Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide

Tender and flavorful, these garlic lemon tuna steaks are well-seasoned and lightly cooked to perfection, vacuum-sealed, with a precision cooker. Just slice to serve! 

This summer our lovely little island decided to award a few limited fishing licenses for bluefin tuna to local fishermen in our Channel Island waters. It was such a big deal that every time one was caught, it made the news! Write-ups in the local paper with amazing photos. Those are some massive fish!

We’d never tasted bluefin before so you know our next shopping trip to town included a stop at the fish market. I hopped out and left my husband waiting in the car – no need to park – only to pull up short when faced with closed shutters on the fish stalls. I completely forgot that the market closes early on a Thursday!

All hope was not lost though because one of their doors was still open. I knocked and called out and the wonderful fishmonger responded, coming out of his back office. Bless him, he cut me two of the nicest, freshest, reddest tuna steaks I’d ever seen! (He also gifted me with two roe sacs so I could attempt making bottarga.)

I seasoned and simply seared the bluefin steaks because we wanted to really taste the tuna. To see if it was any different from our usual yellowfin. I am here to report that it was very nice but if you had blindfolded me, I don’t think I’d have known the difference. But you know what? Now at least we can say we’ve eaten and enjoyed line-caught, Channel Island bluefin tuna! 

Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide

As you can see from my list below, I used yellowfin for this particular recipe. Use whatever lovely, very fresh tuna you can buy. 

Ingredients

2 (6 oz or 170g) yellowfin tuna steaks

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Zest 1/2 lemon

1 clove garlic, lightly crushed

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon olive oil

Optional to serve: Cut the ½ lemon you zested into wedges for squeezing

Method

Dry the tuna steaks with paper towels, then season them generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Chill in the refrigerator uncovered for 30 minutes. 

Meanwhile, zest your lemon with a microplane and crush the garlic. 

Set up the precision cooker. In a vessel deep enough to keep the tuna submerged, preheat the water to 110°F or 43.3°C.

Put the lemon zest, garlic, bay leaves and olive oil in a Ziploc bag that is big enough for the tuna steaks not to touch each other. (I used a quart size bag.) Make sure everything is nicely distributed. 

Add the chilled tuna steaks to the bag and gently rub them around so they are coated with the olive oil, lemon zest, bay leaves and garlic.

Close the bag until it is just open on side of the zipper and carefully submerge it in a vessel of cool water to displace the air, zipping it completely closed when all the air is out. 

When your pot of water is at the correct temperature, put the tuna bag in it and secure it to one side. I use clothes pegs for this. Set the cook timer on your precision cooker to 30 minutes. (As you can see, this photo was taken three minutes in.)

When the precision timer turns off, remove the bag from the water.

Leave the tuna steaks in the bag for another five minutes, then remove and chill before slicing. Reserve the contents of the bag for plating up.

I like to use a rolling pin to really mash the garlic inside the bag and, once the tuna is chilled and sliced, I spoon the mashed garlic, lemon zest and olive oil all down the slices. 

Or, if you prefer, you can serve it sashimi-style with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

Enjoy!

Welcome to the 20th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2026, brought to you by the letter T. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the T recipes below:

• Butternut Squash, Thyme, Ham, & Wild Rice Soup from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Chanya Tondak from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Cheeseburger Tacos from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide from Food Lust People Love
• Homemade Taco Seasoning from Sneha’s Recipe
• Tomatillo Salad from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Tortilla Española from Culinary Cam
• Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili Joes from A Messy Kitchen
• Tuscan Sausage Soup from Jolene’s Recipe Journal

Here are my posts for the 2026 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Ají de Cerdo aka Peruvian Pork Stew

B: Baby Cos Peach Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing 

C. Traditional Cullen Skink 

D. Coconut Cream Date Caramel 

E. Edamame Summer Salad 

F. Lamb Feta Mint Patties 

G. Ricotta Gnocchi à la Poêle 

H. Hazelnut Vodka 

I. Italian Sausage Stuffed Mini Peppers - this post!

J. Jägersuppe - Hunter's Soup 

K. Easy Chicken Kapama 

L. Easy Lamb Shoulder Roast 

M. Miso Chocolate Cookies 

N. Duck Egg Narjissiya 

O. Marinated Apéro Olives

P. Bacon and Pork Patties 

Q. Baked Quail Egg XO Sauce Appetizers 

R. Roasted Stuffed Chicken Parcels 

S. Scallop Roe Bottarga 

T. Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks - Sous Vide - this post!

To check out the Alphabet Challenges for 2024 and 2025, click here.

Pin these Garlic Lemon Tuna Steaks – Sous Vide!

 .

Seared Spice-encrusted Tuna Steaks

There’s just something about Sunday Brunch that’s special.  The dressing up, the champagne, the extravagant variety of choices, and most especially, the occasion.   Because if you are going to Sunday Brunch, there is probably a reason.  Even if it is just to celebrate summer!  When we were living in Kuala Lumpur, one of our favorite brunches was at the Westin hotel.  Along with the generous buffet where we could help ourselves, the wait staff also delivered delicious morsels to our table, all afternoon.  Plus Champagne.

One such morsel was tuna, coated in spices and seared till it was golden on the outside but still vibrantly pink on the inside.  The last time we were there, I examined it closely, tasting bite after bite, purely for research, you understand. And this is my best approximation of that lovely dish.  You can serve it alone, tapas style, in which case, drizzle it with some good olive oil in the serving dish, or on a bed of greens and rice salad on a small plate for a starter, or in a larger bowl for a complete meal. 

Ingredients
2 tuna steaks – about 9 oz or 255g each

For the spice mix
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon mixed peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

For the wet coating
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
2 tablespoons olive oil – plus more for the frying pan

Method
Lay your tuna steaks out between paper towels to dry.

Use a mortar and pestle to grind the spices finely.

The pink is Himalayan sea salt.  Use any sea salt you have. 

Mix the whole grain mustard thoroughly with the olive oil.

Spread half of the mustard mixture on one side of the tuna steaks and then sprinkle with half of the spice mix.

Put the tuna on a piece of cling film, which will make it easier for you to flip it over into the frying pan.  Repeat the seasoning on the other side, first mustard, then spices.

Heat a non-stick frying pan until it is very hot and then drizzle in a little olive oil.  Cook one side of the tuna for just a couple of minutes before turning it to the other side.

Watch the side of the tuna and you can see the cooked part coming up.  You want to leave a good amount of pink still in the middle.

Sear the other side for just a minute or two and then remove from the pan and allow to rest for a few minutes.

Slice into thin pieces with a serrated knife, using a sawing motion so you don't mash the tuna.

Enjoy!