The internet is a gift and a curse. The amount of times I have heard people regurgitate the same mantra of: you shouldn’t cook that Sous Vide! Just sear it! Just smoke it! Makes me cringe. But thats another story. For this protein, we need to understand that not everyone likes raw tuna. Every day I see people post in the Facebook groups with different preferences on different types of food and they get scared off by people who spew the same things, mostly without ever trying it themselves. They just repeat what they’ve heard. Well, that’s the goal of this weeks blog. We’re going to try it. I am a huge fan of sashimi, I could have eaten both of these tuna steaks in one sitting. But I am going to keep an open mind and see if I can get behind it.

🔪Prep Time 5 minutes

👨‍🍳Sear Time 3 minutes

🛁Sous Vide Time 1 hour @105F/40.6C

🐟 Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 Ahi-Tuna Steaks
• Salt
• Fresh Thyme
• Olive oil
• 1/2 Cup White Sesame Seeds
• 1/4 Cup Black Sesame Seeds
• Any high smoke point oil

• Instructions

• Started out with these two lovely 1-1/4″ fresh ahi tuna steaks. Insert drool emoji.

To start, I seasoned both of the Tuna steaks the same. Salt, pepper, a light brush of EVOO and some fresh thyme. From here I bagged them both to treat the same and put one steak bag in the bag with the thyme. The other was going into the SV.

With fish I rarely, if ever vacuum seal. I will almost always use a ziplock. You’re going to want to use the water displacement method which is achieved by submerging the protein in the water till most of the air is out of the bag. Then secure the bags to the side of the Sous Vide Container with binder clips. Or in place with your lid.

Set your Sous Vide cooker to 105F/40.6C and place bag in bath.

While the Tuna was in the bath I combined my sesame seeds on a plate.

After an hour, the tuna in the Sous Vide was done and ready to come out. I did not worry about drying it as I was using the excess olive oil to adhere the sesame seeds

For searing these tuna steaks I used a Cast Iron Skillet. I again looked to treat both of the steaks the same. Heat up the skillet on medium high and when it just starts smoking add the oil. I then seared for 1 minute and 30 seconds a side or until the white sesame seeds started to turn a golden color. Look at how pretty those came out.

Now the moment of truth. I can already hear the groans. The inaudible screeching behind the keyboards. As you can see we got two very different results. But how did they taste?

First up the tuna that was just quickly seared on both sides. Like I mentioned before. I love sashimi. This was right in my wheel house. Perfect texture for me and the sesame seeds provides a great addition and crunch.

Now for the SV Tuna…..It was crazy good and I really enjoyed it. It was juicy, flavorful, and melted in my mouth. I have been trying to find a way to relate the texture to you but the best comparison I have is a steaky swordfish but it was so much better. This way of cooking tuna would be amazing for a family member who might not like raw tuna or maybe you don’t feel like raw tuna that day. Either way, this is an option. And it tastes awesome.

Conclusion

Did I make a mistake? NO WAY! Heres the thing. This cannot be considered a 1 to 1 comparison. These two methods of cooking tuna get two completely different results. Both of them were equally as good as the other, in their own way. The most important part here is that we remember to not trust the mob that tells you theres only one way to do something. Only one temperature. Try it for yourself. Do the experiment. Find what your preference is. Find out what your families preference is. Cook to that.

Thank you for checking us out. Now go ahead and try this one! You’ll love it. And when you do, go ahead and drop me a comment and tell me how it went, I want to know! If you enjoyed this, check out our social media’s and go ahead and share this blog with a friend. If you want to be the first to see our new cooks, subscribe to the blog through the bottom of this page. See ya next time!

Equipment List Links:

Meat Tenderizer: Meat Tenderizer

Vacuum Sealer: Anova Vacuum Sealer

Sous Vide Circulator: Anova Nano

Sous Vide Container: Anova Sous Vide Container

Skillet: Skillet