Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Shop, cook, eat, drink, post, repeat.
 
It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 8:18 am

All times are UTC - 7 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: tuna
PostPosted: Fri Mar 11, 2011 11:15 pm 
Offline

Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:30 am
Posts: 170
Anybody try tuna? I did and don't think I did the best job possible. Don't ask me why but I decided on 122 degrees for about 15 minutes. The tuna was "sushi/sashimi" grade, each fillet being 6 oz in weight and about 1/2" thick. I added a little chunk of frozen olive oil to each pouch (along with salt and ppepper) and seared it for about 20 seconds per side.

In the end, the exterior was somewhat carmelized and the interior was perfectly pink. While it tasted good, I can't say it was an improvement over pan-sesaring. Any thoughts on how to do this next time?

Gerard


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 8:45 am 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:37 pm
Posts: 3404
Location: Telluride, CO
I've not tried tuna. And, it's one of those fish I just think is better cooked traditionally. I don't know why I say that (perhaps because I find tuna better as close to raw as possible), but unlike seafood (which is amazing sous vide) or salmon, I just prefer an excellent sushi-grade tuna just seared.

Amy


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 3:23 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:45 pm
Posts: 1531
Location: Ottawa, ON
I'm with Amy. And I think Tuna is relatively easy to get "right", so the exact cooking aspects of SV don't help, either. Mind you, it is nice to see someone give it a go!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Sat Mar 12, 2011 4:08 pm 
Offline

Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:30 am
Posts: 170
Ok... so let's open this up a little and talk about SV and seafood. Anything besides salmon (which I agree, is great!) that works particularly well and just what are you flavoring it with?


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 1:43 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 7:37 pm
Posts: 3404
Location: Telluride, CO
We do calamari at the restaurant...works amazingly well. I'd like to try octopus, but haven't. I'm just getting into fish via SV...went seafood first.

Amy


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 3:16 pm 
Offline

Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:45 pm
Posts: 1531
Location: Ottawa, ON
I've done a fair range of fish. About the only one that has been touch and go is tilapia; I got variant results and had a hard time pinning down the cause. Turns out is has an enzyme that makes it go mushy in low-and-slow, and that was totally my problem; sometimes it was perfect, sometimes it wash mushy. Otherwise I've liked pretty much all fish. I don't generally flavour the fish, outside of S&P; I do sprinkle with a little garlic powder sometimes. Sometimes a leaf of tarragon. Sometimes I put a little butter in the bag, but I suspect it makes no real difference unless there is fat soluble flavourings in there. Typically, if I flavour, I flavour after the fact with a sauce. I don't always sear. I often brine for 10 min in a 5% solution, especially if I am not searing, and especially if it is salmon. If the cut is very thin, I never sear, but I don't often SV very thin cuts since I typically want those as Menuire or other pan-fried.

About the only real trouble with fish is searing, especially flakey fish like cod; it can be very hard to keep it togather. If you are doing a nice beurre nantais or something, you don't need the sear anyway, IMO.

All this should be tempered by the knowledge I really like fish as fish. I don't go for glazes and the like, and find over-seared fish to be often over powered by the searing (though not always, and of course strongly flavoured fish do much better then mild ones). I do like sauces, but they are normally butter based and I tend towards classic flavourings, like tarragon. If you are a fan of honey glazed salmon, my advice is likely to be astray.

Fish and pork are my two favorites SV, though I did 9 chicken breasts recently for salads, lunches, etc. Brined in a super flavoured brine, they are very nice for that purpose and their very long fridge life makes them a pleasure.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 8:07 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2011 6:55 am
Posts: 516
Location: Cordillera, Luzon, Philippines
Sorry to go a bit off tangent from the thread, but Paul, what "super flavoured brine"? I use CI's old pdf guide when I want to brine chicken, but that is simply salt, sugar and water. In fact, these days, I occasionally get lazy and just dump a simple 2 to 1 mix (salt to sugar) by volume. We generally do not have access to kosher salt, the closest thing being an edible "rock salt" but I haven't got a clue about what the relative salt content is by weight. Normally, I've been using table salt.

So Paul, is your super flavoured brine sort of a very wet, salty and sweet marinade of sorts? The so-called "brinerating" that CI talked about in their How to Cook section? I was thinking about marinating pork chops in orange juice prior to brining and would do similar to the chicken in yogurt, but I'm always looking for simple ways to enhance taste.

_________________
Tatoosh aka Steve

Ancient Amerikano Adventuring Abroad: another fat guy up a mountain in the Philippines


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject: Re: tuna
PostPosted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:22 am 
Offline

Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2008 10:45 pm
Posts: 1531
Location: Ottawa, ON
The brine was this brine of Keller's. I'm not 100% sure that transcription is totally perfect, I'd have to check, but it is in the right ballpark. It is very strongly flavoured, and imparts that flavour to the food.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 8 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 7 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Template made by DEVPPL/ThatBigForum