Choosing and precaution
Marinated tuna uses fresh tuna. And as we learned, fresh fish is prone to anisakis, a nasty parasite. To avoid unpleasant surprises, freeze the chunk for at least 96 hours. Better safe than sorry, right?
You don’t need the leanest part of the fish. But neither go for the fattest part. Ideal would be the middle abdomen cut. Elena suggest to settle with the available cuts.
Ingredients
The ingredients to prepare marinated tuna are few. The choice of salt is easy: use sea salt. Sugar-wise the choice is more complex. Whereas refined white sugar is neutral, cane sugar tends to be more present.
Don’t use too explicit herbs and spices, since they change the outcome enormously. Possible herbs thyme, oregano, rosemary sage and dill. Avoid adding citrus fruit in any form. Zests, juice or chunks take the upper hand. The leading role is written for tuna and tuna only.
Preparing marinated tuna
Let the tuna defrost thoroughly. Use a paper towel to dry the surface. Gently rub the fillet with the sugar and salt mix. Lay the tuna and the herbs in a tray.
Cover the tay with cling film. Let the tuna sit in the fridge for twelve straight hours. Turn the tuna over, remove the liquid and let it sit for another twelve hours. The tuna is then fully marinated.
Elena says
Elena says tap water is best to rinse your marinated tuna. A gentle scrub before drying the fillets. Ice water makes the fillets excessively hard, warm water results in a gooey fillet.
An alternative is the milk bath. As it is done for anchovy and capers. It is an interesting technique, but it still requires a rinsing with water afterwards.
How to serve marinated tuna
This is a classic anti pasto. Although it makes an excellent aperitivo as well. Use your best knife to finely slice the marinated tuna. The single slices can be plated easily. Served with specially made orange mayonnaise for example.
With some more cutting, a tartare appears. Always an elegant preparation.
For sure less elegant but oh so tasty is making a sandwich. Where the tuna is the basis. And your imagination the limit.
