How to salt tuna. Salting tuna at home

Beneficial features

Due to its taste, tuna is often called “veal of the sea.” It contains a small amount of fat, which is why the fish is often called dietary. Dishes containing tuna as ingredients are often included in the daily diet of those on a diet.

Research by scientists has shown that people who regularly eat tuna fillet dishes are less likely to experience problems with the cardiovascular system and brain activity. With frequent consumption of this type of fish, vision is normalized and the risk of developing cancer is reduced.

What beneficial substances does tuna fillet contain? First of all, it is Omega-3 - one of the most useful acids. Of the minerals and amino acids, it contains phosphorus, iron, calcium and magnesium, as well as selenium.

Small - per 100 grams of the finished product there are only 140 kcal.

Tuna diet: tasty and healthy

Tuna meat is a rich storehouse of nutrients, including proteins and that very unsaturated Omega-3 acid, which prevents the development of cancer and gives healthy blood vessels.

But the main thing is the exquisite and unexpected taste of this sea creature. Tuna fillet is so similar in appearance and taste to cow meat that the French call it “veal of the sea.”

The ideal option for cooking is a freshly caught fish carcass. Since it is almost impossible to get one far from the ocean, you have to be content with chilled or, more often, frozen seafood. In order to protect yourself from that very “not the first freshness”, it is advisable to specify the delivery date of the fish to the market when purchasing.

Tuna fillets should have a uniform light or dark red color. The presence of spots in the color indicates that the product is not fresh.

And now we offer original recipes on how to deliciously fry tuna in a frying pan so that it turns out juicy and tender.

The secret to preparing this fish deliciously is to marinate it properly. Otherwise, it may become too dry and is unlikely to please gourmets. It is also important to guess how long to fry the tuna in the pan. You shouldn’t keep it on the fire for too long - slightly undercooked steaks are the most tender and juicy. Of course, you can only cook truly fresh fish this way.

Tuna steak with Provençal herbs

This dish is very easy to prepare. All ingredients listed in this recipe make four servings.

At the very beginning of cooking, you should prepare the spices and herbs in which you will need to roll the tuna fillet before the frying process. To do this, you need to take a little ground black pepper (a quarter of a teaspoon), a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of a mixture of Provençal herbs. These ingredients should be mixed thoroughly. Each tuna steak should be coated with a small amount of olive oil and breaded in prepared herbs and spices.

In the meantime, you should heat the frying pan, then fry the fish fillet in it (3-4 minutes on each side) until the pieces are browned - this will indicate the readiness of the dish.

Tuna steak will look more impressive if, when served, it is decorated with lettuce leaves and lemon slices.

Sandwich "Tuscany"

For the recipe you will need:

• baguette - 1 pc.
• vegetable oil - 1/4 cup
• red wine vinegar - 2 tablespoons
• green (dry) - 1 teaspoon
• sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
• spicy red pepper - 1 pz.
• salad (leaves) - 4 pcs.
• canned tuna – 350 g
• olives - 10 pieces

1. Add oil, vinegar, vegetables, sugar and pepper.
2. Cut the bread in half and into three pieces.
3. The resulting mixture is poured inside the bread.
4. Place lettuce leaves on the bottom of the sandwich, then fish and olives.
5. Close the top.

Tuna fried with pesto marinade

An original recipe for fried tuna, pre-marinated in pesto.

First of all, you should make a marinade, which is prepared in a blender. To do this, place a medium bunch of chopped basil and 3-4 crushed cloves of garlic in a bowl - beat them until smooth, adding a tablespoon of olive oil in the process. A third of the resulting sauce should be separated and a peeled and chopped medium cucumber should be added to it. In this composition, the mass should be placed in the refrigerator.

Now you should start preparing the tuna fillet. For this dish, it is best to initially take a whole piece of fish fillet. It should be thoroughly greased with soy sauce and filled with a mixture of basil and garlic (without cucumber). Now the fish must be marinated in the refrigerator for 6 hours.

When the fillet is ready, you should heat the grill and, after greasing the grate with oil, place the fish without marinade. It must be baked over high heat, periodically turning over and pouring marinade over it. Cooking tuna fillets using this method will only take about 15 minutes - eventually a light brown crust should form on the fish. Now the meat needs to be cut into small portions and poured with sauce from the refrigerator.

Subtleties of cooking fresh tuna: choosing the fish

Fresh fillets are always dark red in color and should be uniform, so inspect the fish carefully when purchasing. You should be alert to brown spots and uneven coloring, which indicate that the tuna is most likely not fresh. If you buy a whole carcass, it should weigh no more than 2 kg, be light in color, have intact fins and smell of the ocean. Tuna dries quickly and can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days, so try to use it immediately without delay. If you are preparing tuna for children, keep in mind that the most delicious, tender and fatty part of the fish is in the belly area.

Tuna fillet stuffed with vegetables

The quantities of ingredients indicated here are for 2.5 kg of fish.

The carcass should be washed well and separated from the skin so that it maintains its integrity. Afterwards it should be cut into medium-sized pieces.

Now you should cook the vegetables. You need to fry 300 g of carrots and 400 g of peeled tomatoes, grated, in one frying pan, and in another frying pan - an onion cut into rings. A third of the onion should be added to other vegetables, add some spices (to taste) and bring to a boil. Separately, make the gravy from one tomato.

The prepared tuna fillet should be minced in a meat grinder and the remaining onion should be added to it. This mass should also be salted and peppered and the skin removed from the fish should be stuffed with it.

This dish is prepared in the oven, in a deep bowl. Pour tomato sauce into a container and place tuna in it. The whole thing is topped with a gravy of carrots, tomatoes and onions. In this form, the fish should be baked at a temperature of 180 degrees. The finished dish should be cut into portions.

Marinating tuna - a way to make it juicier

A fresh carcass must be gutted in the usual way - separate the head and tail, remove the fins, cut the belly, free it from the entrails, remove the skin, and then make a longitudinal cut on the back and carefully separate the meat from the bones, of which there are usually few. After cutting the fillet into pieces, you can marinate it in a mixture of soy sauce, olive or sesame oil, honey, lemon or orange juice with any spices you like. Sometimes red wine, vinegar, garlic, dried herbs and grated fresh ginger are used as a marinade, which gives the fish a fresh aroma and piquant taste. You should marinate from 30 minutes to 2 hours - depending on how much time you have to prepare the dish, but know that the longer you marinate, the softer and juicier it turns out.

Baked tuna

Tuna fillet baked in the oven is very tasty. To prepare such a dish, you need to wash and dry a kilogram of fillet with a towel and cut it into small portions. They should be peppered and salted, coated with crushed garlic (3-4 cloves) and placed in a baking dish well greased with olive oil. The mold should be covered with a lid and placed in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for 10 minutes. After this, the fillet pieces should be turned over, the dish covered with a lid again and baked for exactly the same amount. The tuna is ready.

How to fry tuna correctly

If the marinade contains soy sauce, then the fish does not need to be salted; in all other cases, rub the fillet pieces with salt and pepper. Fish that has not gone through the marinating stage should rest for half an hour, only then can it be fried in hot vegetable or butter for 2-3 minutes on each side - until a beautiful golden crust. The pieces should be no thicker than 3 cm so that the fish is steamed well. To determine doneness, pierce the fish with a fork and if it flakes slightly on the outside and is light pink on the inside, the tuna is ready. Before frying, steaks can be breaded in whipped egg whites mixed with sesame seeds, coriander and any spices. It is better to apply the protein mass to the fish with a culinary brush and only then roll it in ground spices.

Grilled tuna

Tuna fillet fried in a frying pan turns out very tasty. So, 0.5 kg of fish should be washed and dried with a paper towel. A large piece should be divided into portions measuring 3 x 3 cm. The marinade is prepared separately, for which 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, half a teaspoon each of salt and paprika, and a teaspoon of ground pepper are mixed. Soak the fish pieces in this marinade and leave to marinate, covered, for 30 minutes.

Grilled tuna can be served with lettuce and fresh vegetables.

How to choose?

In nature, there are several types of tuna, which differ in size. The maximum size for different species ranges from 60 centimeters to 4.5 meters, and weight - from 1.5 kg to 650 kg or more. Tuna species with a small maximum size are sold whole. Other varieties are sold in vacuum-packed fillet form. To salt tuna at home, it is important to choose the right fresh fish.

When purchasing a whole carcass, you need to pay attention to the smell of fish and eyes. A fresh specimen has clear eyes, and the carcass smells of the sea. Fins and scales should be light in color, free of damage and mucus. It is better to buy whole fish if its weight is no more than two kilograms. If you buy fillets in packaging, then first of all you should look at the color of the meat. Fresh, well-processed meat can range in color from light pink to dark red. It should be uniform, without brown spots or shade transitions. The structure of the meat is dense, without dips or separations.

How to cook fresh frozen tuna

It is best to purchase fresh frozen tuna, since with this type of storage the fish retains the largest amount of useful microelements. You can make flavorful kebabs from such fish. To do this, you need to take the tuna and keep it in the water for some time. For 250 grams of fillet, cut into small cubes, you need to take a little salt, pepper and just a little spice. The fish should be rubbed with these spices, sprinkled with a small amount of olive oil and each piece wrapped in large basil leaves. Now the fish must be strung on skewers pre-soaked in water. The kebabs are baked on the grill or over the fire for 7 minutes.

Tuna carpaccio

Very often, the menu of expensive restaurants includes an Italian dish - tuna fillet carpaccio. The recipe is simple, but the result is a very original work of culinary art.

For this dish, you need to cut 100 grams of fish fillet into the thinnest pieces. Separately, prepare the sauce. For it you need to mix 100 g of olive oil, 10 ml of lemon juice, and 15 ml of soy sauce. This sauce is poured onto the plate on which the finished dish will be served. After this, chopped tuna fillet is placed in the sauce. The carpaccio recipe calls for adding black and white sesame seeds to the dish, but this ingredient can be omitted.

Place a little grated Parmesan cheese on top of the fillet and add a vegetable salad made from chopped cherry tomatoes (15 g), lettuce (10 g) and chopped avocado (20 g), dressed with a little olive oil.

Baked tuna

If the question arises “how to cook fresh frozen tuna,” then there is a simple answer: you can bake the fish with lemon. To prepare the dish, you need to take a whole tuna, remove the bones, wash it well and dry it with a paper towel. Then the fish must be thoroughly rubbed with a mixture of peppers with the addition of salt, vegetable oil and the juice of half a lemon.

How to cook tuna fillet in the oven so that the fish does not end up dry? There is only one answer: in foil. The fish coated with marinade should be placed on foil (matte side), wrapped and baked in the oven for 40 minutes at 180 degrees.

How to pickle?

Since tuna is an oily fish, it spoils quickly. Therefore, it is better to recycle it immediately. The tuna carcass must be cut: remove the scales, separate the head and fins, and clean the insides. The cut fish should be washed, dried with a napkin, and the fillets separated. If there is a lot of meat left on the backbone, you can also salt it. For the simplest salting method you will need:

• salt;
• sugar;
• ground pepper mixture;
• Bay leaf.

Salt and sugar are mixed in a certain proportion: two parts salt to one part sugar. The fish fillet is rubbed with a mixture of peppers to taste and placed in a cup, at the bottom of which a mixture of salt and sugar is poured. Each row is sprinkled with a salty mixture. You can add pieces of bay leaf for flavor. When the fillet is finished, sprinkle the remaining salt on top and refrigerate for 12 hours. After half a day, the fish will be ready to eat.

Since it turns out lightly salted, it is better to cook it in small portions.

Before eating, fish pieces should be washed under running cold water, removing excess salt, and dried on a napkin. The finished fillet should be cut and placed on a plate. Salted tuna can be served with vegetables, boiled potatoes, used to make sandwiches, canapés, and added to salads. Tasty, lightly salted fish with a low content of small bones is good in any case.

If you prefer a more spicy taste, then you can add aromatic herbs such as basil, rosemary, mustard seed to the previous recipe. In this case, the salted fish should be cleaned of excess salt, dried and sprinkled thickly with a mixture of aromatic herbs. The sprinkled fillet should be wrapped in cotton cloth, tied with twine and hung in a cold place for one to two weeks.

To get salted fish faster, you can salt tuna fillets in brine. The meat should be cut into thin pieces up to 5 mm thick, rolled in a mixture of salt and ground spices, and placed in a glass container. Add vegetable oil and add boiled water so that the brine covers the fish. Place the preparation in the refrigerator. The product will be ready for use after 8 hours. For 0.5 kg of fish you will need:

• 60 g salt;
• 20 g of a mixture of your favorite spices;
• 60 g vegetable oil;
• 15 g chopped basil.

Salad with canned tuna “Italian style”

Another practical answer to the question of how to cook tuna fillet is canning. Canned fillet can be added to various salads - with well-chosen ingredients it will go perfectly together.

In order to prepare the Italian salad, you need to take washed and dried lettuce leaves, tear them and place them on a plate. On top of the salad, you need to put grated mozzarella cheese (150 grams), and on top of the cheese, put olives cut into small rings (100 grams). Next come small cherry tomatoes (200 grams), which can be cut into halves if desired. Then fish is added to the salad, which must first be squeezed out of the brine and mashed with a fork (200 grams).

The ideal dressing for this salad would be the juice of one lemon mixed with a little olive oil. Sprinkle a small amount of pine nuts (40 grams) on top. Now the dish is ready - it must be sent to a dark and cool place so that it is saturated with juice - this will take about a couple of hours. Just before serving, the finished salad should be carefully mixed to distribute the ingredients evenly.

Cold tuna noodles

Don't know how to cook tuna fillet? Try pairing it with noodles. There is one very original recipe in which these two ingredients are perfectly combined.

To prepare such an original dish, you should first prepare the sauce. To do this, combine two tablespoons of olive and sesame oil, as well as soy sauce, in one small container. You should also add a teaspoon of Chili paste there - it will add the necessary spiciness.

Now is the time to start preparing the pasta. Soba noodles or long Italian pasta are ideal for this dish. Pasta should be boiled until half cooked, then rinsed thoroughly in ice water.

Then 150 grams of tuna fillet should be cut into the thinnest strips so that the thickness of the strips does not exceed the thickness of the pasta. After this, the fish should be combined with the remaining pasta and, after pouring the sauce, mix thoroughly, but so that the ingredients do not stick together. The dish is ready. Now it needs to be divided into portions and placed on plates. You can sprinkle toasted sesame seeds on top of each serving.

Eggs stuffed with tuna

For the recipe you will need:

• Egg - 4 pcs.
• tuna (in oil) – 80 g
• Oil: 80 g
• capers - 1 tablespoon l.
• anchovy - 1 pc.
• parsley and dill (green) - to taste
• salt.

1. Eggs for cooking, cooling and peeling.
2. longitudinal cut in two parts, remove the yolks, rub through a sieve with tuna, capers and anchovies.
3. Add softened butter to the resulting mixture, using a wooden spoon to beat it up to the penis.
4. Fill the syringe and fill the egg whites.
5. Decorate with vegetation.

Tuna soup

When a housewife is thinking about what to cook from tuna, soup with this fish can be an excellent option. The most delicious soups are made with canned tuna.

To prepare such a tasty, nutritious and, most importantly, healthy soup, you should peel and cut three medium-sized potatoes into medium cubes. Boil the potatoes over high heat, gradually reducing it to medium (about 20 minutes).

In the meantime, you can start preparing the frying. To do this, cut the onion into thin rings and the carrots into strips. Vegetables should be fried in a hot frying pan in butter until golden brown. After this, add one grated tomato (without peel) to them. In this composition, the vegetables need to be simmered a little more and then added to the soup. After this, add a can of canned tuna (200 grams) and bring the contents of the pan to a boil. Once this happens, seasonings and bay leaves are added to the dish. Then the pot of soup should be removed from the stove and left to steep for a while.

An easy way to salt tuna

Mix salt and sugar in a 4:1 ratio. This can be done directly on the table or large cutting board. After this, roll the prepared tuna meat in the mixture so that it is evenly covered with salt and sugar. Now wrap the semi-finished product in parchment paper, foil, cling film, or simply tie it in a plastic bag. Then place in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Then take it out, wash and dry. Actually, you can already eat.

Salted tuna with spices

If you want to get a more refined taste, you will have to wait a little and complicate the previous method. Prepare a mixture of any crushed spices and lemon or orange zest. Sprinkle thoroughly on the tuna, which has already been salted according to the recipe described above, but has been washed. Tie the meat with threads, after wrapping it in cotton cloth. Hang in a cool place for 1-2 weeks. After that, cut and serve.

A quick way to salt tuna

To speed up the salting process, cut the prepared tuna fillet into 0.5 cm thick plates. Now for every 500 g of pulp, add 2 tablespoons of coarse salt, 2 teaspoons of your favorite spices crushed in a mortar and 1 tablespoon of finely chopped basil. Now mix everything. Then place in a sterile glass container. Then pour in 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add some boiled cooled water until the tuna is completely covered. Place in the refrigerator for 8 to 24 hours. Then serve.

Tuna tartare

this is a raw fish dish

What you need:

Serves 2

200 g tuna fillet ½ avocado 6 green onions 3 tbsp. l. sake (if not, you can do without it) 3 tbsp. l. lemon juice 3 tbsp. l. extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp. l. soy sauce 2 tbsp. l. sesame oil 1 tsp. sugar Large handful of arugula Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Peel the tuna fillet from the films, cut into cubes 0.5 cm thick with a knife. Peel the avocado, cut into the same cubes. Finely chop the onion. Mix everything in a bowl, add salt and pepper.

2. Prepare the dressing. Pour soy sauce, sake, lemon juice, olive oil into a separate bowl, add sugar, salt, pepper and mix everything well.

3. Transfer the tuna to the bowl with the sauce. Mix everything well.

4. Place arugula on a plate. Drizzle it with sesame oil. Then place the seasoned tartar on it through a round pan (or just in a heap).

Fried tuna

· Tuna (fresh) – 500 g

· Vegetable oil (odorless) - 1 tbsp. l.

Black pepper (ground, to taste)

Tuna steak with Brussels sprouts garnish

Ingredients

Instructions

1. 2-

1.Make the marinade by mixing in a deep bowl 10 ml of olive and a teaspoon of sesame oil, a tablespoon of soy sauce, lemon juice, two finely chopped cloves of garlic, a pinch of ground black pepper and salt.

1. Using a sharp knife, cut the tuna fillet into two steaks, each approximately 2–2.5 cm thick. The fish for this recipe must be used chilled, not frozen, and there is no need to salt it - fresh meat will absorb the marinade well.

3. Place the tuna slices in a bowl with the sesame-garlic marinade and roll thoroughly in it on all sides. Leave the tuna to marinate for twenty to thirty minutes.

4. Boil water in a small saucepan, lightly salt it and throw in the Brussels sprouts. Blanch for five to seven minutes, but no longer - otherwise the cabbage will lose color and taste. Drain in a colander and dry.

5. Heat a grill pan over high heat. Drizzle olive oil on it and place tuna steaks. Fry for five minutes on each side until a crust appears, while the inside of the tuna should remain pink.

6. Chop the remaining garlic clove thoroughly with a sharp knife. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat and add the remaining olive oil along with the butter.

7. Throw the cabbage into the pan, stir, add chopped garlic and a couple of pinches of ground nutmeg. Stir again and fry until light golden brown.

8. Place the steaks on plates along with the roasted Brussels sprouts, lightly drizzle the garlic-nutmeg oil from the pan on top. And serve immediately.

Brussels sprouts tolerate freezing well, so out of season - from late October to July - you can safely use frozen ones from a pack.

Tricks for cooking tuna

As you can see from the recipes above, tuna is a fish that is very easy to prepare. However, there are some tricks to keep in mind during the process.

First of all, it is worth remembering that the most delicious dishes are obtained from fish that has lain in the refrigerator for no more than four days.

If to prepare a dish you need to boil this type of fish, then it is worth remembering that it will acquire its best taste after 10-12 minutes of cooking - after that it will begin to lose the brightness of its taste, and the finished dish will no longer have the desired richness.

If there is a need to marinate tuna, it is best to do this in soybean, olive, sesame oil, lemon or orange juice, as well as your favorite spices. When using spices, remember that there should not be a lot of them so that the taste of the fish is not lost.

If tuna needs to be fried, then to give the treat the most vivid taste, simply rub the carcass with salt. If it was treated with soy sauce before the frying process, it should definitely be salted to maintain its juiciness.

What to serve with tuna

This product does not lose its valuable properties even when canned, so canned tuna can be safely used for cooking. The industry produces canned tuna in oil and in its own juice, which is considered easier on the stomach, and fish preserved in this way better retains its beneficial properties. When choosing canned food, make sure that the can is not damaged or swollen, and be sure to check the expiration date. Fish preserved three months ago is considered the most delicious, but keep in mind that an open can of canned food cannot be stored for more than a day. You can use tuna in its own juice to prepare delicious soups, salads, pates and sauces with the addition of olives, capers, tomatoes and oregano.

Tuna is an ideal fish for home menus because it is easy to prepare, quickly satiates, looks beautiful and is very healthy. Many recipes are suitable for a weekday dinner with the family, while more complex dishes can be prepared for a holiday table. You will definitely enjoy both cooking and tasting tuna, and one of them will certainly become your signature home dish. Enjoy delicious, aromatic, healthy fish and make your loved ones happy!

Tuna is a fish that not only has excellent taste, but is also easy to prepare. There are several ways to cook tuna fillet, with which the finished dishes can acquire different flavors.