Smoked albacore

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I did a search on all the open forums for "albacore", and didn't come up with much of anything... just one old post from 2000 where Chris was going to do his first salmon.

We did baby back ribs on the WSM this past Sunday (EXCELLENT results). While Kevin was outside checking on things, our next door neighbor stopped by and said he wanted to bring us an albacore tuna to smoke in a week or so. He said he would give us half the fish, if we were interested. Kevin said "Yes" and then told me about it.

Our neighbor just stopped by and said he should have an albacore this weekend (or next?). I'm assuming it will be whole, but I really have no idea. I'm kind of flying by the seat of my pants here. Truth be told, I'm not asking the neighbor any questions because I want to come across as some whiz kid who actually knows what she's doing. /infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Any ideas? If it's whole, should I smoke it whole? Filet it and leave the skin on? Brine it? What kind of wood?

In other words, how do I pull this off?? /infopop/emoticons/icon_eek.gif

Kelly
 
Kelly, try this website www.3men.com
They go through the whole process with some pictures in the process. Or try www.randyq.addr.com also a great place to see how it's done. I used Randy's method and the results were fantastic. Good Luck, Warren
 
Thanks, Warren. I've bookmarked Randy's page and will try his method. I'll let you all know how it turns out; I'm not sure if we're doing it this weekend or next.

Kelly
 
Thanks, Ryan. I think my neighbor is really set on it being smoked, so I'll go ahead with that. I do LOVE seared ahi tuna, so I'll bet the albacore would be just as good seared and served rare.

Kelly
 
Hey Kelly!
Some here would think your kinda wasting a valuable piece of Ahi by smoking it. Fish that good would be eaten either seared rare or outright raw (sashimi) over here. But personally I think smoking the ahi sounds like a pretty good idea. I used a Marlin and smoked it and used for "Poke" (A type of seafood salad) and it turned out awsome, even for those who preferred it raw thought it was good! Take about a pound of smoked Marlin or Ahi in your case, cube into bite size, add about a table spoon of shoy sauce, sesame oil, half a round onion sliced thin, some chili flakes, pinch of salt, green onions and mix - chill for about an hour to blend flavors and eat. Goes great with beer and a good football game! Pacific regional chef Sam Choy does something like this except he uses raw fish and after mixing will sear in a Wok and cook his "Poke". Just thought I add an other idea to an already delicious one your cooking up. Aloha! have a nice weekend everyone: mattD
 
Matt
That's a keeper.
Kelly
The only thing you have to worry about is over cooking, don't let it go dry or it will toughen up on ya.
Jim
 
Matt, we'll be smoking albacore, not ahi, but you have me drooling for sure!! In fact, if one had a really fresh piece of ahi, that salad sounds good without cooking the fish!

Jim, that's my concern.... overdoing it and drying it out. Since the neighbor didn't come over today, I can only assume we'll be doing this next weekend. /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Kelly
 
Okay, now I'm REALLY confused. Our neighbor just stopped by and handed me 3 pounds of albacore, and a bag of scraps for the cat. He said he has the rest of the albacore at home and is going to BBQ it. He handed me a couple of recipes to copy if I wanted and said "I'm going to use the first one."

So, he's just giving us 3 pounds of albacore because.... he's a nice guy? We're nice neighbors? Heck, we hardly even know him. We did spend 4th of July a couple of years ago sitting in his back yard with his dog, who was scared to death of the fireworks and trying to break out of the yard while he and his wife were out, and we do give the dog lamb bones and pet it when we see it, but is that tuna-worthy?

Oh, what the heck.... we and the cats are grateful!

Kelly

P.S. Of course, we'll bring him a sample!
 
Update... our neighbor ended up bringing us a couple of pounds of albacore and requested that we smoke it. I did some salmon on the bottom grate and albacore on the top (I wanted the albacore on top so I could keep a close eye on it). I used the brown sugar rub from "Let's Cook" for both, applied it for 3-1/2 hours then rinsed thoroughly and dried to form the pellicle. I used one chimney of charcoal and the WSM maintained a temp of about 215-225 at the lid throughout the entire cook.

Both turned out fantastic. The albacore, which I was afraid of drying out, was perfectly done at one hour, quite tender and very moist. The salmon stayed on for another hour and was also very moist and tasty. The neighbor was impressed with the albacore and I have a feeling he'll be back for more, which is fine with me, if he keeps giving us free fish! /infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Breakfast this morning was bagels and cream cheese, topped with smoked salmon on one half and smoked albacore on the other, both halves topped with mashed avocados and a generous sprinkling of fresh ground pepper.

*burp!*

Kelly

P.S. Jim, next time Costco has fresh ahi, I'll do it pepper-crusted and grill it hot and fast. Seared ahi is to die for.
 
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