Albacore season arrived early in the PNW. So I'm re-running my column from last summer, just so folks will have some extra ways to enjoy this spectacular summer treat. Bon appetit!
JRD

Food For Thought for 9-2-09; Pacific Albacore

TO: The Gazette-Times

FROM: Jan Roberts-Dominguez

541-752-7060

It occurred to me recently that Pacific Albacore doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Not in the "Sushi-grade Yellow Fin Tuna" sort of way. I mean, really. Even its price here in town practically screams affordable. At least in relation to its budget busting cousin Mr.Yellow Fin - aka, Ahi - tuna.

So don’t be fooled by price. Not in this case. Some of my best summer grills have been centered around fresh, local, line-caught Pacific albacore. Whether loosely draped in foil and poached in wine, lemon, and herbs, or cooked straight over the coals after a brief stint in a teriyaki-styled marinade, those exquisitely lean loins always turn out firm yet tender and flavorful.

And like all the other summer wonders that only appear during these halcyon days, our greatest culinary imperative at the moment should be the pursuit of these decadent harvests from field and ocean. Indeed, every summer-into-fall, as schools of Pacific albacore are migrating from the coastal waters off Northern California toward British Columbia, local fishing fleets seize the opportunity to bring fresh offerings of it ashore. Some weeks it’s more challenging than others, because albacore prefer swimming in water temperatures of 58 to 70 degrees F. - even if they have to swim several hundred miles out to sea to find it. The larger boats are usually willing and able to follow, leaving the smaller vessels behind to intercept the albacore as they swing closer to the coast. For this reason, even though we’re still enjoying the run of albacore, you can’t always expect to find it in the market place. It all depends on where those warm and cold currents are flowing.

At Harry and Annette’s Fresh Fish in downtown Corvallis, Harry Daughters will happily share his cooking tips with you. His latest involves a basic marinade of soy sauce, sesame oil, olive oil and fresh ginger, which he says needs at least an hour in contact with a hefty chunk of albacore loin, or kabobs (half an hour in the fridge, and half an hour at room temperature). His crowning glory is the addition of fresh peach quarters, skewered alongside the tuna and grilled to perfection.

For a more indirect approach to grilling, you could follow one of my evening delights from a while back. I fashioned a shallow roasting pan out of heavy-duty foil. While the grill was heating up, I finely chopped half a Walla Walla sweet onion, half a rib of celery, about 6 plump mushrooms, a backyard tomato, and a fresh serrano chile. I tossed all of those ingredients with some fresh corn kernels I’d just sliced off the cob, a bit of olive oil, a healthy pinch of salt, and an aggressive cranking of black peppercorns. I lay the albacore pieces in the center of the foil pan, rubbed them down with some olive oil, salt and peppered them, then arranged my little fresh salsa mixture all around the fish, letting a little of it hang out on top to flavor the tuna from all angles. After about 40 minutes of indirect heat, dinner was done.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR -

Whole Loin: Each albacore has four wedge-shaped loins which radiate out from a central backbone. They taper in thickness, thinning as they approach the tail, and should be totally boneless. They are sold either skin-on or skinless.

Loin Cuts: Cross-cut sections of the loins. Like the whole loins, they are boneless and trimmed of the dark meat (which tends to have a stronger flavor).

Steaks: Cross-cut sections of the fish, which includes the backbone and dark meat located near the backbone. The dark meat tends to be slightly stronger in flavor than the light meat, so you may want to remove it before cooking. The skin is typically removed before serving.

COOKING ALBACORE -

First, be sure you’re working with outstanding albacore. It’s gotta be fresh! Downtown, at Harry & Annette’s Fresh Fish (Corner of Monroe and First) they provide plenty of cooking suggestions, but are especially fond of soy sauce based flavorings as previously described. In fact, they’re featuring a recipe developed by local cook, Robert Hirsh, which he adapted from a recipe by Sada Sakamoto of Sada’s Japanese Restaurant in Newport, Oregon. You can pick up a copy when you buy your fish.

Since albacore has a tendency to dry out quickly, all albacore cooks agree, it should be cooked just until it becomes firm to the touch. Some like to leave the center pink, while others take it just slightly beyond that.

.....SIDEBAR....

Beurre Blanc Goes Pacific Rim - The Ultimate Sauce for Albacore

Beyond thoughtful cooking, albacore tuna doesn’t need any special treatment to be delicious. A simple grilling is most certainly an honorable and healthy way to prepare this seasonal delight. But I tend to take this fish in the direction of the ocean from which it came, the Pacific - as in Pacific Rim cuisine. Something you’d encounter at Aqua Seafood Restaurant in downtown Corvallis, which speaks to my own true passion when it comes to the merging of Asian-Hawaiian flavors.

Particularly in the context of albacore tuna.

Thanks to Aqua’s owner, Corvallis chef and restauranteur Ian Duncan (Le Bistro, Aqua, and Terzo), I’ve developed a few new and decadent approaches. It begins with a classic butter sauce, beurre blanc. For the uninitiated, beurre blanc is a reduction of white wine and/or vinegar and shallots into which a large amount of butter is whisked, one dollop at a time, until a rich and creamy-yet-tangy sauce is formed. The result? Heaven! Beurre blanc’s zippy yet velvety character makes it a perfect compliment to grilled albacore.

For Duncan, that’s merely a starting point. One time over coffee I asked him how everyday cooks could inject the same sort of Pacific Rim/Hawaiian regional influences into their nightly menus that he and chef Adam Kekahuna bring to Aqua. One approach, he advised, would be to incorporate a few Asian/Hawaiian elements into said beurre blanc. Shredded bits of fresh ginger, a drop of sesame oil, and a splash of soy sauce, for example. I have discovered this to be an exciting way to achieve Asian-influenced flavors in elegant style when working with albacore.

Two of my results can be found below, the Mustard Butter Sauce and the Spicy Black Bean-Garlic Butter Sauce. Both are spin-offs from a classic beurre blanc. And even though they’re certainly rich, the idea is to use them sparingly, as an accent to the grilled or roasted albacore. If you add a third element, such as the Tomato Ginger Relish (also below), or a simple cucumber salad tossed with vinegar, chopped green onion and coarsely ground black pepper, then you lighten the dish even further.

.....END OF SIDEBAR...

Grilled Albacore in Honey-Soy marinade

This is a spin-off from the approach Harry Daughters likes to do at Harry and Annette’s Fresh Fish in downtown Corvallis. It’s an end unto itself, or it can be a great starting point for any of the butter sauce recipes I’ve provided on this page.

About 2 pounds of albacore (a portion of a whole loin, loin cuts, or steaks)

About 1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon honey (or brown sugar)

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the albacore in a large baking dish or resealable plastic bag. Combine the orange juice, soy sauce, fresh ginger, honey and olive oil and pour over the tuna. Refrigerate for several hours to marinate.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the grate with a bit of vegetable oil.(ideally, you should use a special grill grate designed with narrower slots or holes in it for fish and cut up vegetables, but because albacore is so firm, it will do pretty well on regular-sized grate).

Remove the albacore from the marinade and drain slightly. Place the albacore on the hot fire and grill for about 3 minutes per side (if cooking a portion of a whole loin, you should cook it on 3 or 4 sides), or until the fish is just becoming firm and turning opaque when prodded with a fork. (Note: do not overcook; for "medium-rare," the inside should still be pink; for "medium," the inside should just be turning to gray).

TASTY OPTIONS: Marinate some mushrooms and whole green onions along with the albacore. Grill them while grilling the albacore.

Foil-Grilled Albacore with Teriyaki Sauce

This is my more decadent approach to a simple teriyaki grill. You could cut back on the butter, and it would still be delicious.

Serves 4 to 6.

2 to 2-1/2 pounds fresh albacore loin

Jan’s Teriyaki Marinade (recipe follows)

1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 chunks

Combine the albacore and Jan’s Teriyaki Marinade in a zip-lock bag. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours; remove 30 minutes before grilling.

When ready to cook the fish, create a foil pan for the fish that is large enough to surround everything and partially enclose the top. Spread open the foil. Remove the albacore from the marinade and place it in the center of the prepared pan. Pour 1/2 cup of the marinade over the fish. Pour the remainder of the marinade into a pot, which you will boil before serving.

Distribute the four chunks of butter around the sides of the fish, then snuggle the foil up and around the fish, leaving the top open so the fish will poach but not steam over the grill (or in the oven). Cook over hot coals (or in a 375 degree oven) until the fish is just cooked through, which will take about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how thick the loin is. Several times during cooking, spoon the butter-sauce on top of the fish.

Towards the end of the cooking process, bring the reserved marinade to a boil in the pot, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly while you deal with the grilled albacore. Serve the boiled marinade in a small container alongside the albacore for people to spoon over their serving of fish as desired.

DIRECT GRILL ALTERNATIVE: For a stronger grilled approach, eliminate the foil pan and simply cook the marinated albacore directly over hot coals or a gas grill (cover during cooking). Brush the fish with some of the marinade during cooking. Serve with the boiled marinade as described above.

 

Jan’s Teriyaki Marinade (for my Foil-Grilled Albacore with Teriyaki Sauce)

This makes about 2-1/2 cups of sauce; enough marinade for about 2-1/2 pounds of albacore loin.

1 cup Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce (made by Soy Vay; see note below)

1/2 cup dry sherry or extra dry vermouth

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (my favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee)

1/3 cup extra virgin Olive oil

In a zip-lock bag large enough to hold the albacore loin, combine the Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce, sherry, lemon juice, chili garlic sauce, and olive oil. May be prepared several days ahead and refrigerated until use.

NOTE ABOUT VERI VERI TERIYAKI SAUCE: This is a heavenly marinade produced by Soy Vay. It’s only major drawback is that it has become very expensive. My last purchase was about $6 for a 21 ounce bottle. But you are only going to use 8 ounces of that, which means you have a whole lot left over for other meals. Not convinced? No worries, use your favorite brand of teriyaki sauce and then, to bring it into the Veri Veri Teriyaki realm, goose the levels of fresh ginger and toasted sesame seeds.

SPICY BLACK BEAN-GARLIC BUTTER SAUCE ALTERNATIVE: For an extra special dinner, consider making the Spicy Black Bean-Garlic Butter Sauce to serve along side this dish.

Tomato-Ginger Relish for Grilled Albacore

Serves 6 to 8; enough for 2 to 3 pounds of albacore.

Team this fresh tomato-rich salad with the Mustard-Butter Sauce for a dynamic approach to grilled albacore.

 

2 cups diced tomato

1/3 cup chopped green onion

1/3 cup minced Walla Walla Sweet onion (or other sweet onion)

2 tablespoons peeled, minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons mirin (sweet rice wine)

1-1/2 tablespoons black sesame seeds

1-1/2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds

1-1/2 teaspoons coarsely ground black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon nam pla (fish sauce; optional)

Combine the tomatoes, green onion, sweet onion, fresh ginger, mirin, sesame seeds, ground peppercorns, salt, and nam pla (if using). May be prepared up to 6 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate.

Serve alongside freshly grilled albacore, along with a portion of the Mustard-Butter Sauce (recipe follows).

Hot Mustard-Butter Sauce for Grilled Albacore

Makes about 1-1/3 cups of sauce; enough for 2 to 3 pounds of grilled Pacific albacore (which will feed 6 to 8 people)

Team this rich and flavorful butter sauce with the Tomato-Ginger Relish (previous recipe) for a dynamic approach to grilled albacore. The sauce is a spin-off from a classic French butter sauce, beurre blanc.

2 tablespoons prepared Chinese mustard (I use Beaver brand "extra hot")

2 tablespoons ponzu sauce (a citrus seasoned soy sauce; Kikkoman makes one), or regular soy sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

1-1/2 tablespoons minced shallot

Pinch of ground white pepper

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into32 pieces (cut the cube lengthwise into quarters, then cut cross-wise into 8 pieces, which will produce 32 chunks!)

For the butter sauce (Up to the point of adding the butter, the sauce may be prepared several hours ahead. Don’t add the butter until just before serving.) In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard and the soy sauce; set aside (you’ll be adding it to the butter sauce at the very end of cooking).

In a small pot, combine the wine, vinegar, shallots, and white pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer until it is reduced to about 4 tablespoons (this will only take about 5 pr 6 minutes). Whisk in the cream and boil just until it begins to thicken and reduce slightly, about 1 minute. Set the reduction aside until just before serving.

When ready to finish the sauce, bring the reduction to a boil. Turn the heat on the burner to low, then whisk in the chilled pieces of butter one or two at a time. Keep whisking steadily until all of the butter has been incorporated. Keep the sauce over very low heat (or in the top of a double boiler set over hot water) or the sauce will separate. Whisk in about half of the reserved mustard-ponzu mixture. Taste and then add more of the mustard mixture as desired.

　

Spicy Black Bean-Garlic Butter Sauce

Serves 4; enough for 2 pounds of grilled Pacific albacore.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon finely minced sweet onion

1 teaspoon peeled finely shredded fresh ginger

2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon ponzu sauce (a citrus seasoned soy sauce; Kikkoman makes one), or regular soy sauce

1 teaspoon black bean garlic sauce

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sweet onion and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the chili-garlic sauce, black bean garlic sauce, and the wine. Simmer until reduced by half, which will take about 5 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. (NOTE: The sauce may be prepared ahead to this point up to 24 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

When ready to serve, heat the reduced sauce over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat on the burner to low, then whisk in the chilled pieces of butter one or two at a time. Keep whisking steadily until all of the butter has been incorporated. Keep the sauce over very low heat (or in the top of a double boiler set over hot water) or the sauce will separate.

 

French-Asian Truffle Sauce

Serves 4 to 5.

This is an amazing sauce that is a fabulous companion to grilled Pacific Albacore. I served it to 150 diners at a Tyee wine dinner a few summers ago and it was a real show stopper. You’ll be thrilled to have it in your repertoire. Granted, there are a few ingredients that are a little more challenging to run down, and there’s the expense of the truffle oil. But, it is worthy of your time and attention.

1/2 cup Madeira

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup sake

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Tempura sauce (see note below)

1/4 teaspoon chili oil

1/4 teaspoon red miso paste

1/4 teaspoon instant dashi-no-moto

1 cup heavy cream

3-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon truffle oil (white or black)

　

In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine the Madeira, chicken broth, sake, rice vinegar, Tempura sauce, chili oil, miso paste and dashi. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.

Whisk in the cream and continue simmering until reduced by one third. Remove from heat.

In another heavy-bottomed pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture briefly, to remove the raw flower taste. Slowly whisk in the cream sauce, whisking constantly. Whisk in the truffle oil.

Note: the sauce may be prepared ahead to this point and gently reheated. But don’t add the truffle oil until you are reheating the sauce. Makes 1-2/3 cups sauce

Once the sauce has been prepared or re-heated, grill the albacore. To serve, spoon about 1/3 cup of the sauce into the center of each dinner plate. Top with a serving of the hot albacore..

NOTE ON TEMPURA SAUCE: this is a soy sauce style of condiment made by Kikkoman (look for it in the supermarket aisle where soy sauce is sold). It’s not available in all parts of the country, so if you can’t find it, use Ponzu sauce (which is a citrus seasoned soy sauce; Kikkoman makes one), or regular soy sauce.

ALTERNATIVES ABOUND: This sauce is equally great with grilled scallops, halibut, sturgeon or any other firm-fleshed fish. It’s also delicious with grilled chicken or pork tenderloin. If you don’t have Madeira and sake (and don’t want to invest in whole bottles of each), consider substituting 3/4 cup of a dry sherry or dry vermouth).

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Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her through the Gazette-Times at P.O. Box 368, Corvallis 97339, by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.