Healthy, quick and delicious, in our books, the perfect tuna steak will be neatly seared on the outside and beautifully rare on the inside.
For best results, use a heavy-based grilling pan preheated until it’s piping hot (so hot that you see smoke rising from the pan) and keep a close eye on cooking times for the perfect result: about 30 seconds per side for rare or 1–2 minutes for medium depending on the steak thickness. If you really want it well done, then you're looking at about 3 minutes per side.
If you prefer your tuna steaks coated in sesame seeds, then our sesame tuna tataki recipe is there with two reliable coating methods.
Ingredients for 2:
- 2x tuna loins
- About 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
- Serve with french fries
- Optional sesame seeds
Side sauces:
- Lemon and caper sauce
- 3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and pat dry
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Asian vinaigrette (soy-lime), see recipe here
- Lemon dijon cream sauce, see recipe here
Method:
1. Prepare the tuna steaks by patting them dry with kitchen paper or a clean towel, lightly brush with a touch of oil and season to taste.
2. Heat the heavy-based grilling pan until it’s piping hot (so hot that you see smoke rising from the pan).
3. Prepare your side sauce if using one: for the lemon & caper sauce, mash the capers with a fork in a small bowl, then stir in lemon juice, olive oil and parsley with a sprinkle of salt & freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
4. Using cooking tongs, carefully place the tuna steaks in the smoking-hot pan to sear on one side, without moving, until the bottom is golden brown and the steak releases easily from the pan. For best results, sear about 30 seconds per side for rare or 1–2 minutes for medium depending on the steak thickness. Use the tongs to hold the steaks and sear the sides for a few seconds if desired.
5. If you're slicing it before serving (to show off that beautiful pink centre), then let is cool for a couple of minutes on a chopping board so the meat rests up and it's easier to slice. Otherwise place on serving plates with your desired sides and sauce.
6. Enjoy!
