Pepper Grilled Tuna

With Michael D. Sargent

Grilling and cooking with the Green Egg has become something of a cult and Michael Sargent is one of the converts, who are known as “eggheads.” There are “Eggfests” all around the country where fellow enthusiasts get together for grilling and fun. The major event is an October Eggtoberfest at Atlanta Motor Speedway, near the company’s corporate office.

Recently Michael Sargent has become a leader within the Green Egg universe having created a blog, a Facebook page and a website all dedicated to his love of food and the Green Egg grill in particular. Those like Michael will swear by the difference cooking with this grill will make on such recipes as his Pepper Crust Grilled Tuna. Having been a caterer and specialty food store owner, he has a love of food and the best ways to prepare it, and now the Big Green Egg is is passion.

Sushi grade tuna steaks encrusted with fresh ground black pepper is one of his favorite recipes. If you are like him, and prefer your tuna rare, he recommends that you make sure to purchase it from a reputable dealer and be sure to ask if it is sushi grade. The cut needs to be square and even, allowing the fillet to cook evenly on the grill. This delicacy can be served as an appetizer, with a simple garnish of mache greens, wasabi and pickled ginger. Or, as a main course for lunch or dinner, serve thin slices on a bed of spring mix greens and a light dressing, such as the drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar or if you prefer fresh squeezed lemon juice. The key to this simple recipe is to not overcook the tuna, keeping that center of the fillet nice and pink.

Ingredients

1 1 ½-2 inch tuna fillet (approximately ¾ pound)
Extra virgin olive oil
Ground sea salt
1 ½ tablespoons fresh ground pepper 
Lemon or balsamic vinegar to dress

Instructions

1. Apply EVOO liberally to both sides of the fillet
2. Salt one side of fillet only
3. Pat freshly ground course pepper on both sides of the fillet. I prefer a peppercorn mix from Cross and Blackwell, a mixture of green, red, white and black peppercorns, ground in a mortise and pestle
4. Place fillet on hot grill and sear both sides about 1.5 minutes for each side leaving a nice ¼ inch rim of cooked meat around each slice
5. Slice ¼ inch thick and
6. Serve on a bed of spring lettuce mix dressed with light oil and squeeze of lemon. If lemon is not your preference, a couple dashes of balsamic vinegar is a nice option.

Whatever your choice, keep it light, being careful not to overpower the delicate flavor of the tuna.

Recipe courtesy of Michael Sargent, blogger at The Green Egg and I, and BubaQlishus.com. 

Michael, a Cape Ann resident, has always enjoyed grilling and cooking, starting as youngster out on Long Island (NY), mostly enjoying the local fresh seafood from stripers, swordfish, steamers and mussels to a nice grilled blue fin tuna steak.

As a newlywed, he and his wife, Jennifer, worked with a high-end caterer in Fairfield County (CT). His interests in cooking grew both independently and as a couple, as his wife joined the staff of The Pleasures of Cooking, a magazine published by Cuisinart in Greenwich. In later years, Michael pursued his professional career in insurance brokerage. 

The late ‘90’s found Michael on Cape Cod, where he and Jennifer purchased a specialty foods store and established a high end catering business, both serving the Hyannis community successfully for 5 years. 

Michael in later years has focused on his passion for cooking, primarily on the Big Green Egg and running his catering business specializing grilled meats, pork,  beef BBQ and other grilling selections under BuBaQlishus catering services. He writes and illustrates his grilling experiences on the Egg through Facebook under The Green Egg and I and blog of the same name. Other cooking recipes and experiences are chronicled under his blog BuBaQlishus.com. Michael resides in Rockport, and can often be found grilling with Billy Aaron on the Green Egg most Saturday’s at Foster’s Grill Store in Gloucester.