Back again with a new pounded tuna dish. I’m in RI at the moment, and my girlfriend’s mom just picked up a whole tuna from the docks—wth! Pretty stoked to be breaking down my first whole tuna, and it’s not a small one. I got a few months’ worth of fish off this thing and we put every ounce to use. I scraped the carcass and made spicy tuna rolls and poke bowls the first night, followed by some grilled loin the next, and lastly a little pounded tuna for lunch the next day. A lot of tuna was consumed in a 36-hour period, and I’ve now got about 15 pounds of fish in the freezer.
Definitely excited to get another fish soon and hopefully get the breakdown perfect. I’ve butchered plenty of fish over the years, but this was an exciting first. It’s such an incredibly muscular fish, with fat loins on both sides. Interestingly, you're supposed to break it down into four quadrants instead of the usual single fillet per side. Thankfully, I had my knives with me, and a heavy deba made the job a whole lot easier. Here are some shots from the process and the meals that were made. Don’t mind the tiny cutting board—or the mess.
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