Let's Talk BBQ
Recipes => Recipes => Seafood => Topic started by: SmokinKat on August 29, 2014, 02:23:31 PM
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I was in a canning mood recently, and found a local veggie stand that had a canner's special for 200 ears of sweet corn for $38. I decided I'd try my hand at canning corn this year, and thought that sounded like a heck of a deal. Of course I had absolutely zero concept of how much 200 ears of corn actually looks like in real life until I started counting them out into feed sacks. Holy cow!
These guys were happy for the excess corn, husks and all!
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/goats_zps33126d51.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/goats_zps33126d51.jpg.html)
We have wonderful neighbors, and I called them up to ask if they would like to take some of the mountain of corn off my hands. They eagerly agreed, and while we were loading up their wagon with ears and chatting, they asked if we like tuna. Apparently they have a friend who loves going tuna fishing, but doesn't really like eating the fish, so sells them for $20 per fish to pay for gas for the boat. We said we'd take five. (As with the corn, I had no earthly concept of what that would look like in real life.)
Turns out, tuna are really quite large fish. We got them on Friday, the same day they'd been caught.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/onice_zps19bd8137.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/onice_zps19bd8137.jpg.html)
They were each around 20 lbs!
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/wholetuna_zps272c61e4.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/wholetuna_zps272c61e4.jpg.html)
It was getting a little late in the evening, so we decided to fillet them in the kitchen, since it was going to be getting dark soon. (Bad, bad idea... I'm still scraping scales off of various kitchen surfaces!) I tucked right into the first one and had James momentarily convinced I was an old pro at it, until I had to stop and think about what came next on all the YouTube videos I'd snuck off and watched while James was loading the fish up. I was forced to own up to the fact I'd never even SEEN a tuna before.
After watching me do the first, James was eager to get his hands slimy.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/Jamestuna_zpsa1dbf449.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/Jamestuna_zpsa1dbf449.jpg.html)
Tuna have really strange skin compared to all the salmon etc. that I'm used to. It's almost like a thin shell underneath the skin, which you slice through and peel off of the fish. James was better at that part than I was, it takes a good bit of muscle to strip it off!
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/tunaprep_zpsc1d99914.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/tunaprep_zpsc1d99914.jpg.html)
Unlike other fish I've done, with tuna, you actually cut loin sections out of the fish, rather than slicing them up the belly like I'm used to doing with salmon.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/freshloin_zpsda2733da.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/freshloin_zpsda2733da.jpg.html)
Here is the first loin section removed from the fish. Each are sort of triangular shaped, and as you can see on the inside of the fish, they have a dark red color to the innermost meat. From what I understand, this part has a higher concentration of myoglobin or blood, and is discarded due to its taste.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/loinsection_zps68c1a10e.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/loinsection_zps68c1a10e.jpg.html)
Here are the four loins you get from each fish. Not the prettiest fillet job, but hey we're new at this. :) Each fish resulted in a good 10 lbs of meat! I guess getting 50% from the whole weight is pretty standard.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/tunaloin_zpsd54db24d.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/tunaloin_zpsd54db24d.jpg.html)
This is a (blurry) picture of what the fish looks like after you skin it and cut out the loins.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/allfinished_zps54310ca3.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/allfinished_zps54310ca3.jpg.html)
Since there was a good bit of meat left on the skeleton, we decided to keep them and throw them out to the chickens for a treat. Bayou wasn't quite sure what to do with this new smell.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/tunacarcass_zpse7ebd089.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/tunacarcass_zpse7ebd089.jpg.html)
We decided to freeze most of it, but chose to smoke 3/4 of one fish and have the other 1/4th as grilled fillets for dinner. For the brine we did a real simple 50/50 mix of brown sugar and salt, and let them brine for a couple of hours. Since the tuna is so much softer than salmon, I didn't want to accidentally overdo it on the brine, but next time would leave it in longer.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/simplebrine_zpsaadb26dd.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/simplebrine_zpsaadb26dd.jpg.html)
For grilling, I made a mix of soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar and sesame oil, and let them soak in that for about half an hour. Got the MAK preheating, then grilled them for several minutes on each side.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/tunasteaks_zps899a070d.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/tunasteaks_zps899a070d.jpg.html)
Served with some grilled corn (of course!) and salad, with a little extra drizzle of sesame oil. I will leave them more pink in the middle next time, but even still they were absolutely succulent!
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/freeeeshfish_zpseeb7cb9e.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/freeeeshfish_zpseeb7cb9e.jpg.html)
For the smoked fish, after dinner I gave them a quick rinse, and patted them dry. It was getting pretty late, so I skipped letting them dry and form a pellicle properly, and instead covered them in the fridge to mess with the next day. We were pretty tired after cutting up five big tuna, and I knew I wouldn't make it till 1am!
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/filetsafterbrine_zps18dc140c.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/filetsafterbrine_zps18dc140c.jpg.html)
The next morning I smoked the fillets for about 2-3 hours (I was canning and didn't keep good track of how long it was.) Just took them off when they hit 140°
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/smokedgoodness_zpsdaa0741c.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/smokedgoodness_zpsdaa0741c.jpg.html)
Definitely a little different than salmon, but dang that is some good fish. Would definitely take the time to do a 'proper' preparation next time, since these did turn out a tad dry (they have a lot less fat than salmon, so have a tenancy to not be as moist anyway)
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/smokedcloseup_zpsc40c8df0.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/smokedcloseup_zpsc40c8df0.jpg.html)
We made a dip out of some of the smoked tuna-- 8oz cream cheese, 1/2 a sweet onion, 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 mayonnaise all spun up in the food processor. Turned out dang tasty with some capers!!
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/smokeddip_zps8d438736.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/smokeddip_zps8d438736.jpg.html)
As is usual while I'm smoking foods and not sharing, this was the little face watching every move I made.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/Bayoubear_zps090554b9.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/Bayoubear_zps090554b9.jpg.html)
(Yes, I caved and gave her a little piece of the smoked fish in the end.)
It was great timing, as Smoker Pete was coming to pick up his shiny new grill body from MAK that Monday, so I got to share one of the tuna loins with him! He also sent me home with some of his Dungeness crab, which was phenomenal. I didn't realize his birthday was the day after mine (26th and 27th) so we inadvertently gave each other birthday dinners! :)
We've since told the neighbors we'll take another 5 if their friends go again-- getting 10 pounds of fresh fresh tuna for $20 was a steal in our books. Between canning and freezing all this good stuff, we are going to have one tasty winter! :) It's awesome to have some variety from the usual rabbit and chicken. If we get another batch of tuna I will probably try my hand at canning some-- I hear it is worlds apart from the tinned stuff you get at the supermarket.
And a preview for this coming Thanksgiving.... Baby turkeys!!!! :) Should be right about 15-20 lbs for Thanksgiving.
(http://i965.photobucket.com/albums/ae138/katrinarounds/turkeys_zpsefc2c1d5.jpg) (http://s965.photobucket.com/user/katrinarounds/media/turkeys_zpsefc2c1d5.jpg.html)
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Great post... what a day! Wonderful pictures and story - thank you!
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Wow you really lucked out on that tuna. Sure wish I was closer to get in on a deal like that. Nice story and great pictures.
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thanks for sharing. love the pics.
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Great story, isn't tuna cleaning fun? One day we had a successful catch while fishing south of San Diego of the coast of Mexico, caught 12 Albacore about 20-25 lbs each. When we got back to the marina I had to clean them all inside my boat, the marina does not allow any fish cleaning on the dock or any carcass to be thrown overboard in the marina. After cleaning and washing down the inside of the boat, I headed back out to sea to dump the carcasses. When I turned on my bilge pump it was a steady stream of red water pumping out of the bilge. The cockpit of my boat looked like a crime scene before I got it all cleaned up and the carcasses dumped. But it was worth the effort for all the fresh tuna we brought back home.
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That all looks great.
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Great post and I too whished I lived somewhere I could get a whole tuna for $20. Now that is a score and you guys did a great job on your first one.
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Awesome post and photos Kat!
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The cockpit of my boat looked like a crime scene before I got it all cleaned up and the carcasses dumped. But it was worth the effort for all the fresh tuna we brought back home.
Yup, LOL, our kitchen looked about the same!! And apparently I was pretty free with wiping my goopy hands on the apron I wore-- I threw it in the wash with our regular clothes, and have had to go through three heavy duty cycles in the wash to get the damned smell out of everything!! D'oh!!
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Real nice post Kat! Wonderful score on the tuna and enjoyed the pics too!
Say I noticed ol' James stayed on his feet for this bloodletting! lol Progress? :D
Happy belated birthday Kat!
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A great post Kat and the tuna looks great!!! Looks like tuna and corn this winter!!! 200 ears of corn, WOW. That's a lot of corn. I'll take some since it does not look like I will get any put up this year for winter. I usually do 2 or 3 doz. cut off the cob vacuum seal and freeze. Don
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Wow, am I jealous. Fresh tuna and fresh corn, don't get no better than that. Fresh tuna has so many options, including what you did, in addition to grilled tuna steaks and boil some of it and make the best tuna for salad you have ever had. Do not forget the sushi.
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Great story, great post and pic's. Yes I am jealous, but I don't think I could handle all that work in one day. Great job.
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Fantastic in every respect.I like the drier smoked fish,less fishy taste IMO.
Turkeys too?? Man alive,you are dialed in right now!! What great projects and pay back,what super prices,WOW!!
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Real nice post Kat! Wonderful score on the tuna and enjoyed the pics too!
Say I noticed ol' James stayed on his feet for this bloodletting! lol Progress? :D
Happy belated birthday Kat!
Hehehe, astute observation!!! Yes, he was all gung ho to help out, since it didn't involve any major blood and guts (just lots of slime, scales, and juices). He did great until he got a little overzealous with the filet knife and sliced open a few fragrant organs in the body cavity, then he suddenly remembered that he had something really, really important to down in the shop. :) I got one fish out of him, so it's a start! :)
Come to think of it, I bet my apron wasn't the source of that awful fish smell in the laundry-- I'd forgotten the pants he was wearing were in that same load of wash!! Aha!!
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The cockpit of my boat looked like a crime scene before I got it all cleaned up and the carcasses dumped. But it was worth the effort for all the fresh tuna we brought back home.
Yup, LOL, our kitchen looked about the same!! And apparently I was pretty free with wiping my goopy hands on the apron I wore-- I threw it in the wash with our regular clothes, and have had to go through three heavy duty cycles in the wash to get the damned smell out of everything!! D'oh!!
Yep, been there done that, always said that when we went on tuna fishing excursions always wear clothes that were about to be thrown out. Never wanted to put those clothes in the wash or even bring them in the house. ;)
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Kat that belly meat would gave made for some great Sushi!
Thanks for sharing I enjoyed that and the prepared fish looks excellent!
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Great threat, Kat!
If you run out of freezer room, I can eat... uhm, I mean, store some of that smoked tuna here at my place! ;D
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Great post Kat!! Thanks again for sharing a hunk of your Tuna with me - it was scrumptious and I still have a nice filet in freezer :)
Have talked to a few folks here at Winchester and they all say that once you've experience your own fresh canned Tuna you'll never eat old Charlie out of a can again ...
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Great post, never too many pics ! !
I love a good piece of fresh tuna. Haven't had Ole Charley in a loooong time.
Looks like you in for a tasty Winter.
BD