Best-Ever Grilled Tuna Steak

Here’s the best grilled tuna steak recipe: ahi tuna seared to perfection on the outside and tender on the inside! A real favourite.

Tired of grilling burgers and salmon? Good, because here is one unbelievable BBQ idea: grilled tuna steaks! Ahi tuna is rich and creamy. Seared to perfection on the outside, it tastes more like chicken or steak than fish! There’s nothing fishy about this tuna. Even better, it’s one of the fastest things you can cook. Just 1-2 minutes and you have dinner.

Ingredients for grilled tuna steak

Ahi tuna is so delicious you hardly need any seasoning! Just salt and pepper will do. What you need for grilled tuna steaks:

• Ahi tuna steaks: Pay attention to sashimi quality. If you can find it, wild tuna is the most sustainable. You can use fresh or frozen tuna steaks: if they’re frozen, thaw them by leaving them in the fridge overnight the night before you cook them.
• Salt
• pepper

This recipe is perfect burned grilled tuna steak

In this recipe you use the grill burned Tuna with Ahi tuna steaks. Here are some tips for understanding this method:

• Seared tuna is made with just that Top quality fresh ahi tuna. Tuna is the grade used for sushi and sashimi.
• The perfect seared tuna is Golden on the outside and raw on the inside: a beautiful pink color! It is perfectly safe to eat unless you are pregnant and avoid raw fish.

How to make a grilled tuna steak: time and temperature

The basic concept behind grilled ahi tuna: you need to set your grill to the highest possible heat! Perfectly cooked on the outside and raw on the inside, the hotter the better. Because grills are different, the exact temperature will depend on your grill.

• Preheat a grill to the highest possible heat: 500 to 700 degrees Fahrenheit depending on how hot your grill is.
• Dry the tuna and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
• Grill 30 to 60 seconds per sideuntil they are cooked on the outside but still raw on the inside. It helps to use a food thermometer: the internal temperature should be 115 degrees Fahrenheit.

Learn more about buying ahi tuna

Where to look for ahi tuna in the grocery store? If you’re not used to buying it, here’s what you should know:

• Look for frozen steaks. Your grocery store may have frozen ahi tuna steaks. These can be even fresher than fresh tuna if frozen immediately after being caught. You just have to remember to defrost in the fridge the day before.
• Otherwise check out the fish counter. Ahi tuna steaks have been growing in popularity lately, so you should be able to find some over the counter at your local grocery store.
• find wild caught. Wild fish caught in your country is generally a sustainable choice. There are also quality options at well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch consumer guide.

Ways to serve grilled ahi tuna

There are many fantastic sides to a grilled tuna steak! One thing to note: if you want to serve other grilled vegetables with the tuna, you’ll need to cook them over medium heat (375 to 450 degrees). So you would grill them first and then turn up the heat for the tuna. If this presents logistical challenges for your grill, you can opt for other side dishes like salads or rice.

More ways to eat ahi tuna

Ahi tuna is a highly nutritious lean protein (more info here). There are many ways to eat it, but here are our favorite tuna recipes:

This Grilled Tuna recipe is…

Gluten-free, dairy-free and pescetarian.

More recipes for grilled fish or seafood

Interested in more grilled seafood recipes? Here are some of our favourites: