Seared Tuna Steak

May 9, 2025

6

This completely seared tuna steak is good as a straightforward weeknight dinner—it’s one among my favourite protein-packed pescatarian recipes! Listed below are my knowledgeable ideas for cooking this tasty fish and prime concepts for tactics to serve it.

Tuna steak is a kind of magical proteins that don’t style such as you’d anticipate. When cooked nicely, it tastes much less like fish and extra like a chunk of hen or steak!

Sear up a steak and it’s one among my favourite meals—excessive in protein, cooks in beneath 5 minutes, and surprisingly connoisseur. Its meaty, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture and well-seasoned exterior makes it excellent for every part from weeknight dinners to impressing company at a cocktail party.

This tuna steak recipe is excellent for pescatarians, tuna followers, or dwelling cooks on the lookout for a fast meal massive on recent, high-quality elements. In truth, I like this recipe a lot that Alex and I included a rendition of it in our A Couple Cooks Cookbook, served with this chimichurri sauce!

Shopping for High quality Tuna Steaks

This recipe begins with an incredible piece of fish. Ahi tuna, also called yellowfin tuna or bigeye tuna, is a light, lean fish typically utilized in sushi, poke bowls, or cooked uncommon or medium-rare. It’s bought as thick steaks on the grocery retailer, not skinny fillets like different kinds of fish.

Right here’s what to search for when shopping for tuna steaks:

Contemplate sushi or sashimi grade. There are not any particular laws across the label “sushi-grade,” but it surely means the fish is high-quality and protected to be eaten uncooked.
Examine the fish counter. It’s best to be capable of discover ahi tuna steaks at your native grocery counter. “Common” tuna typically refers back to the canned, albacore, or skipjack kinds of tuna. (Bluefin tuna is the rarest and most costly, but it surely’s not essential right here.)
Search for frozen steaks. These may be even brisker than recent tuna in the event that they’re flash frozen proper once they’re caught. You’ll simply must thaw them within the fridge the evening earlier than.
Discover wild-caught fish. Wild-caught fish is normally a extra sustainable alternative, however high quality choices can be found in well-regulated farms. See the Seafood Watch Client Information.

Finest Option to Cook dinner and Sear

This seared tuna steak takes simply 2 to 4 minutes, so that you received’t need to wander too far-off out of your skillet. Listed below are the essential steps for this one (or you possibly can go forward and leap proper to the recipe):

Step 1: Enable steaks to come back to room temperature. (Give them about 20 minutes.) That is essential. In any other case, the within will stay chilly whereas the skin is cooked.

Step 2: Season tuna steaks with salt and pepper. We use about ¾ teaspoon for each 8 ounces.

Step 3: Warmth oil in a non-stick or forged iron skillet over medium-high warmth and prepare dinner the steaks for 1 to 2 minutes per facet. They need to be browned on the skin however uncommon on the within.

The inner temperature of your tuna steaks must be 130°F for medium-rare. You possibly can measure the temperature by inserting a meals thermometer into the thickest a part of the steak. Enable your steaks to relaxation for two minutes earlier than slicing them into strips.

When you’re serving ahi tuna to kids or pregnant ladies, you received’t need the within uncooked. In these situations, prepare dinner your steaks to medium; I promise they’ll be simply as meaty and scrumptious! To attain a medium doneness, prepare dinner to an inside temperature round 135°F. It’s nonetheless not a pan-fried dish, however your steaks will not be pink on the within.

Tried, Tasted, and 5-Star Permitted

“Turned out nice! I regarded up your tuna steak recipe primarily for the cooking directions and ideas to ensure I didn’t spoil our pretty wild caught fish. I used a light-weight mix of Outdated Bay seasoning, lemon pepper, and sea salt. Moist, tender, flavorful, not overcooked. The entire household cherished it!”

– Pamela M.

Serve With Sauces and Sides

I like my garlic herb sauce with recent herbs and capers for any tuna steak recipe, but it surely actually is dependent upon what you’re going for in your last dish. Listed below are a couple of extra tasty sauces for seared tuna:

Hoisin: For Asian-style flavors, attempt savory hoisin sauce for dipping. It’s candy and savory for the proper mix of that elusive umami.
Ponzu: This Japanese dipping sauce, made with soy sauce and citrus juice, is a pleasant distinction to the tuna’s meaty taste.
Teriyaki: You possibly can decide up a bottle on the grocery retailer, however I even have a straightforward recipe for do-it-yourself teriyaki.

As for sides, you possibly can pair ahi tuna steaks with absolutely anything to show them into a whole, wholesome dinner. Listed below are a couple of concepts for fast sides that may be made within the time it takes to relaxation and prepare dinner your steaks:

Grains: Use no matter grain you want, corresponding to quinoa or farro. You possibly can additionally add rice to make a spin-off model of a poke bowl.
Salads: Add some additional protein with a white bean salad or maintain it recent and easy with a romaine lettuce salad.
Pastas: Serve your tuna on a mattress of fluffy couscous or orzo with lemon juice for some acidity in your dish.
Veggies: For a steadiness of textures, I like to stay to crunchy veggies like snow peas or sautéed broccoli.

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Tuna Steak

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Cooking tuna steaks isn’t difficult, but it surely does require some consideration to element. Right here’s how I get an incredible sear and unimaginable taste.

Creator: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook dinner Time: 5 minutes
Whole Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 2 4-ounce servings
Class: Fish
Methodology: Seared

Elements

2 8-oz ahi tuna steaks
½ tablespoon impartial oil
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly floor black pepper, to style

Cook dinner Mode

Forestall your display from going darkish

Directions

Carry the tuna steaks to room temperature by letting them sit for at the least 20 minutes. Pat the tuna dry.
Sprinkle the fish liberally with the kosher salt and recent floor black pepper on each side.
Warmth the oil in a medium skillet over medium-excessive warmth.
Add the tuna steaks and prepare dinner 1-2 minutes per facet till evenly browned on the skin however nonetheless uncommon on the within.
Cool for two minutes, then slice the tuna towards the grain into ½-inch slices.
Serve instantly, with a sauce if desired.

Notes

A impartial oil is healthier than butter for searing tuna steaks as a result of it may deal with increased warmth with out burning. Searing is greatest quick and sizzling, so that you need oil with a excessive smoking level, like grapeseed or vegetable oil. Olive oil is ok, but it surely provides a little bit of a unique taste profile to the dish.

Grilled tuna steak is simply as fast and scrumptious as a sizzling pan. You’ll use the identical seasonings however can play with the smokiness when it’s time for sauces. I like my chimichurri sauce with cilantro or a pink pepper romesco for grilled fish recipes and summertime dinners.

This tuna recipe doesn’t name for a marinade, however you possibly can at all times add a fast marinade for additional taste. Preserve it quick. About 15-Half-hour in a soy-, citrus-, or sesame oil-based sauce is greater than sufficient for marinated, pan-seared tuna.

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FAQs

Can tuna steak be eaten uncooked?

Tuna steak can typically be eaten uncooked if labeled “sushi-grade” or “sashimi-grade.” Meaning the vendor has deemed it fit for human consumption uncooked as a result of it meets particular processing requirements.
You’ll discover uncooked tuna in pokes, tartares, and sashimi. When you’re uncertain in regards to the supply, you possibly can prepare dinner your tuna all over.

How do you make a crusted tuna steak (e.g., sesame-crusted)?

To make a crusted tuna steak, coat your tuna with a sauce after patting it dry to assist your crust elements stick. Sprinkle all sides of your tuna together with your crust combine, which usually contains sesame seeds, then press it down into each bit. Sear your steaks in the identical method from there.