Blackened Tuna Steaks

When you don't have a lot of time or motivation, blackened tuna steaks are a fantastic way to add heaps of flavor and spice into a toothsome piece of fish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Low Fat, Low Lactose

Keyword 15 minute meals, busy weeknights, healthy meal

Total Time 15

Servings people or 4-6 as an appetizer

Calories 416kcal

Author Agile Test Kitchen

Equipment

1 Nonstick skillet 10 inch is the ideal for 2 steaks. A seasoned cast iron skillet works great too.
1 pair of tongs or a nonstick friendly fish spatula so you can flip the tuna steaks

Ingredients

1 lb ahi tuna steaks cut into about 1 inch steaks, see Note 1
1 Tb olive oil for the tuna
1 Tb cajun seasoning see Note 2
1 tsp olive oil for the pan

Instructions

Rub both sides of the tuna steaks using about 1 Tb of olive oil total. Your choice to use extra virgin olive oil or regular olive oil. (We use extra virgin).
Rub the cajun seasoning all over both sides of the tuna steaks.
Heat your nonstick skillet over medium heat. Depending on the thickness of your pan, this may take 3-5 minutes. If you put your hand an inch or two above the surface of the pan, you should feel a gentle heat radiating from it.
Drop in the 1 tsp of oil. It should slightly shimmer and spread easily across the whole pan.
Gently lay in the tuna steaks. Cook for 2 minutes and flip to the other side. I find it easiest to use tongs though a nonstick friendly spatula will work too.
Cook the tuna steaks another 2 minutes. Flip again and repeat 2 min on the 1st side and another 2 minutes on the 2nd side.
Depending on how hot your pan was, you will want to keep flipping for a 1-2 minutes on each side until the spice coating has deepened to a nice dark brown color and might even be black in some parts.
Remove tuna steaks to a serving plate or to a cutting board if you want to slice them. They do not need to rest like beef, chicken or pork steaks would. The tuna can be eaten right away.

Notes

Note 1 - If the tuna steaks are not already cut into roughly 1" - 1 1/2" thick steaks. Usually 1 lb of tuna will come as a wide piece that is already about an inch thick or it will be smaller and thicker. If it is on the thicker side, you should sliced it in half lengthwise using a sharp knife.

We use ahi tuna in this recipe. Ahi tuna has that beautiful pink color when you slice it. However fresh yellowfin or albacore tuna will work too.

Note 2 - Cajun seasoning blends vary so much from brand to brand. Some can be very spicy or very salty. If you don't like the Cajun seasoning blend, you won't like it when it's put on top of tuna. If you're unsure about the brand you have, use half the amount on the tuna steaks. When you eat it, add salt and pepper to taste. The next time you try the recipe, you can add more spice.

Cajun seasoning usually consists of salt, pepper, and red pepper at the very least. They can also include oregano, garlic, onion, thyme, and other herbs. You could make your own blend, but for the ease of this recipe, we use a store bought blend.

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