Top 5 Friday – 5 Reasons to Buy a Whole Albacore Tuna

After the pig picture, I have been asked by some of my more sensitive readers to shout out a little warning the next time things are about to get ugly around here.  So, if the idea of cutting up a 20+ frozen-at-sea Albacore doesn’t appeal to you, then this probably isn’t the post for you.

If, on the other hand, you can look beyond Charlie’s cold dead eye — to the tuna that lies within — you’ll find 10lb worth of sushi-grade reasons to go get your own big fish.

1.  You get an included anatomy lesson.  Learn to tell the head from the tail, the pelvic fin from the pectoral, and the liver from the kidneys!

Then, once the guts are gone, you get not 1…not 2…not 3…but 4 tries to cut away the most perfect fillet you can.  It’s knife acrobatics at its best — the blade doesn’t fly through the air, but it does twist at quite the right angle when you hit the spine.

2.  Options.  When you have a big-ass fish, you always have options.  Once all of Charlie’s good bits are safe in the fridge, take a moment to ponder.  There’s sushi, sashimi, carpaccio, ceviche and any other number of ways to keep it raw.  Or, you could go for nearly raw, like we did.

We like seared tuna so much that we had it 2 nights in a row.  First, I rubbed a big honkin’ piece with sesame oil, then I crusted it in coarse black pepper and sesame seeds.  After all 3 sides were quickly seared in a hot pan brushed with oil, we had it with a salad, some edamame, and a citrusy Ponzu sauce.

On the second night, I crusted another hunk o’ tuna with some panko, ground fennel seeds and a pinch of cayenne.  This time it sat on top of a warm orzo & pesto salad, and was accompanied by some preserved lemon mayo.

3.  After you’ve stuffed yourself to the gills with the “fresh” stuff, you’ll still have lots left to smoke.  That way, it’ll keep in the fridge for another couple of weeks.

I found the method for me in this forum.  I cured the tuna for 4 hours in a mix of 2 parts brown sugar and 1 part coarse sea salt, then rinsed of the fish and allowed it to air dry until tacky (a fan helps).  I hot smoked it with hickory for about an hour at 165°F (75°C), until the internal temp of the fish was 115°F (46°C).  Done.

Or is it?

4.  Big fish=canning…eleven psi for 100 minutes in the pressure canner, and behold my winter stash of canned smoked tuna:

5.  Here’s the clincher.  Even if you’re still not convinced, you will be when I give you the bottom line.  We paid $40 for a 20 lb, locally and sustainably caught fish that yielded 10 lbs of meat.  That works out to $4/lb, or about $5/jar.

Stick that in your pipe Bradley and smoke it.