Ok, I’m 3 for 3 when it comes to recipes from the new cookbook, Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes. I hope Jim doesn’t mind me posting another of his recipes but this one I used on some tuna turned out great. I highly recommend you check out his cookbook but don’t take my word for it.

I was thumbing through the July issue of Bon Appetit and what do I find on page 32? A great review of Jim’s new cookbook. Here’s what they say,

 “ We love the dogged focus, the obsession with flavor, and the sheer exhaustive nature of this barbecue book. Marinades, Rubs Brines, Cures & Glazes: 400 Recipes for Poultry, Meat, Seafood, and Vegetables by barbecue wonk Jim Tarantino delves deep into the science and practice of imbuing as much flavor as humanly possible into grilled food. And we’re not talking regional American “cue alone. He hits the Caribbean, North Africa, Asia, and every other corner of the glove in the recipes. This guy’s deep – mops, sops, gastriques, sugar substitutes, and flavor amplifiers with a thoroughness and enthusiasm rarely seen in a barbecue books.”

Buying and Grilling “Previously Frozen” Tuna

Normally, I wouldn’t do anything to fresh, never frozen tuna but sear the outside of it and serve it up with maybe a little wasabi & soy based sauce but this was different. I was checking out a brand new supermarket in the area and they had some “previously frozen” tuna on sale for around $8.95 per pound. It looked good and they were selling it off a big chunk of fish, not as individual tuna steaks.

So I had the fishmonger cut me off a couple of steaks and decided to try another of Jim’s marinades. I figured as long as the tuna was “previously frozen” I might be better off adding a little flavor. I looked through Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures & Glazes and settled on his Orange – Ginger Marinade.

I had most of the ingredients but not everything so there is a little alteration to the original but it still came out great. I also didn’t marinate this for the 2 – 4 hours Jim suggest because as usual, I was late getting dinner started. Again, it didn’t seem to matter. My wife loved it and even my 6 year old enjoyed it although we told her it was chicken. Funny how that works so often.  Here goes:

Ingredinents

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Grated zest and juice of 2 juice oranges (about 2/3 cup) – I substituted 2/3 cups of orange juice.
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil.

How to Make at Home

Start by combining the orange zest and juice with the balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, dry mustard, salt & pepper in a blender or food processor. Pulse until all the ingredients are well processed.

While the motor is running, slowly add the olive oil a little at a time. What you are doing is emulsifying the oil into the other ingredients. If you don’t do it this way, the ingredients will separate.

You can store this marinade in the refrigerator in a clean container for up to a week for freeze it.

I only marinated the tuna for 30 – 40 minutes and it was great. Imagine how much better it would have been if I marinade for 3 hours?  Grill the steaks on your favorite grill to the doneness you like. Since these were not fresh, I cooked them all the way through so my girls would eat it.

I served the tuna steaks with sautéed vegetables and a couple of artichokes we adventurously ate as a family. By the end of the meal there was butter everywhere.

Once again, thank you Jim for some amazing recipes.