Lime Grilled Ahi

Goodbye high-end restaurants! Hello backyard BBQ!  This is one amazingly easy, fantastic recipe, and it quickly made it into my Favorite Recipes Cookbook.

We make this at least every other week in summer time.  For our family, THIS IS summer at it's best:  the smell of seared seafood on the grill, the taste of a chilled wine on your tongue, the sounds of children playing, the warm rays of the setting sun, the pink sky promising a beautiful tomorrow - - the perfect al fresco dinner.

This is so easy you'll wonder why you've paid so much in a restaurant! The key is finding a butcher who knows about delicate seafood, not just meat. You want a high grade yellow-fin tuna, or low grade ahi. Don't pay for a shashimi grade ahi; you are going to sear this fish. In Central Oregon, I go to Newport Market for the freshest seafood and knowledgeable staff.

Here's what you need:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ⅛ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, fresh, minced
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lb yellow fin tuna or low grade ahi tuna

***glaze ***

• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

What to do:

• Mix together olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, ginger and cilantro for your marinade. (Note: If I'm out of cilantro, I skip it. Don't make a trip to the market just for the cilantro.)

• Place tuna fillets in shallow baking dish and pour marinade to coat. Turn over and coat again with remaining marinade.

• Allow to marinade 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

• Mix glaze and set aside.

• Preheat grill for high heat. When high temp is reached, rub grill grate with an oil soaked paper towel. Resoak towel with oil and rewipe grill until grill is shiny clean from oil, about 3-6 times.


• When grill is hot, reduce heat to low and place fillets on cleaned grate.

• Close lid and cook 1-2 minutes.

• Flip carefully and close lid to sear fish, about 1 minute. 

My husband likes his rare, so 1 minute per side is plenty. He usually leaves mine on for another 1-2 minutes when it is just barely pink in the middle. At this point, our family is done. We like it mostly seared and rare.

• Open lid and baste with remaining marinade until cooked as thoroughly as you like brush on glaze and serve.

Serve any remaining glaze with tuna on the table.

Happy grilling!   Laurie