I am not trying to start a fight here, I am really curious if I am the only one who likes it cooked. I thought some people would have skipped the earlier restaurant post. I guess what Linda said really struck a cord.
Clare

If we are talking Ahi Tuna, I like mine either sushi style (raw) or like this, just seared........

But Ahi Tuna is the only fish I like this way. I like salmon and halibut, swordfish, etc, cooked. Just not over cooked.

Hey Clare, this still is the cooking forum :-) Just ignore that rude comment. I like my tuna medium rare but if I ordered something that came differently than I expected, I would ask the waiter about it. I'm sure there are lots of food items we all are not 100% knowledgeable about and the waiter definitely should have asked you how you wanted the tuna and/or been prepared to take it back.

The first time I had pan-seared tuna I balked a bit but I was in Napa at a popular restaurant with a large group so I dug in. Loved it. But I was a long time sushi eater so no big deal to me. Have you tried it?

Actually seared rare is the only way that I like it. I think it has a chewy consistency when it's cooked completely through. Nevertheless the menu or the server should have advised you of how they serve it.

Seared is my preferred way also. It has to be really high quality tuna though, too often restaurants use sub-par tuna and while it looks pretty, I can taste the difference.

But, to each his own. When my younger kids get tuna in restaurants I like it to be cooked a little more thoroughly.

AM

I'll admit to liking my tuna cooked all the way through. I like my steak well done, too, so there! ;)

Unless it is ahi grade I prefer it if no more than about the center 3/8 inch is raw. But to me what is more important is the temperature of the center. If it still has a chill in it I would be turned off.

I like it seared, my dad likes it cooked through.

It MUST be high-quality, fresh and room-temperature - then I like it seared, but not sliced too thick.

Otherwise I like it grilled and cooked through.

Every restaurant in town sears it, but if it gets to me cold in the middle, or smelling fishy, it's going back.

I'm drooling over Ann's picture -- it looks perfect, exactly how I like it.

OK, I'm confused.

I 'thought' the word "ahi" was Hawaiian for yellow fin as opposed to blue fin or albacore, that yellow fin was a substitute for the preferred blue fin that has been overfished, and that yellow fin (or, "ahi") was sold in two different grades with the premier being "sashimi".

Here, we fish for all 3 types but north of Cape Cod there are only blue fin. DH catches both yellow & blue fin tunas off Montauk.

Here's a menu from a Montauk restaurant. They don't say, "ahi"...it's shown as yellow fin.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gosman's, Montauk, NY

Oops, I forgot to ask my question!

On the west coast...is the premier grade of tuna referred to as "ahi" or does that term just refer to the type of tuna as in yellowfin?

Thanks,
/tricia

I like mine a little more well done than I want my beef, tuna I like leaning toward a medium/medium rare. Most fish, though, I want cooked all the way through.

I don't think how you like your steak or your tuna has any bearing on your sophistication, it's just a matter of personal preference.

Annie

I agree with Ann, Gina and Annie!

It has to be room temp before grilling.

I like it seared and not because that is the way the restaurant thinks it should be served. It's so good just barely on the fire. Oh, and I don't really care for sushi.

Clare, I wouldn't worry about how anyone else likes it. If I did that I would feel like I had to eat goat cheese and like it and I'd rather chew on an unwashed sock than eat goat cheese. As for the restaurant, around here they always ask how you want it cooked and there is only one place I'll ask for it rare. Otherwise I want it cooked all the way through.
I like both.
James

Well Tricia I learned something new. I always thought that ahi was synonamous with sashimi grade, but I see you are right, it is just another word for yellowfin (or bigeye). Thanks!

I like it the way it is in ann_t's picture. Mostly red with a sear around the edge. Or as sushi or sashimi totally uncooked. I don't like the texture and flavor as much if it is cooked to gray inside.

Pan sheared it the only way to eat tuna.....

Here's dinner the other night. You can see the pink on the sides. If you overcook tuna in is way to dry.....

Linda

Clare --

If it makes you feel any better, I like mine not so raw as well. Not fully cooked through, but definitely more cooked than in Ann T's picture for my personal taste. Though I too know that it makes me a rube by todays foodie standards...

Emily

Definitely seared. I like it just the same way I like my steak: just cooked on the outside and soft and smushy on the inside. Then again, for some reason I really don't like it when salmon is on the rare side, too mushy for my taste. I like it raw in sushi or fully cooked, no in-between. Don't feel bad for the way you like to eat your food, just be sure to speak up in the future and let your server know ahead of time that you prefer your fish fully cooked.

Chrissy

I like it either way, as long as it's good tuna. Tuna that is cooked all the way through needn't be dry or chewy...it's just that you have to get it off the grill just before it's done and let the residual heat cook it through so it's still moist.

I like mine both ways as well. This recipe definitely goes beyond the red inside stage and the tuna is amazing. Good tuna is hard to get around here, so we have this recipe frequently.

Tuna Steaks, Madeira-Style - Steve Raichlen's Barbeque bible

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 TBSP coarse salt
1 TBSP dried oregano leaves
1 TBSP dried basil leaves
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup EVOO, preferably Portugese, or as needed
4 tuna steaks (each 6-9 ounces and about 1 inch thick)
8 bay leaves
1. Combine the garlic, salt, oregano, basil, and pepper in a mortar and pound to a paste with the pestle, then work in enough oil to achieve a spreading consistency, 1 to 2 TBSP. (if you don't have a mortar and pestle, mash the ingredients together in a bowl using the back of a wooden spoon, or process in a mini-chopper or blender, adding the oil gradually. (this is what I do...))
2. Rinse the tuna steaks under cold running water, then drain and blot dry with paper towels. Using your fingers or a spatula, spread the spice paste on both sides of each of the steaks, then place in a baking dish just large enough to hold them flat in a single layer. Pour another 1/4 cup of the oil over the fish and turn the steaks once or twice to coat. Place a bay leaf under each steak and one on top, then cover and let marinate, in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours, spooning the oil over the steaks occasionally.
3. Preheat the grill to high.
4. When ready to cook, oil the grill grate. Remove the tuna steaks form the marinade. Rinse and blot dry with paper towels, then brush on both sides with another 1 to 2 tablespoons oil. Arrange the steaks, facing in the same direction on the hot grate and grill until cooked to taste, 4-6 min. per side for medium well (the portugese like their tuna on the medium side of medium well), turning over carefully. For an attractive crosshatch of grill marks, rotate the steaks 90 degrees after the first 2 minutes on each side.
5. Transfer the steaks to serving plates and serve at once

Thanks, foodonastump. I was confused because I know that different locales frequently use different terminologies.

Here's an article from yesterday's NY Times on the yellowfin versus blue fin issue.

On the east coast, nobody would ever feel 'sophisticated' ordering seared ahi tuna because it's considered inferior.

There are very strict limits on even recreational fishermen for blue fin. We used to have large Japanese fishing boats that would just sit outside our territorial waters & wait for a US recreational fisherman to land a blue fin. The US fisherman would then run a few miles out & make a sale of the tuna to the Japanese.

Blue fin are few & far between now & with the catch restrictions the Japanese boats have almost stopped coming close to our waters. That's a good thing; but the overfishing is not a good thing. Recreational fishermen are furious at the commercial fishermen. Most restaraunts around here won't serve blue fin or even yellowfin (ahi) if it has been long-line caught.

We're almost down to...if DH hasn't caught it, we don't eat it. I would like to say that all recreational boaters/fishermen are responsible fishermen but it's not the case, unfortunately. Even at our own marina we've got one man who's so addicted to fishing that even though he only hauls in daily limit but he does so day after day after day...way more fish than he can eat. We've often wondered if he's selling them to fishmongers or restaurants. He doesn't have a commercial license. In fact, he doesn't even have a six-pack license to run a small charter. He's not broken any laws...it's just morally wrong to take more than you can eat just because you like to fish.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Ready For Life Without Bluefin Tuna?

I prefer my fish cooked through - though not dried out...

I prefer seafood and poultry to beef, and rarely order it at a restaurant. But if I'm somewhere where it's served I ask for it well done.

I've read enough about food, and been around enough foodies, to know neither is the more highly desired degree of doneness, but I've reached an age where I know what I enjoy and I'm not as concerned about what others(like snooty waitstaff)think.

Tricia, there are two fish referred to as "Ahi". The Ahi Tuna that I buy is actually Bigeye Tuna from Hawaii. There is some confusion because Bigeye is referred to as Ahi and but so is Yellow fin Tuna. The Bigeye (Ahi) has more fat and is melt in the mouth tender. I use to buy it more often when we lived in Vancouver.

Ann

Thanks, Ann, for clarifying the confusion.

We refuse to eat longline caught fish & quality restaurants here won't serve it either. It's depleting our natural resources.

That's probably why I only see yellowfin (ahi) locally...troll-caught with rod & reel. We live close to Montauk & Montauk is considered to be one of the best fishing grounds in the world. There are many fishermen here using just rod & reel to bring in tuna. Private tuna rigged fishing boats here are all equipped with huge fish boxes with proper refrigeration & because of restrictions when a tuna is landed the boat returns immediately to port to offload so rod & reel caught is also much fresher than longline. Quality east coast restaurants changed their menues to stop serving longline caught fish several years ago. Many either have signs in the windows or printed on the menues that no longline caught fish are served.

Here's a quote from Wiki & the link to the whole article.

"Overfishing

Bigeye tuna are amongst the tuna species most threatened by overfishing. Juvenile bigeye tuna associate closely with floating objects such as logs, buoys and other flotsam, which makes them extremely susceptible to purse seine fishing in conjunction with man-made FADs (Fish Aggregation Devices). Bigeye mature at a later age than other commercially important tuna species such as skipjack and yellowfin tuna, and the removal of large numbers of juvenile bigeye before they reach breeding age is a major concern to fisheries managers, scientists and sport fishermen."

From this article...

http://www.hawaii-seafood.org/bigeye.html

"Availability And Seasonality:

The availability of bigeye tuna in Hawaii has increased as a result of an expansion of the domestic longline fleet and an extension of the fleet's fishing range to as far as 800 nautical miles from port."

IMO, as consumers we need to stop supporting this mass killing type of fishing or our grandkids will never know the pleasure of watching one of these fish in their natural environment. Man...one on one with a rod & reel against the fish...is a fair fight. Longline hooking is
not plus many other fish & ocean mammals are killed in the process. I guess because DH & our friends tuna fish we are very sensitive to this longline issue. There is some longlining here as well; but they have to sell to lesser restaurants.

I imagine that most, if not all, of the rod & reel caught Bigeye tuna stay in Hawaii.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: Hawaiian Bigeye Tuna