This week’s recipe is inspired by some beautiful, locally caught albacore tuna we had in our kitchen the other week. Thanks to our Sous Chef Cindy Quinonez we’ve been enjoying a wonderful relationship with our local fishermen and have been using a wide variety of locally caught seafood for our Global Meals, catering, and special events. Truly a delicious treat! Anyway, this we had a bit of extra tuna to use so we decided to confit it and turn it into luxurious tuna salad for use in our Saturday Brunch Café. For those that are not familiar, to confit something means to essentially cook something submerged in a fat. Traditionally this was done with animal products which were slowly cooked in their own rendered fat and stored in this same cooking fat in a cool place to extend their usage during the cooler months. Nowadays it can refer to almost anything that has been submerged in a fat and slowly cooked, including fruits and vegetables. For our tuna confit we submerged pieces of the tuna loin in olive oil, herbs, and garlic and slowly poached the whole thing in the oven until cooked through but tender. We then can flake the fish and use it basically like you would canned tuna except its waaaaayyyyy more delicious!
1 lb Tuna such as Albacore or Skipjack
Olive oil – enough to submerge (You can substitute half veg or canola oil to be a bit more budget conscious)
3-4 sprigs of Fresh Herbs such as Thyme or Rosemary
4-5 Cloves Garlic
Salt
Procedure
1) Remove the skin and any bloodline from the fish along with any stringy, connective tissue. Cut into approximately 1 inch thick pieces and place in a small baking pan just big enough to fit in one layer.
2) Sprinkle both sides with a pinch of salt
3) Scatter over the garlic cloves and herbs
4) Pour enough oil to just barely cover the fish. If a tiny bit is poking out it’ll be just fine!
5) Place in a 300F oven approximately 25-30 minutes or until just cooked through and flaking easily
6) Set aside to cool completely
7) Once cooled you can refrigerate it for at least a week. Use just as you would canned tuna but be creative!
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