yellowfin tuna

Tuna Tartare with a Texas Twist

/ Ren

Fresh jalapeños, scallions, sea salt and a touch of sesame oil is sandwiched between layers of pole-caught ahi tuna (1/4-inch dice) combined with  olive oil, fresh grapefruit juice, sea salt, black pepper and freshly-ground coriander.

The dish is plated with fresh Texas grapefruit pieces tossed with raw coconut aminos (think soy-free soy sauce), mirin and cilantro.  Toasted hemp seeds top the raw tuna..

Tuna Tartare with a Texas Twist

When eating raw tuna, take care to ensure that it is exceedingly fresh and that you keep it well chilled at all times.  I cut the tuna into steaks and place them in the freezer just until they begin to firm up, then dice, season and serve as quickly as possible.

Please don’t use any threatened species of tuna or those caught in an environmentally destructive manner!

Pan-Seared, Pole-Caught Maguro with Habanero Mango Sauce

/ Ren

Pole-and-line-caught US Atlantic yellowfin tuna is quickly seared in ginger and lemongrass-infused coconut oil and served with a fresh habanero mango sauce..

Pan-Seared, Pole-Caught Maguro with Habanero Mango Sauce

Infused oil

3 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
1 tablespoon freshly-grated ginger
1 6″ piece fresh lemongrass, split
2-3 sprigs fresh cilantro
1/2 fresh habanero, stemmed and seeded

Melt coconut oil over medium heat until very hot but not smoking .  Add ginger, lemongrass, cilantro and chile, remove from heat and allow to steep 20 minutes. Discard lemongrass.

Mango Sauce

1 fresh mango, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed Mayer lemon juice
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
the ginger, cilantro and chile from above recipe
1 tablespoon infused oil from above recipe
filtered water
sea salt

Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until smooth, adding water as needed to achieve a spoon-able consistency. Adjust for salt and chill until ready to serve.

Seared Tuna

very fresh tuna steaks, about 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons infused oil from above recipe
sea salt
freshly-ground red and black peppercorns

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes. Coat tuna with infused oil and season with salt and pepper.  Sear about 1 minute per side for rare, then transfer to a cutting board and allow to rest 5 minutes before carving into 3/8 inch thick slices. Spoon mango sauce into the center of a plate and arrange tuna on top. Garnish as you like.