This blackened tuna recipe is very simple but it's my favorite way to have tuna. Seared fish steaks are a Cajun tradition.
I first had blackened tuna a few weeks ago at a buffet in a casino. I am not sure how this was my first time since I have lived in Louisiana for 24 years but it was. Well as soon as I got home I searched and found this recipe for blackened tuna. A few days later I had a friend over and we tried this recipe and what a success. It matched closely to the blackened tuna I had at the casino and possibly turned out better. This recipe is very simple and takes little time. The only thing you need to watch out for is buying a cajun/creole seasoning without salt. Because of the generous amount of seasoning you will put on the tuna, the salt content is extremely high if you choose a cajun seasoning with salt. Just a tip for people who need to watch their salt content.
Read MoreThis is a really simple recipe, which is a good thing, but because of the simplicity, how it "turns out" depends largely on the quality of your ingredients. I bought a cheap piece of tuna and used a cajun seasoning that was just "ok" and my results were edible, but not great. I think that if you had a great piece of fish and a seasoning blend that you really liked, it could be a GREAT recipe. Simple, easy, quick. Great for a summer night. My advice would be to buy good ingredients and give it a shot!
Read MoreI first had blackened tuna a few weeks ago at a buffet in a casino. I am not sure how this was my first time since I have lived in Louisiana for 24 years but it was. Well as soon as I got home I searched and found this recipe for blackened tuna. A few days later I had a friend over and we tried this recipe and what a success. It matched closely to the blackened tuna I had at the casino and possibly turned out better. This recipe is very simple and takes little time. The only thing you need to watch out for is buying a cajun/creole seasoning without salt. Because of the generous amount of seasoning you will put on the tuna, the salt content is extremely high if you choose a cajun seasoning with salt. Just a tip for people who need to watch their salt content.
This was really simple, easy, and, most importatly, absolutely delicious! Warning though: open up your windows and turn off the smoke detectors when cooking this because it does get smokey.
Great recipe. You can also make on the gas grill by using a black iron skillet. Heat the skillet on medium heat for 15 minutes. Half the butter/oil and pour a small amount in skillet. Season tuna steak and put in skillet. Smoke will be intense when you first put steaks in skillet. Pour rest of butter/oil on steaks then turn. Cook for same amount of time as original recipe calls for. Steaks will be nice and blackened. I also use this recipe for swordfish. Very delicious too.
This recipe was great. It was my first time making fresh tuna and I will make it again. I sprayed the pan with olive oil flavored spray to reduce calories and fat, then added the butter.
Husband loved it! More salty than spicy, so I think next time I will add cayenne and garlic powder to the Cajun/Creole seasoning to bring up the flavor without over-salting.
Fantastic!!! We like our tuna medium rare so we cooked for 2 to 2 1/2 mins. per side and turned out wonderful. Served with black beans and rice and a salad. We will be making this many more times! Thanks for the great recipe..
Superb! This is now one of my favorites! I dry my steaks with paper towel, rub them with the olive oil then apply the Cajun seasoning like a rub. Instead of using a skillet, I bake mine in the oven at 350 degrees F, up to 20 - 30 minutes. A big hit at our house. Thanks for sharing this simple and delicious recipe.
We love to make sashami grade tuna this way. (just about every time it's on sale!) It's so quick and delicious. Just a quick tip- get the Cajun seasoning without salt that way you can use lots of seasoning and add salt to taste.
Exceptional! My favorite tuna steak recipe. I use enough cajun seasoning to generously cover the steaks... I don't go by the 2 TBSP. Yummy!
This was my first attempt at cooking fresh tuna steaks, and it was a huge success. Even the fussy eaters in our home enjoyed it! We follow a low sodium diet, so I used the following recipe to make a sodium free cajun seasoning: 1 Tbsp garlic powder, 1Tbsp onion powder, 2 tsp white pepper, 2 tsp black pepper, 1 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper, 2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp dried oregano. As other reviewers stated, the tuna smokes as it cooks. It also gets quite black, but it is not burned... the blackening adds a delicious grilled flavore to the fish. Great recipe.
This was very good. I cooked two half-pound tuna steaks for 3.5 minutes per side and it came out done medium-rare. I cooked it in a cast iron skillet and did have issues with the smoke in the kitchen -I had the fan going on high I had to open the doors in the house to get the smoke out. For the spices, I used cajun seasoning mix from the store and added additional cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and a little white pepper. When it was done, I squeezed a little lemon juice on top. Very good.
My boyfriend said it was the best fish he ever had!! It was so quick and the taste was great!
wonderful!!!!!! I seriously doubted this recipe due to its simplicity, but WOW was i wrong!!! I made my own Cajun seasoning (google it) and it formed this beautiful crust on the tuna. IMPORTANT--if this is your first time cooking tuna, you need to make sure your pan is very very very hot before you SEAR the steaks. Otherwise it will be very dry. The best part is that it only took 10 minutes from start to finish!!! Served on top of herbed rice with a little mango/black bean salsa to cut the heat.
This is a really simple recipe, which is a good thing, but because of the simplicity, how it "turns out" depends largely on the quality of your ingredients. I bought a cheap piece of tuna and used a cajun seasoning that was just "ok" and my results were edible, but not great. I think that if you had a great piece of fish and a seasoning blend that you really liked, it could be a GREAT recipe. Simple, easy, quick. Great for a summer night. My advice would be to buy good ingredients and give it a shot!
Awesome!! Our first attempt at homemade tuna steaks. They were about 1 inch thick and we fried for maybe 2 mins a side and it was just a tiny bit too much. Can't wait to do this again!!
This was a really good recipe. I agree to watch the salt as cajun seasoining is a little salty. Probally works great on the grill too. Will make this again. thumbs up!
AWESOME recipe! My Boyfriend and I like it rare, so we simply seared it on each side to leave it rare in the middle. Scrumptous! I served it with a side of slow cooked onions and pasta with fresh tomato. We are making tuna tacos with the leftovers!
Made this recipe with mahi mahi instead of tuna and it was fabulous! Left out the butter and it still turned out great.
I am licking my fork as I type!!! I could give this 10 stars! I, too, used an electiec skillet (I didn't use the cover) and the tuna turned out just right. It was moist and full of flavor. I wouldn't change anything about the original recipe.
This is a great recipe that can be on the table in 10-15 mins. I put the Cajun seasoning in a ziploc bag, put in the fish, and shake to distribute evenly. I halve the recipe because there are just two of us, so I cook uncovered in a small frying pan. It may be because there are small "tuna medallions" and not larger "tuna steaks" where I live, but I have found 6 minutes is too much cooking time. I like my tuna to have a pink stripe in the middle so it is not too dry, so I sear closer to 2 mins a side. The recipe does get smoky, so turn off your smoke detector and turn on your oven fan if you do it inside. Yum!
A friend had given me her old used Farberware electric fry pan. So, after reading all the comments about smoke inside other's kitchen's, I decided to 'take it outside.' This was the first time I had blackened tuna; my husband said it was perfect. No cleanup of splatters b/c they were outdoors!!! No smoke inside the house! The frypan cleaned up easily after cooling as well!!
This was the best tuna I ever had! I cooked it in a iron skillet that I let heat up on the gas grill till it was smoking. Cooked 3 min. per side. Am making again for company New Years Eve. THANK YOU!!!
This recipe is fabulous. It is the best way to eat ahi tuna steaks. It works great the next day on a salad with a little bit of toasted almond.
I definatly had to open the windows for this one. I had three steaks and experimented with one. Instead of the cajun seasoning I tried beef fajita seasoning and it was incredible. I used an 11.5in cast iron skillet, olive oil, and unsalted butter. I follwed the directions and turned the heat up to high and I covered the pan. I was a little nervous though; I thought the pan would catch fire so I had my fire extinguisher handy. The amazing part was that my kids loved the one that was cooked with fajita seasoning. They thought it was white fillet mignon. This is now one of my favorite recipes.
This is a great recipe, and I will make it again. I used the Cajun Seasoning recipe available on this website, and it turned out great. The only warning I have is that it will make your kitchen very smokey.
Great,simple recipe. I used tilapi fillets instead of tuna but can't wait to try it with tuna and other fish. It had a lot of zip and didn't need anything else. Thanks
This was really good. I served over a bed of rice with red and yellow peppers and onions. It was quick and easy to make. One bit of useful advice...I used Emeril's Bayou Blast and it really tastes great! I also cooked it on the grill..
A quick, easy, and delicious dinner! It was worth having the smoke alarms going off!
Easy, fast and delicious! What more could you ask for! My husband and I had it with rice and a citrus salad and loved it.
Fabulous! Tuna is only dry if one does not know how to cook it properly. Tuna should be seared on the outside and rare in the middle. Perfection Deny's and thanks!
Delicious! My wife and I loved it. I would only cook the tuna for 2 minutes on each side however. I followed other reviewers suggestions and decreased the amount of butter. I also spiked our Penzey Cajun Seasoning with extra cayenne pepper and garlic powder. We did not have an issue with too much salt, even though salt was the second ingredient on the list. Highly recommend this recipe. Also note, this will produce a lot of smoke. We had our exhaust fan running on high, but we were still coughing at the end.
OH MY!! This was awesome. I was marinating tuna for dinner the next day and had one extra tuna steak... so tried this recipe. I honestly wasn't expecting too much, but BOY was I wrong. I can't wait to buy some more tuna steaks so I can prepare this for my husband. This is my favorite way to prepare... and EAT tuna now!!
Excellent dish, excellent dish. Seared blackened ahi is a yummy dinner indeed, indeed. Pudgy hubby loves it too. Use less cajun so it's less salty, less salty. And don't use butter - no need, no need. Cook for a lot shorter time, too - much shorter... about 1 to 1.5 mins on each side for a rare steak. BE SURE NOT TO OVERCOOK and ruin your beautiful ahi. Enjoy, enjoy. (By the way, Anoose that it was quite explosive.)
This is so easy, and tastes great! I followed another reviewer's advice, and used Emeril's seasoning, served with rice pilaf and asparagus.
This has to be one of the easiest and best meals that we have had yet! From start to finish...this entire meal only takes 30 minutes. I served an herbed rice and black beans with the tuna! DH is still saying mmm, mmm, mmm. I also only cooked the tuna (approx 1 inch steaks) 1 1/2 minutes on each side, as we like it rare. Thank you for an excellent recipe and of course, a forever KEEPER!
Excellent! I used marlin instead of tuna, and it was delicious! I recommend sprinkling the Cajun seasoning on the fish well in advance. The fish takes such little time to cook (maybe 3 or 4 minutes). This is so easy, so quick and so tasty. I will be making it again!
Did recipe as it except for 33% percent less sodium old bay cajun. Pam instead of butter! A keeper. So easy....
Really turned out good. I did inside in a cast iron skillet and had no problem with smoke. We like our fish a little more done than most people, so I went the whole 4 min per side...will definitely back that down to 3 min next time.
Delicious, Denys, thanks for sharing! I had Emeril's seasoning on hand so used that instead of the cajun seasoning. Still had an amazing flavor and kick! And like other reviewers suggested, I cooked outdoors using a large cast iron skillet preheated in the gas grill to 350 degrees F. Then I poured the butter/olive oil mixture to the skillet and added the tuna steaks. Mine came out well done at 4 minutes a side, so next time I'll cut the cooking time in half. Regardless, it was an amazing meal. Thanks again for sharing!
This was a very simple & tasty recipe. You do have to be careful not to over-cook the tuna. I served this on a bed of spanish rice & my 8-year old couldn't get enough!
wonderfully delicious! Try it, using a heavy cast iron skillet. you wont regret it. fast and easy. I personally like to use grape seed oil because it has a high smoke point. Happy cook'n!
Phenominal! Made it in my electric frying pan so I could cover it and not be worried about excessive smoke as mentioned by other reviewers. Make it all the time now.
This recipe was very easy and very good. However, we don't like our tuna cooked for very long (3 to 4 mins on each side would completely ruin it for us) so we only cooked for 1 min per side which was perfectly done for our tastes, but we didn't get that blackened look. (Even though we preheated the pan with oil about 5 min in advance).
Like spicy food?Then you'll probably love this.I sprinkled the cajun on randomly which made it slightly too spicy for me.However,it was easy and quick to make and one I will have again.
our tuna steaks were almost 2 inches thick, and 90 seconds per side was too long. definitely will only put them on 45 seconds or so per side next time. I used Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning.
I'd never had tuna steaks, and this was SO wonderful. If it wasn't so expensive to fix I'd have it every week.
Simple and delicious. The tuna blackened beautifully. I ommitted the butter and adjusted the cooking time to suit my tastes.
Maybe I did something wrong, but this didn't turn out anything like I thought it would. For one thing, it was rubbery hard. I cooked it exactly as stated above, but only for 2 minutes on each side. The flavor was good, but not melt in your mouth like my other tuna recipes.
Tuna is too dry a fish for me. Would be better with a sauce. Won't make again. We did use the leftovers for some pretty good tuna sandwiches.
I am a working mom and this is fast, healthy and delicious. Skip the butter. Serve with a box of red or black beans and rice with a bag o salad. Voila. Dinner!
The tuna turned out good but I used McCormick's cajun seasoning and that was way too hot. My family didn't like that spice at all.
I followed this recipe to a "T" and it was great. The equal parts olive oil and butter was just perfect! We do like heat and I was afraid of saltiness so next time I'll add some cayenne as some other reviewers mentioned. Squeeze a fresh lemon on this when done and serve with garlic cheese grits. YUM!!
Overall, I liked this recipe and will try it again. (I would give it three and a half stars if we had that choice.) Our steaks turned our quite dry and that may be because they were fairly large or I should have cooked them more slowly. My wife loved it and would give it at least a four star rating. I do love tuna and thought about, for the next time, cubing the steaks into 1 inch squares and sautéing them in the mixture for a bit to make up for the extra dryness that comes with cutting up a piece of meat.
My family doesn't really care for Cajun food, but everyone likes this dish. In fact, we usually have it once every week or so because it is so quick and easy on those busy days. Awesome recipe!
Good recipe. No WOW factor, but I will definately make again. Make sure the oil is searing before adding the Tuna.
Simple but very delicious! Maybe reduce the cooking time just a bit. And it does make the kitchen very smoky (if you don't have a fan/vent), but it's worth it!
This was good. Hubby bought some fresh "tuna cubes". Had no idea what to do with them....and then found this recipe. The seasoning was a little bit much, wanted more tuna flavor and less cajun. Will definately make again, but will reduce the amount of seasonings to suit our tastes. Thanks for the post.
I had to make the cajun seasoning from my seasonings at home (I used the allrecipes.com recipe), and it did create a lot of smoke, but it was wonderful. I was hesitant about trying it since I am very picky with my fish, but glad I tried. Can't wait to buy more Tuna to make again. Will probably try on the tilapia too. The spice is too much for my 5yr who doen't like spicy, but for the rest of us (including my 2yr daughter) it was great!
My husband and I loved this recipe. It was our first time making something blackened and it was spectacular!
I made this using the seasoning from the "Cajun seasoned snapper" recipe and tuna my husband caught the day before...amazing!! I just doesn't get any better.
My husband and I really enjoyed this recipe. I am not a big fan of fish, but I will definitely cook this again. I used a mixture of McCormick Cajun seasoning and Creole seasoning, and served on a Kaiser roll with spicy aioli
So easy and really good. I hate to buy tuna because it never tastes that great. This recipe has changed that. My husband loved it.
It was pretty good, but I think it could have used more complex flavoring. It could have been the type of cajun seasoning I used. Would try it again but would modify it by making my own seasoning mix instead of using a store bought cajun seasoning.
Excellent, and so simple. Instead of using a skillet, bf prepared these in tin foil packets and grilled. I don't like anything meat like red inside, including fish, so bf indulged me and cooked mine longer. The perfect amount of olive oil and seasonings--this was a good complement to salad and biscuits. I made simple cajun seasoning from this site to use. Thanks for the recipe!
Wow! Couldn't be any easier! Make as written and served with baked sweet potato fries. We like it rare so 2 minutes per side was perfect for our sushi grade tuna. Yum!
It was fantastic and so easy!
This was unbelievable. I didn't have any cajun seasoning, so I googled one and fortunately had all the ingredients on hand. I concur with all those on the board - open your windows, turn on the vent to high. I panicked making this, certain that this would taste burned and would ruin my expensive tuna steak. Oh, was I wrong. I will make this again and again.
Only 4 ingredients, 20 mins. from start to finish...who could ask for anything more? This was FABULOUS!
Was very good and easy...used opah for the fish, which is easily found here in Hawaii.
This was so quick and easy and tasted delicious!! DH and I both enjoyed this fish and will definitely make this again!!
This was a quick and easy way to prepare tuna steaks. I only cooked the fish for about half the recommended time, and they came out just the way I like them...on the rare side. I did use sashimi-quality fish, and it was wonderful!
I really liked this and so did my whole family! It was super quick and tasted great. I'll make it again.
great recipe for tuna steaks! perfect amount of spice....even my picky 2 year old loved it!! will definately be adding this to my recipe box
My whole family loves this recipe, even my very picky 9 yr. old. Like others, I sprinkle the steaks with Emeril's Bayou Blast seasoning (or a mix from a Paul Prudhomme recipe for greater heat). I always grill on a HOT cast iron skillet outside so as not to be overcome by smoke. I don't use olive oil, just butter. Quick, easy, healthy and delicious.
***** the olive oil with the butter on an outside grill side burner, but I used lemon zest, orange zest and dill and it came out delisciou,s put it over my raw spinach,cauliflower, mild cheddar cheese and shredded carrotts and salmon salad.I like Kens 3 cheese italian as the dressing UNBELIEVABLE
Fantastic! I love how easy it is to make. I don't follow directions to a T, so I just shook enough seasoning on to coat the fish. I used my cast iron grill pan, which worked really well for keeping most of the oil and butter off the fish.
This was a quick easy recipe. I loved the cajun spice but agree with the other reviews that it was too salty. Will google a cajun spice mix next time.
A waste of good Ahi tuna. This was way to salty using the Cajun seasoning & when I'd printed the recipe (long time ago) I didn't notice anyone mentioning to cut back because of it. My husband even rinsed the tuna off by it didn't make that much difference. We like Cajun food, but this was not to our liking.
This was absolutely awesome. All of my family members loved, loved, loved it. To make it slightly lighterar, I skipped the butter and used spray oil inthe pan. Also, I let the tuna steaks marinade in fat free italian dressing instead of olive oil. WOW!
Very tasty, used the Blackening Seasoning recipie found on this site. Very juicy, nicely spiced and a great quick meal.
I thought this was fabulous. And I have never had tuna steaks before. I even used the cheapo Tone's cajun spice and it was plenty hot. I did make this on the grill using a cast iron skillet and it worked great. It tasted just as good the next two meals. I will definitely make this again.
PERFECTION! This recipe is spot on, the seasoning is perfect and it is so easy to prepare. I served it thinly sliced on a bed of spring mix lettuce with sliced tomatoes, green onions, candied walnuts and little Rothchild Farms Ginger Wasabi Sauce. Can't wait to make this dish again!
Pretty good. My husband did add some other spices to it but I made mine as indicated. Thanks
I used some of my own blacken seasoning but I am always struggling with how to appropriately cook something like this. It helped my fillets to not turn out like shoe leather! Thanks!
