Perfectly grilled tuna, sliced into thin segments with seared edges and a pink middle, is a culinary work of art. Cooking high-quality tuna doesn’t take very long; it only needs a little oil, salt, and pepper to reach perfection. But finding the sweet spot between raw and dry requires a little practice and a trained eye. Equally important, tuna will stick to the grill if it isn’t properly prepared or if the sear on the fish isn’t complete. There’s a point when a tuna steak is ready to flip and then remove from the grill, and it will happen within a couple of minutes on each side.
Though there are several ways to cook fish, pros say grilling tuna is tastiest. You’re looking for a change of color from pink to an opaque tan creeping just barely up the sides of the steak. Once you see it, you’ll know, but it may take some practice. There are other factors contributing to successfully flipping a tuna steak. You need a quality piece of meat that’s good and thick (so it won’t cook too quickly or all the way through), a clean, hot grill that’s lightly oiled, and the right equipment. But as experts say, tuna will tell you when it’s time to be flipped.
Prep both the grill and the fish for perfect tuna
To begin, you want the best piece of tuna you can comfortably afford — one you feel confident barely cooking (look for sushi-grade). In fact, the best interior temperature for grilled tuna is a little lower than you think. Pull it off the grill at the FDA-recommended 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and you’ll wind up with a chewy, dry chunk of sadness. Get a nice thick slab of meat — somewhere between one-and-a-half and two inches, which is ideal for steaks, so the exterior can sear before fully cooking the interior.
Pat the tuna completely dry, give it a very light coating of oil, and a little salt. Make certain your grill is clean, oiled, and hot (400 Fahrenheit or higher) to get a good sear. Set the steaks on the grill and wait. The side in contact with the grill will turn a light tan within a minute. Watch for it to start just creeping up the sides of the fish, perhaps a quarter inch. The tuna will be ready to turn when your spatula slides effortlessly under the steak. Don’t force it: If the grill is too cool or you haven’t seared the side completely, the fish will stick and tear as you turn it over. Flip and repeat, ideally to a different part of the grill, avoiding any bits that did stick and using a new section of the grate that’s nice and hot.
