Fourth Of July: Ahi Tuna Burgers

We had a very relaxed holday, no parties or big meal.  Bob is climbing his first mountain tomorrow and he was busy staring at maps, pondering the right energy bars for his meals, and double checking the special equipment he needs to bring.  So, we stayed home and pretty much grazed all day long.  Of course, we ate some tomato sandwiches.  Then, I fired up the Weber and grilled some Ahi tuna for one of my favorite sandwiches.  Whenever we go to Mustards Grill in Napa I usually order this sandwich, because I'm addicted to it.  It's one of their signature items, so I'm not the only person who loves it.   Then I got the Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook and was able to recreate them from their recipe. Now I can order the Mongolian porkchops at Mustards and make these sandwiches at home.  I must say, they tasted a lot better than the picture above looks.  For one thing, the recipe says you should use buns made from brioche dough. Well, I wasn't in the mood to make buns, so I used a mediocre store bought version. Next time, bricoche buns it will be.   

This is such a simple recipe, easier than a regular burger.  But, all the ingredients, the pesto mayo, ginger, and tuna, work together to produce a truly memorable meal, so don't leave any of them out.  If you can't get brioche buns, try to find a good quality soft variety of bun.  And finally, the tuna should be cooked rare, not well done.  You don't want dried out tuna, it should have that meltingly soft texture of good Ahi tuna.  I like mine really rare, so I only grilled them for one minute on each side.  You could grill them longer, but in no event should they be cooked longer than two minutes per side.

Since we had been eating far too much all day long, we just had the burgers and a simple salad. I concentrated on the burgers and figured the buns were my carb for the meal.

Later that night, I tested a new Ben & Jerry's flavor that sounded promising, but turned out to be very disappointing. It's called Turtle Soup and contains cashews, swirled chocolate and caramel. The cashews were coated with such a heavy layer of dark chocolate, I couldn't tell what kind of nut they were (Ben & Jerry have a bad habit of doing that, in my opinion). And there was too little of the chocolate or caramel.  Back into the freezer went that pint.  Anyone want it?

Instead, I had vanilla and chocolate ice cream with warm dulce de leche and chopped almonds.  Yum.

Then I looked at some of the food Bob will be eating for the next 4 days.  Four days without tomato sandwiches. Shudder.



Ahi Tuna Sandwich (Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook)

6 Ahi tuna steaks, each about 3/4 inch thick
6 slices red onion. each about 1/4 inch thick
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
6 buns, preferably made with brioche dough
1 to 2 Tablespoons basic pesto
4 to 5 Tablespoons good mayonnaise
Japanese pickled ginger
Arugula or other lettuce/greens

Sprinkle tuna slices with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Split buns and toast cut side down on the grill.  Combine the mayo and the pesto and spread on the buns. 

Grill tuna and onions on a grill. Plan about 1-1/2  to 2 minutes per side for medium to medium rare.

Assemble each sandwich with some arugula or other greens, a slab of onion, tuna, and pickled ginger.

Comments

[Glenna]

You know what I like best about the photos? You can tell how juicy that will be when you bite into it. I love sandwiches that squish and melt in your mouth with something crunchy like onions or pickles for counterpoint. That sandwich has it all. I know what you mean about the rare tuna. You finally got me into sushi and I could sit and it really great quality raw tuna all day long. It's like that juicy tomato buttery tongue feel that's like no other.

Hey, you should do a post of Bob's food--no tomato sandwiches, indeed. More for you--heehee!

[Christine]

This looks soooo good! Now I have a hankering for ahi. And I think I may have to take a look at the Mustard's cookbook. A cook never can have too many cookbooks.

[Nerissa]

The sandwich looks really good. I've never had ahi tuna. The only tuna steak I've had was completely GROSS and sickening in a French restaurant. Well, nobody said the French could cook EVERYTHING right!

[Kristi]

I like your ice cream concoction a lot better than Ben and Jerry's. I think their ice creams are too sweet. I know that sounds weird. The only one I liked was Ooey Gooey Cake, and they discontinued that one several years ago. ;(

[aria]

are u gonna finish that? yum, i'll have the rest of that sandwich - it looks out of this world! whaaaat, you make your own brioche. sher, you continue to wow me :) ps. did upsie get any tuna?

[gattina]

oh Sher,
even I just had my lunch, I can't drooling! Pretty raw (oooh...) tuna, mayo (aaah...) and brioche buns... gosh the thing merrily melts in my mouth!!! But Sher you so cruel to show me Bob's food...

[Julie]

You know, I never buy tuna but when I look at your picture and read your post I can't tell you for the life of me why I don't. However, you've inspired me! I am going to get some ahi tuna soon and try this.

And I agree with Christine, I have to take a look at the Mustard Grill cookbook. You've made some great things from that.

[sher]

Glenna,

I did take a picture of Bob's mountaineering food. You can eat lots of candy and nuts when you climb a mountain--and he will come back at least 10 pounds thinner, based on all his other outdoor adventures!

Christine,

I love this cookbook. I'll be making at least 2 more recipes for a friend's birthday party in a week. I always test new recipes on her. Fortunately, they've always been successful.

Nerissa,

I love tuna and it's terrible that your only tuna steak experience was so bad! Ahi is the most popular tuna in this country, as I understand it. It's doesn't taste at all fishy when it's cooked. But, the key is to make sure it's cooked rare. Yummm.

Kristi,

I'm not a big Ben & Jerry fan. My husband loves their Cherry Garcia and Chunky Monkey, but the only flavor of theirs that I've ever liked is pistachio.

Aria,

(Whisper) We didn't tell Upsie that we had Ahi. She was in another room sleeping. I didn't want to wake her up. Really! I don't want to sound like I make brioche as a rule..I don't!! But, I should have made buns because the ones I bought at the store were awful. It was an abuse of good Ahi using those buns.

Gattina,

I wish I had another Ahi burger right now! They are so good. Bob's food is really funny. He's carrying lots of chocolate, dried fruit, and nuts in his backpack. You can live off of chocolate and lose weight--if you climb a mountain.

Julie,

It's even better to go to Mustards Grill. It's such a great place. If Ahi wasn't so expensive I would eat it a lot more often. I think I'm going to buy the Zuni Cafe Cookbook next. I hear great things about it.

[Boston Chef]

YUMMMM!!!! Those sandwiches look great. Tuna + grill * sandwich = good! It's mathematically proven!

And Ben and Jerry's is always in our freezer - usually Half Baked, Coffee Heathbar Crunch, or Cookie Dough (currently)...

[albert]

Well Done!

[kross-eyed kitty]

I adore tomato sandwiches too!
And your vanilla/chocolate ice cream dream looks waaaay tastier than the B&J's!
Curious to hear how the mountain climb went...