Print

Print Recipe

A marinade recipe for perfectly seared tuna steaks featuring a blend of savory, sweet, and herbaceous notes with instructions for marinating, searing, and preparing a quick pan sauce.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 tuna steaks (about 6 ounces each)
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

  1. Pat tuna steaks completely dry with paper towels and trim any thin bits for even cooking.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil and fresh lemon juice until combined, then whisk in honey.
  3. Stir in minced garlic, chopped cilantro, and chopped parsley.
  4. Add salt, ground cumin, freshly ground black pepper, and smoked paprika; whisk until honey dissolves and adjust seasoning to taste.
  5. Place tuna steaks in a resealable bag or shallow dish, pour in the marinade, coat each steak gently, seal or cover, and marinate 15–30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate if marinating longer (up to 2 hours).
  6. About 5 minutes before cooking, heat a cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon high-heat oil; heat until very hot.
  7. Remove tuna from the marinade, let excess drip off, and reserve leftover marinade.
  8. Sear tuna steaks 2–3 minutes per side for medium-rare, avoiding crowding the pan and cooking in batches if needed.
  9. Transfer seared tuna to a cutting board and let rest 2–3 minutes.
  10. Reduce heat to medium, pour reserved marinade into skillet, scrape up browned bits, and simmer 1–2 minutes until slightly thickened.
  11. Optionally, swirl in a small knob of butter to finish the sauce without boiling hard.
  12. Slice tuna against the grain or serve whole and spoon the warm pan sauce over the steaks.

Notes

Pick tuna steaks at least 1 inch thick for best searing results without drying out., Use sushi or sashimi-grade tuna if you prefer rare or medium-rare cook., Pat fish very dry before marinating to ensure proper searing., Keep marinating time short (15–30 min at room temp; refrigerate if longer but less than 2 hours) to prevent ‘cooking’ the fish., Get pan very hot before adding tuna to create caramelized crust., Let tuna rest briefly after cooking to keep it juicy., Always simmer leftover raw marinade before using as a sauce to kill bacteria., For even cooking, take fish out of fridge 10 minutes before cooking to remove chill., Marinade can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated separately from raw fish., Leftover cooked tuna keeps 2–3 days refrigerated and can be gently reheated or served cold in salads., Raw marinated tuna should not be stored over 2 hours total marinating time to maintain texture., Cooked tuna can be frozen up to 1–2 months but texture may change, defrost in fridge overnight before eating.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://cookingcrumbs.com/best-tuna-steak-marinade-recipe-easy-flavorful-dishcrest/