Tuna BURGER??

[Keeper]

My husband and I prefer sashimi, nori rolls and bbq tuna to canned tuna so we have a freezer full of vacuum sealed tuna. Each package has three loins which means at least three nights worth of meals for two people. That is a little too much sashimi and nori for me for the next year.

So, I got to thinking and tried to do a little internet searching but really couldn't find a good answer to my question:

Can you grind raw tuna into burger and then use it in recipes?

Has anyone tried it? Any thoughts on how it might impact the recipe? Say tacos, spaghetti, casseroles etc.

This probably belongs in recipes but I wasn't sure how many of you would see it there.

[Danno]

Ground meat needs fat to hold together so that's going to be the missing ingredient.

Tuna steaks make great burgers. Why grind it up?

Can't help you with the other items.

[OceanBlue]

That could be interesting. I imagine that it might have a bit of a runny texture and not form patties very well. I have this issue sometimes with ground turkey. Try adding seasoned breadcrumbs or, believe it or not, oatmeal as a binder. Would probably be best not to try to grill directly on a rack, but rather foil or grill plate.

On the other hand, Zatarains makes a great mixes for making crab cakes, salmon cakes and, yes, TUNA! cakes. I use canned TUNA! to make the TUNA! cakes and they are wonderful. Slap it on a bun and you got TUNA! burgers. If you don't have any canned tuna on hand, I'd be happy to pass along a jar with a box of TUNA! cake mix for you to try.

I haven't tried other things you mentioned, but TUNA! tacos are fantastic. I think there's a recipe on the recipe board for TUNA! enchiladas and I bet you could use your frozen tuna for that.

[ron m]

Originally Posted by Keeper

My husband and I prefer sashimi, nori rolls and bbq tuna to canned tuna so we have a freezer full of vacuum sealed tuna. Each package has three loins which means at least three nights worth of meals for two people. That is a little too much sashimi and nori for me for the next year.

So, I got to thinking and tried to do a little internet searching but really couldn't find a good answer to my question:

Can you grind raw tuna into burger and then use it in recipes?

Has anyone tried it? Any thoughts on how it might impact the recipe? Say tacos, spaghetti, casseroles etc.

This probably belongs in recipes but I wasn't sure how many of you would see it there.

you could grind it, how good it would be I don't know. for most of the recipes you mention, you could just chunk it or cut it into strips. I do that for fish tacos and burritos, steak it for burgers or actually tuna steak sandwiches, much like a chicken breast sandwich. I usually put them on whole wheat hamburger buns, makes a great sandwich especially if you also have good tomatoes.

It freezes well, I was eating vacuum packed tuna loins from last year right up until I caught tuna this June. Had two or three left, smoked 'em when i got fresh tuna.

ron m

[Chesapeake]

I thin kthat even if you ground it with the biggest palte you could find it would still fall apart when cooked and you would end up with that shedded stuff they sell in the cans in the stores.

I just cut the loins into thin steaks and cook and crumble at the same time.

I like:

Tuna casadia's
Tuna taco's
Tuna and cheese on crackers
My wife makes a tuna caserole (sp) that is pretty good.
Its good in chile
Great in a salad


The great thing about tuna is if you take a frozen loin and cook it up well done it will look and taste like canned tuna and can be used in all the same dishes.

But above all its best raw.

[reelselfish]

tried both w/and w/out fatty meat(belly,and fatty part of loin)best w/out just the good stuff

we make tuna burgers they are one of our favorites, so happens that is whats for dinner tonight!!!! we cut off all trimmings including fat the tuna holds together better that way. I don't grind it though I mush it up like a meat loaf, I first season salt, pepper,add chives,crushed pineapple and just a dash of aloha bbq sauce (is like soy but sweet).. them pat out into burgers on a piece of wax paper. when done I put into freezer for about 30 Min or till I can pick up without crumbling then to grill top rack on high dont flip till gets good grill marks then same on other side , we like it on a grilled bun with a little more pineapple and some sweet and sour guava sauce I like a Little mayo on other side of bun wife says no just my thing I guess. it works great for burgers why not for other ground recipes the burgers hold together well like this

[Reel Obsession]

Yeah, you can tell what kind of season it's been when people start asking questions like "Can you substitute tuna for insulation?" or, "I mixed cement and gravel in with a truckload of tuna and poured my new driveway out it it. Works great, but I can't keep the cats away, any suggestions?" lol.

We went through a similar thing several years ago when we packed a freezer full of salmon. We made salmon burgers, but basically cut up salmon pretty fine, and followed crab cake recipes. They usually use eggs and bread crumbs to hold it all togther and give it some texture. We have ground our own red meat for years, but I think grinding tuna might turn it to mush.

Anyway, any suggestions on my driveway dilemma?

[Fshklr]

We tried it using ground tuna from a top loin, ground it myself with my oldschool meat grinder, added some italian bread crumbs, 2 whole eggs, salt and pepper and shredded parmesean cheese, and a couple tblsppons milk.

we served em in pita bread with trimmings.

I got it a little runny but definately a patty. The patties were kinda thin, but I think I will try it again and play with the ingredients.
Still, it was AWESOME!!

[fyshndad]

Originally Posted by Chesapeake

I thin kthat even if you ground it with the biggest palte you could find it would still fall apart when cooked and you would end up with that shedded stuff they sell in the cans in the stores.

.

That is totally WRONG
You can take pieces of TUNA press it together and cook it and it WILL NOT fall apart
In fact the cooking bonds the pieces together

I do this with the mistakes (poor fillet job) scraps that I do not waste

I have more trouble keeping a large medallion from falling apart than I do the fatty scraps pressed into a patty

[Keeper]

Thanks for all the comments.

We had a freezer catastrophe in June (we were out of town) so I am very thankful to Ping Jockey for taking my husband Tuna fishing in July and August.

I was hoping to substitute ground tuna for ground venison in recipes. I think I will go with chopping or mincing it and then try a couple of recipes.

[Tuna Queen]

I was watching an offshore fishing show on TV and they made tuna burgers for lunch. They saved the fatty belly meat and they put it through the food processor to grind it up then they added egg and bread crumbs with whatever seasoning they were doing and they raved about how good it was.

[fishonjon]

OOOMMAN you guys are killing me. all these sound good!!!