A plate of food with a slice of lemon on top
A quick marinate or spice rub protects the delicate flesh and provides great flavor.       
Searing is my preferred cooking method, providing a nice, flavorful crust with a juicy, med rare center! Grilling will work well with this recipe also.         


Tuna Steak with Fruit Salsa

Tuna is a very lean fish & if overcooked becomes quite dry! It's often enjoyed med rare, rare & even raw these days! A nice fresh or preserved fruit sauce is delicious with tuna steaks.

I prepare tuna & most seafood 'a la minute'...  at the very last minute before serving so it doesn't get overcooked or dry. I prefer a steak but cubes/kabobs will work fine for this recipe.
               

Prep Time: 2o min

Cooking Time: 20 min (grilling/ resting)

Yield: 4 portions


Ingredients      

4  ea.       Tuna steaks                      


Seasoning:

6  oz.       Olive oil                                                                     

1 Tbsp     Black pepper     

1/2 tsp     Ginger powder                                                         

2 Tbsp    Lemon or lime juice, freshly squeezed

tt              Kosher Salt   

         

Salsa:

3 Tbsp      Cilantro, rough chopped

2 Tsp.       Red chili pepper, chopped

1 Cup        Mango, peeled & diced

1 Cup        Pineapple, peeled & diced

2 tsp         Lime juice, freshly squeezed

tt                Kosher salt

How to prepare Grilled Flank Steak

A piece of meat is on a styrofoam tray

Step 1

Mix the salsa ingredients together and allow to macerate, developing flavor for about an hour. Taste and adjust the seasoning.


Blend all of the seasoning ingredients into a bowl and blend. Place the tuna steaks into a pan and cover with the seasoning; blend & invert so the tuna is completely covered.

A piece of salmon is being cooked on a pan on a stove.

Step 2

Heat a cast iron grill pan to medium high; scrub the grill pan and then gently oil to avoid sticking.

Place the tuna steaks onto the grill pan and sear about 3 minutes; Invert and continue cooking to reach the desired temperature you enjoy for your meat. 2-3 minutes should provide a delicious, med rare tuna steak.

Step 3

Serve the tuna steaks with salsa.

mastering food cost management

Mastering Food Cost Management Without Compromising Quality

By Tom Griffiths • April 14, 2025
Whether you're running a kitchen or building a food brand from scratch, managing food costs isn't optional—it’s foundational. Get it wrong, and profitability slips through your fingers. Get it right, and you unlock the freedom to invest in what really matters: better ingredients, better equipment, better people.
13 tips for greater kitchen efficiency from Certified Master Chef Thomas Griffiths.

Maximizing Kitchen Efficiency: Tips from a Certified Master Chef

By Tom Griffiths • March 27, 2025
Running a successful, efficient kitchen comes down to organization and execution. A kitchen that struggles with workflow, menu execution, and communication will face higher labor costs, wasted ingredients, and frustrated staff. In this post, I’ll break down the key areas that make the biggest impact.
sustainable sourcing for restaurants

Sustainable Sourcing Strategies for Restaurants and Food Companies

By Tom Griffiths • March 11, 2025
Discover how sustainable sourcing can reduce costs, attract eco-conscious diners, and future-proof your restaurant. Explore local sourcing, waste as a resource, and zero-waste strategies to make your restaurant more sustainable.
Food product development test kitchen

Mastering Food Product Development: Insights from a Former CPG Global Research & Development Leader

By Tom Griffiths • February 19, 2025
Looking to launch a winning food product? Learn expert strategies for food product development, from concept testing to scaling and sensory science, by CPG leader Chef Tom Griffiths.
Menu engineering

The Art of Menu Engineering: Boosting Profitability Without Sacrificing Quality

By Tom Griffiths • February 5, 2025
Menu engineering is a strategic approach to balancing creativity, cost, and operational efficiency to craft a menu that works for your business and your guests. Learn how.

Seafood; Bluefish

By Tom Griffiths • January 30, 2025
Often when I'm fishing, people catch bluefish or skate and throw them back. I always run over and ask to keep one or two. Bluefish are quick and easy to fabricate and a delicious dinner to prepare when I get back home from fishing all day. I prefer simply dredging in seasoned flour and frying pieces in olive oil & butter mixed together. Perfect with cold beer or white wine!

Seafood; Goujons

By Tom Griffiths • January 30, 2025
My first professional cooking job was as the poissonnier at Le Cirque in Manhattan. Occasionally the Chef asked me to make fried fingers (goujons) of flounder family meal. Being right out of culinary school, I set up the normal mise en place for standard breading; a tray of sifted flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. Chef came over and taught me the quicker method... flour the seasoned fish in a bowl, add eggs to the floured fish (same bowl) and then breadcrumbs (same bowl). (one bowl and a fraction of the time)! To this day, that’s the method I use to make crispy, fried goujons-these photos are with bluefish fillets Junnie and I caught.

Seafood; Striped Bass Frittata

By Tom Griffiths • January 30, 2025
I see fisherman fillet their fish, discard the head & frame! They're amazing at catching fish but have little experience fabricating or cooking the beautiful, fresh fish they get. I'm very interested in sustainability & respectful when I take a fish. I cook from head to tail... that's where the tender, 'chef' cuts are... cheeks, head, on the bones etc... which is perfect for salads, pasta, rice and this frittata. The first time I ate this frittata, I actually thought it was crabmeat!

Seafood; Darne of Striped Bass

By Tom Griffiths • January 24, 2025
One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!

Seafood; Darne of Salmon

By Tom Griffiths • January 24, 2025
One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!
More Posts