j biesinger
TVWBB Platinum Member
I thought I'd try smoking some tuna since a local sushi bar serves a fantastic "cajun tuna" that's cajun rubbed and smoke. I found some nice fresh tuna locally that was a steal for 9.99 a pound. The piece I got was from the small part of the loin and was almost a pound. I was rather happy about that since I was looking for something thicker than a 1/2" steak that would cook before it smoked.
I salted it and wrapped it in paper towels about an hour before cooking. I rubbed it with some homemade togarashi shichimi that I had on hand. I had made the togarashi several months ago and the orange zest had mellowed somewhat, so it was actually better after aging (originally the orange was too pronounced). I tossed the loin on after I pulled an eye round that just finished. I added some hickory and alder and let it go for about 45 minutes, I'm not sure of the temp, but it was probably around 300*.
start of cook:
Finish of cook:
For my taste, it was a bit over done. At the thickest part it retained a little pink and it was really tasty. Everybody seemed to like it and most people actually said that they preferred tuna cooked through, so they were happy. I saved the pink part and gave out bits to those at that party that preferred rare tuna. The togarashi worked well here, with the short cook it retained a lot of its flavor and worked well with the alder smoke. I think I'll ease back on the shichimi next time since the finished product was a tad spicy and overwhelmed the flavor of the loin.
stay tuned, I'll be sure to try this again.
I salted it and wrapped it in paper towels about an hour before cooking. I rubbed it with some homemade togarashi shichimi that I had on hand. I had made the togarashi several months ago and the orange zest had mellowed somewhat, so it was actually better after aging (originally the orange was too pronounced). I tossed the loin on after I pulled an eye round that just finished. I added some hickory and alder and let it go for about 45 minutes, I'm not sure of the temp, but it was probably around 300*.
start of cook:
Finish of cook:
For my taste, it was a bit over done. At the thickest part it retained a little pink and it was really tasty. Everybody seemed to like it and most people actually said that they preferred tuna cooked through, so they were happy. I saved the pink part and gave out bits to those at that party that preferred rare tuna. The togarashi worked well here, with the short cook it retained a lot of its flavor and worked well with the alder smoke. I think I'll ease back on the shichimi next time since the finished product was a tad spicy and overwhelmed the flavor of the loin.
stay tuned, I'll be sure to try this again.