How to Grill Tuna Steak
on Aug 25, 2023
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Flaky, moist and meaty, tuna grills up much like a steak, and it's a perfect summer dinner with a scoop of fresh tomato salsa on top.
Grilled tuna is one of the most popular fish to cook on the grill for good reason. Steak fish, such as salmon, tuna, halibut, mahi mahi, and swordfish, are the easiest to cook on the grill because of their firm texture and dense consistency. Tuna is a real treat, especially when cooked to medium-rare, with a rosy red center and a nicely charry exterior.
The tomato salsa is optional, but such a lovely way to turn a perfectly grilled piece of tuna into a Mediterranean-Provencal summer meal. You might also think of topping the steak with Salsa Verde for a change of pace. A squeeze of fresh lemon is also an option if you just want to keep the tune plain. However you top your tuna, think about serving it with Cauliflower Potato Salad, Grilled Onions, or Simple Couscous Salad.
Table of Contents
Grilled Tuna: Flaky, moist and meaty, tuna grills up much like a steak, and it’s a perfect summer dinner with a scoop of fresh tomato salsa on top.
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Ingredients
For the Tuna Steaks:
- Tuna steaks – Super fresh, 1 ¼-inch thick, about 6 to 8 ounces each.
- Olive oil – For brushing the tuna steaks to keep them from drying out or sticking to the grill.
- Lemon – For squeezing over at the end (optional).
For the Optional Tomato-Caper Salsa:
- Cherry or grape tomatoes – Cut into quarters.
- Shallot
- Fresh basil – Fresh is a must here; no dried allowed!
- Capers
- Olive oil
The Best Kind of Tuna For Grilling
Tuna steaks are a perfect grilling fish because they are dense and meaty. You can use yellowfin, albacore, bluefish, bigeye, or ahi.
You want to make sure — as with any fish — that your fish is perfectly fresh before grilling, especially if you are going to leave it on the rarer side. And I am of the opinion that tuna is at its very best when it’s seared on the outside but still quite rare on the inside. You can use tuna loins instead of tuna steaks if you can find them.
How to Keep Fish From Sticking to the Grill
First, make sure your grill is very clean! Scrape down the grill grates with a grill brush, then oil the grill gates. Drizzle some oil on a clean paper towel or dip a paper towel into a little bowl of vegetable oil. Then, use your tongs to rub the oiled paper towel over the grill grates until they are shiny. If you are using a grill basket or grill grate (see below), oil that as well.
Also, lightly oil the fish itself before grilling it. If the fish is in a marinade that contains oil, that will suffice. Otherwise, use a brush to give the fish a very light coating of oil. You can use olive oil or vegetable oil, whichever works best with the flavors of the fish recipe. Vegetable oil is more neutral, and olive oil works well with any Mediterranean-style fish dish.
Steven Raichlen, the BBQ Guru, offers a couple of interesting tips for preventing fish from sticking on the grill.
- As you place a filet on the grill, gently slide it an inch or so forward to prevent it from sticking.
- When you are ready to flip the fish, flip it into an oiled part of the grill that no fish was cooked on before — a totally clean new space.
How Long to Cook Tuna on the Grill
For thinner steaks (1 inch or so), I would just flip them once so that the inside doesn’t overcook before the exterior is seared with nice grill marks. With thicker steaks, however, you can flip them a total of three times, turning the steaks a quarter turn as you flip them so they get those nice crosshatched grill marks.
If you feel your steaks might be cooking too fast, you can do two flips. Then, serve the steaks with the crosshatched side up and the side with the single direction grill marks down on the plate.
Tuna Steak Grilling Times
| Thickness | Doneness | Time Per Side |
|---|---|---|
| 1-inch thick steaks | Rare (soft to the touch) | 2 to 3 minutes |
| 1-inch thick steaks | Medium-Rare (a bit firmer, but yielding) | 3 to 4 minutes |
| 1-inch thick steaks | Medium (firm to the touch) | 4 to 5 minutes |
| 1-inch thick steaks | Medium-Well | 5 to 6 minutes |
| 1-¼ inch thick steaks | Rare (soft to the touch) | 3 to 4 minutes |
| 1-¼ inch thick steaks | Medium Rare (a bit firmer, but yielding) | 4 to 5 minutes |
| 1-¼ inch thick steaks | Medium (firm to the touch) | 5 to 6 minutes |
| 1-¼ inch thick steaks | Medium-Well | 6 to 7 minutes |
| 1-½ inch thick steaks | Rare (soft to the touch) | 4 to 5 minutes |
| 1-½ inch thick steaks | Medium-Rare (a bit firmer, but yielding) | 5 to 6 minutes |
| 1-½ inch thick steaks | Medium (firm to the touch) | 6 to 7 minutes |
| 1-½ inch thick steaks | Medium-Well | 7 to 8 minutes |
| 2-inch thick steaks | Rare (soft to the touch) | 5 to 6 minutes |
| 2-inch thick steaks | Medium-Rare (a bit firmer, but yielding) | 6 to 7 minutes |
| 2-inch thick steaks | Medium (firm to the touch) | 7 to 8 minutes |
| 2-inch thick steaks | Medium-Well (quite firm) | 8 to 9 minutes |
How to Keep Tuna From Overcooking on the Grill
It sounds obvious, but you really need to just keep an eye on it! Fish cooks very quickly on the grill and can go from medium-rare to overcooked in a couple of minutes. Don’t walk away from the grill unless you have a timer set that will prevent you from getting distracted and missing your moment.
Using a Fish Basket to Grill Tuna
A fish grilling basket is a great investment if you like to grill fish. These are hinged wire baskets that allow the exterior of the fish to get direct contact with the grill and the fire. Put the tuna in the basket, close the latch, and turn the basket to turn the fish.
A fish grate is another option. This is a grate that lays flat on the grill. Because it is flat, it allows a spatula to slide underneath the fish a lot more cleanly than the straight grill bars.
FAQs
The two things to remember are 1) brush the fish with olive oil before grilling, and 2) don’t overcook your tuna! If you like your tuna cooked all the way through, make sure to take it off the heat as soon as it is ALMOST cooked through to your liking, as the fish will continue to cook a bit more once it’s removed from the grill.
Nope. In general, you should not wash any meat or fish before cooking as that can cause any possible bacteria to spread. If your fish is fresh, the heat from the cooking will take care of any bacteria that you should be concerned about.
While it’s not absolutely necessary, bringing your fish to room temperature will allow it to cook more evenly. If the fish is cold when it hits the grill, the outside will cook much more quickly than the inside, possibly resulting in an overcooked exterior and a too-rare interior. However, if you like this contrast between a seared outside and a red interior, you can cook your fish right from the fridge.
How to Grill Tuna
- Prepare the grill and tuna: Preheat the grill to high. Brush and oil the grill grate. Trim any dark spots from the tuna steaks. Pat the steaks dry with clean paper towels. Brush the tuna with the olive oil, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Grill the steaks: Grill 1 ¼-inch thick steaks for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip the steak and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until done to your liking.
- Remove from the grill: Place the tuna on a serving platter or individual plates. Squeeze a lemon quarter over each steak.
- Serve: Serve the salsa on the side, if desired, or top each piece of fish with some of the salsa. Serve hot or warm.
What Goes With Grilled Tuna?
This recipe is for a very simple piece of grilled tuna with a lovely Nicoise-style salsa on top. The salsa is made with cherry tomatoes, shallots, fresh basil, and capers. Very Provençal in spirit. Other salsas and sauces that would be great with grilled tuna include:
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Grilled Tuna Steak with Nicoise Tomato Salsa
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Tomato-Caper-Olive Salsa (optional):
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (quartered)
- 1 shallot (minced)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 2 teaspoons capers (drained)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
For the Tuna Steaks:
- 4 (1 ¼-inch thick) tuna steaks (6 to 8 ounces each)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)
- 1 lemon (cut into quarters)
Instructions
- Make the salsa: in a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallot, basil, capers, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Heat the grill to high. Scrub the grill rack with a grill brush. Use grilling tongs to dip a wad of paper towels in some vegetable oil, and use the oil-dipped paper towels to wipe down the grill rack.
- Pat the steaks dry with clean paper towels. Brush the tuna with the olive oil, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
- Grill 1-inch steaks for 3 minutes, then flip the steak and cook for another 3 minutes or until done to your liking.
- Place the tuna on a serving platter or individual plates. Squeeze a lemon quarter over each steak. Serve the salsa on the side, or top each piece with some of the salsa. Serve hot or warm. Let sit for 2 minutes before slicing. You can also serve the steaks sliced.
Notes
- As you place a filet on the grill, gently slide it an inch or so forward to prevent it from sticking.
- When you are ready to flip the fish, flip it into an oiled part of the grill that no fish was cooked on before — a totally clean new space.
