Freshen Up Your Tuna Salad Recipe with Fresh Tuna Steaks

You may never go back to canned tuna after you make tuna salad with freshly grilled steaks. Fresh, grilled tuna has a richer texture and flavor than canned tuna. It tastes amazing tossed with mayonnaise, lemon juice, and other classic tuna salad ingredients. Since fish cook quickly, you don’t have to worry about a long prep time. You’ll still be able to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

If this is your first time buying fresh tuna, here are a few tips:

Pick up fresh tuna at a local fish market like City Fish Market or a grocery store that’s seafood counter has a good reputation. Going to a trusted fishmonger is important because you can taste the difference when you get fish that’s practically just out of the ocean. Look for Albacore tuna or Yellowfin tuna. Both have a mild flavor that’s great for tuna salad. Albacore tuna looks white. Yellowfin tuna is a light pink color. Trust your eyes and nose. Fresh tuna steaks should have a uniform color and look moist but not super wet. If it looks brown around the edges or dry and flaky, it isn’t fresh. Uncooked tuna steaks should have little to no smell. If the tuna has a strong fishy odor, that’s another give away that it isn’t fresh. We recommend 4-ounce Albacore tuna steaks for fresh tuna salad. This recipe calls for three, 4-ounce steaks.

FRESH TUNA SALAD

Ingredients

12 ozs Albacore tuna steaks
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp dill pickle juice
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

3 Tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp red onion, minced
1 large rib celery, minced
1 dill pickle spear, minced

Directions

• Pat the tuna steaks with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Then place in a Ziplock bag.
• Add the seasonings to the Ziplock bag: pickle juice, olive oil, celery salt, kosher salt, and black pepper. Seal the bag. Toss until the flavors blend and coat the tuna steaks. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature.
• Preheat your grill to medium-high. Grease the grill rack. Then place the steaks on the grill. Cook on one side for 6 minutes or until seared on one side.
• Flip the steaks and cook for another 6 minutes or until the steaks flake when stabbed with a fork. Remove from grill and let rest.
• In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and ½ teaspoon salt. Toss in the minced celery, pickle, and red onion.
• Break up the tuna fish into chunks using a fork then add to the bowl. Mix in until the tuna fish is coated with the mayonnaise mixture.
• Serve on whole-wheat bread or a bed of lettuce.

Let us know how your fresh tuna salad turned out in the comments!

If you are looking for a fishmonger in Connecticut that you can trust, stop by City Fish Market! We are the go-to seafood market for families, professionals, and restaurants in Southern New England.