Bluefin Tuna Flavor Profile

Bluefin Tuna Flavor Scale
Flavor
Oil
Texture

Bluefin Tuna has the darkest and fattiest flesh of all tuna. It has a distinctive medium-full flavor and firm, “meaty” texture with large flakes. It is best served as sushi or cooked rare to medium-rare. Over-cooked tuna is “dog food”…tough and tasteless like eating 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.

Typical Cooking Methods

  • Bake
  • Broil
  • Deep-Fry
  • Grill
  • Poach
  • Saute
  • Smoke
  • Steam
  • Sushi

Alternate Names

Giant Bluefin, Northern Bluefin, Atlantic Bluefin, Kuromaguro,Honmaguro, Toro

Description

Average commercial weight is 200-400 Lbs, but Bluefin Tuna can reach over 2000 lbs and 12′ long. They have a blue-black upper body and silvery sides.

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.

Range & Habitat

Bluefin Tuna are found between southern California and Japan, Northeastern US to Newfoundland, and Spain to the Mediterranean Sea.

Typical Wholesale Products

H&G, Loins, Steaks

Fresh Bluefin Tuna Availability

Fresh seafood availability chart: green areas show peak availability, light green show limited availability, gray indicates not available fresh.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec

 

Bluefin Tuna 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%
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.

 

Nutritional Information

based upon a 6 oz (171 grams) raw edible serving.

* Calories/Calories from fat 247
* Protein grams 39.9
* Fat grams 8.4
* Saturated fat grams 2.2
* Sodium milligrams 67
* Cholesterol milligrams 65
* Omega-3 grams 2.2

 

Bluefin Tuna Sustainability Info

Name Alternate Names Catch Method Catch
Region
Seafood
Watch
Ocean
Wise
Sea
Choice
Mercury
Concerns
Bluefin Tuna, Thunnus thynnus Kuromaguro,Honmaguro, Toro Wild – Longline, Troll, Purse Seine Pacific Ocean Red-Dot_20.png Red-Dot_20.png Red-Dot_20.png Elevated
Wild – Longline Southern Atlantic, Indian Ocean Red-Dot_20.png Red-Dot_20.png Red-Dot_20.png
Ranched Worldwide Red-Dot_20.png n/a Red-Dot_20.png
Disclaimer: The sustainability info above is accurate to the best of our knowledge. However, each program randomly updates their information without our knowledge. We therefore recommend that you verify the current accuracy of this information.
Green-icon_20.png = Best Choice/Recommended Yellow-icon_20.png = Good Alternative Red-Dot_20.png = Avoid/Not Recommended Updated
August 2013

 

Additional Resources:

National Marine Fisheries Service

 

David Buchanan is a professional chef and author of Chefs-Resources.com, a site geared towards providing chefs and culinarians useful info to help in their kitchens.
Did you find the information about Bluefin Tuna useful? Or did you notice something which is missing on this page?
If so, leave a comment!

 

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Suggested Reading