Yellowfin Tuna

Yellowfin Tuna Flavor Scale

Flavor
Oil
Texture

Back to Tuna Varieties

Yellowfin Tuna (Ahi)

Fresh Yellowfin Tuna (Ahi) is a delicious fish which lends itself best to grilling or searing cooking applications. It is best served as sushi or cooked rare to medium-rare. Over-cooked tuna is "dog food"...tough and tasteless like eating cardboard.

Yellowfin Tuna (Ahi) Flavor Profile

Yellowfin Tuna has a medium-mild flavor with very firm texture.  Compared to other Tunas it is less flavorful than Bigeye but more flavorful than Albacore.  The flesh is deep red while raw, is often used for sashimi, and is best not cooked well-done as it looses flavor and becomes like cardboard.  Tuna Grading is as follows: No. 1 "Sashimi-grade" is the best, being the freshest and having the highest fat content.  No. 2 "Grill-grade" is next best.  No. 3 and No. 4 are lesser quality.

Sashimi Grade #1++	Sashimi Grade #1+	Sashimi Grade #1
Sashimi Grade #2 photos by www.honolulufish.com

 

Typical Cooking Methods

Alternate Names

Ahi (Hawaiian).  Note: Bigeye Tuna is also sometimes called Ahi, but the term usually applies to Yellowfin.

Storage & Handling Recommendations

Store fresh loins/steaks as close to 33° as possible to maintain highest quality and shelf life. Although ice can be used, the flesh should be tightly wrapped in plastic and placed in perforated pans. The flesh should never come in direct contact with ice or water as this will discolor the meat, leech the oil content, and decrease shelf-life. Tightly wrapping in plastic will also slow the natural oxidation of the meat color which fades from a bright color to a darker, more opaque color.

Typical Wholesale Products

Rounds
H&G
Loins-Skin/On Bloodline-In (12 - 20 lb Avg.)
Loins-Skin/Off Bloodline-Out
Steaks

Fresh Yellowfin Tuna (Ahi) Availability

Fresh Yellowfin (Ahi) Tuna availability chart: green areas show peak availability, light green indicate limited availability.  Frozen available all year long.

 

Ahi (Yellowfin Tuna) Butchering Yield Percentage and Recovery

Item	To Skin/On Untrimmed Loins	To Skin/Off B/L- Out Loin	To Skin/Off Steaks	To Sashimi	Notes
Whole Head/Off gutted	70%	55%	50%	35%	13% for Poke and 2-piece steaks. Taken from outside edge of the eye.
Skin/On Loins, Blood Line-In	--	83%	72%		If you have additional yield info on this fish please leave a comment below.
Yield % varies according to a number of factors including: size of fish, season, sex, and the skill of your fishmonger.

 

How to Fillet Ahi Tuna

Here's a great video of how to break down an Ahi into loins. Notice how clean the carcass is after he finishes!

 

Range & Habitat

Yellowfin Tuna are found in warm waters all over the world.  In US markets the best Yellowfin are harvested from southern California, Hawaii, Mexico, the Gulf of Mexico and Florida.

Yellowfin Tuna Sustainability Info

This window is a link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program info on Yellowfin.

 

Ahi Nutritional Information based upon a 6 oz (171 grams) raw edible serving * Calories/Calories from fat 185 * Protein grams  40.1 * Fat grams  1.5 * Saturated fat grams  .3 * Sodium milligrams  63 * Cholesterol milligrams  77 * Omega-3 grams  .3 more Yellowfin Tuna Ahi nutrition

 

Additional Resources:

NOAA-Yellowfin Tuna

 

David Buchanan on Google +
Did you find the information about Yellowfin Tuna useful? Or did you notice something which is missing on this page?
If so, please leave a comment.