eat most seafood and haven't found many fish I actually like. Yellowtail is what I'll usually grill - end up getting frozen steaks from Trader Joes. They aren't the reddest steaks, but the taste and texture is usually fine. Every once in a while, I'll get high grade fresh yellowtail from a fish market.

Some interesting info on Ahi and more specifically on yellowtail relating to previous discussions:
http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/seafood/yellowfin.html

They had a store in Orange, but it closed fairly recently. Was only opened for a few years.

 

Never did it either...just something about being able to inspect my purchase before paying that prevents me from ordering through a computer screen.