Ok, I did this several months ago, but I didn’t have very good pictures of what I’d done, so I thought, since I was having it for dinner, I’d go ahead and go over it again.
It’s VERY easy to make tuna this way. The only thing I wish I could get is tuna that’s cut more in a square cross section, but, in Dayton, Ohio, I’m just glad to get really good tuna! And that’s the secret to this dish… Sushi grade tuna!
My disclaimer for this is that it’s NOT my recipe; I got this pretty much wholesale from a Good Eats episode, but it’s REALLY good!
So what is chimney charred tuna? I don’t know if chimney charred is a real term, but I like it, so I use it. It’s basically tuna that has the exterior charred by putting it on a grate right on top of a charcoal chimney. The chimney gets temps of around 1000 degrees F, so it’s good and hot! The idea is to get the outside done, but leave as much of the interior raw as possible.
The prep couldn’t be much simpler; I just put black sesame seeds all over the tuna while it sits on the counter to get to room temperature. You don’t want tuna to sit out too long and spoil, but if the temp doesn’t come up a bit, it will still be cold when you take it off the chimney and serve it.
After about 10 minutes of having the fish prepped, I light about half a chimney of charcoal. I let it go for about 10 minutes, until the coals are good and hot, 
but they’re done flaming up and smoking. Once it’s ready, I have a small grate that I put over the fire to get good and hot, and I spray it with a bit of oil.
The key to cooking is to listen… Once the tuna is on the grate, I listen to hear when the sesame seeds start to crackle, then I turn it immediately, and do the same on the other side. Once the second side crackles (it only takes about 30 seconds), I take it off the fire.
To slice, a sharp knife is critical, or the tuna will just kind of tear. I slice it thin, but not too thin, and serve the tuna with the typical soy sauce/wasabi dipping sauce. A bit of honey can also be added.
If you like sushi or think you might like to try some great fish, give this is shot. And let me know what you think… This is a hit not just at home but also great for parties.
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Curt,
That looks phenomenal!
Todd
That looks real good Curt, I saw that episode of Good Eats and have been wanting to try it but havnt found a good enough piece of meat or enough people that like it.
Ed, it’s definitely worth it. Most areas have a market that can get at least flash frozen tuna in that’s sushi grade… Just ask around. I served it at a wine party, and more people tried it than I thought would, and loved it.
It’s one of those things that kind of wows people, but it’s SO easy to do!
That looks good. I also saw this episode of Good Eats and wanted to try it. Don’t laugh at me for ready Bon Appetit, but the July 06 issue which is devoted to gourmet BBQ has a “fancy spancy” Japanese gadget called a “konro” where they call this technique Robatayaki and basically it cooks just like a chimney with a grate on it.
Sylvie, I had to look up the konro… For that price, I’ll stick to my $10 Weber chimney! I also saw how much the Japanese charcoal is… wow! It’s made up of scraps and sawdust, and costs more than the furniture that left the scraps!
And Sylvie, the only mag subscriptions I have are to cooking magazines… Kitchen and Cook is my favorite, but I also like Food & Wine.
I’ve done this before and the Tuna is really great. Looks good Curt!