Yellowfin Tuna Recipes

I love tuna. Fresh, canned, or frozen – bring it on. But is it just me or does anyone else feel a bit overwhelmed by the different species and cuts on offer when buying this deliciously versatile fish? What’s more, a voice at the back of my head wants to know if I’m making an environmentally sound choice.

Unlike wine, cheese and beef, say – for which we have rich vocabularies – common knowledge of different varieties of tuna, their tastes, textures and optimal pairings is the exclusive preserve of specialist chefs and pescatarian gourmands. The differences can be subtle between tuna species and their shifting sustainability status, so here’s a guide to help you go that extra mile and know your yellowfin from your albacore or a $1 tin of skipjack from wallet-busting cuts in restaurants and sashimi joints.

Where it's from: Caught in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The 'tiddler' of the commercial tuna species is also the most abundant. Skipjack, which as the name suggests, likes to leap across the ocean surface, represents 58 percent of the world’s tuna catch.

If you’re eating tuna as a store-cupboard staple then there’s a good bet it’s skipjack. Often labeled 'Chunk Light' in America, it is not technically considered a ‘true’ member of the Thunnus tribe, and upmarket chefs give it a wide berth. That said, its small, tender chunks are perfect for canning and its darker flaky meat has a distinct, strong fish flavor. This makes it a superb pop-top standby for everything from packed lunches and pasta dishes to quick salads and camping trips. Skipjack is the only one of these tunas not commonly eaten raw as sushi.

Try skipjack in cheesy tuna and spring onion melts, pan-fried tuna and parsley patties or in a creamy mayo and lemon-based tuna sauce (tonnato) as a dip for raw or charred vegetables.

Skipjack stocks are healthy in all ocean regions and, at the time of writing, no overfishing is occurring. You will find FAD-free, pole-and-line, or purse-seine caught skipjack tuna available in stores. FADs or fish aggregating devices are man-made floats used to attract tuna; purse seine fishing, which represents 66 percent of global tuna catches, sets a net around a school of tuna, and then pulls it closed like a purse. All of these fishing techniques face challenges when it comes to sustainability, but these can be overcome with careful management and by adapting fishing gear. MSC certified skipjack is, of course, from sustainable sources.

Where it's from: Found throughout the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, yellowfin represent 29 percent of the world’s tuna catch.

More than three-quarters of the world’s tuna catch is consumed in Japan and the most widely served tuna in its 30,000 sushi bars is yellowfin. It is also the tuna most commonly served raw or cooked in European restaurants and the best-selling or most widely consumed MSC-certified tuna in the US. Ruddy colored, leaner, and more affordable than bigeye or bluefin, it appears on menus as sashimi and nigiri or lightly seared in tekkamaki rolls.

Its firm flesh works well grilled, or seared rare to medium-rare. A flash-in-the-pan light touch is key with tuna – overcook it and you might as well be eating cardboard. Yellowfin’s medium-to-mild flavor also makes it an ideal candidate to be marinated – try it cubed and soaked in soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger then served with avocado, edamame, and rice in a bright and healthy Hawaiian poke bowl.

Tuna tidbit: Tuna can earn one of four grades according to its freshness, size and shape, color, texture, and fat content. Grade No. 1 (‘sashimi-grade’ or ‘sushi-grade’) is the best with visible marbled fat and the highest fat content. Grade No. 2+ is excellent quality, perhaps from smaller fish with a few imperfections. Grade No. 2 is ‘grill-grade’ mainly used cooked in restaurants and raw in some lower-end sushi bars. Grade 3 has already turned brown or greenish and is used for cooking.