We had the best tuna ever in the history of the world.
The kind you think about an hour after you eat and say "That was amazing".
And then you think about it again 2 hours later.
And then you think about it the next morning.
You get the idea.
BUT... you say.
How can I be so sure that it is the best tuna in the history of the world?
Ok so the world does have quite a history....yada yada yada.
I can say for sure that it was the best tuna in the history of my world.
So I'll stand on that.
I was definitely the best tuna in the history of my world.
Our #2 son works as a commercial fisherman aboard this boat.
I don't often get a peek inside his world.
The crew had been out off the Oregon coast fishing for Hake (Why does the photo in that link make me want to imitate Mr. Bill?) and were finished up there.
Arik had told us that they were going to go off shore on the return trip to the home port and try for tuna on their way back and would we be interested?
He didn't have to ask twice.
One of the great gifts of living near a working port is discovering how amazing the seafood is when it's right off the boat.
You can literally taste the difference when it has been handled well right from the start.
I think these guys know what they are doing.
Which is indeed a comfort to a mom who has a son in this line of work.
Arik really loves this work.
It's an amazing thing as my kids grow up.
I worry.
I sweat.
I pray.
And then I see moments like this.
He belongs there.
He and his boss/future father-in-law seem to really have an easy sort of fit.
And for the record...yes I did comment on his fabulous fashion sense and unique designer styling of the Carhartt pants.
I found out I was late to the party. The other owner of the boat had beat me to the punch ...complementing him on the nice coordination of pants and boots.
I wish I had pulled out and scanned a picture of this kid and his first fish.
He was a very active little dude. The first time we ever saw him stand still was when we put the Mickey Mouse pole in his hand aboard our sailboat.
He fished for hours.
We thought it was a set up.
Here's your pole.
You stand perfectly still and you might feel a fish.
Good luck with that.
But he did!!
Finally he caught a tiny baracuda... or "bawacuda" as he would say it.
It was illegal, I'm sure, but we were so floored that the Mickey pole could actually catch a fish and he was so thrilled with his "Big Fisss" that we just had to let him bring it in.
I'll have to dig that out and post it.
From that point on all you had to do was open the door to his room a 0 dark thirty and whisper "fishing" and he would be up, out, dressed, and smiling.
All school work had to be done early so he could fish with Gramps? No problem.
Chores? Peice of cake.
It's just so right.
Rich got the job of getting them ready for the feast... and for canning.
If all that wasn't already fabulous enough we found a recipe for
Seared Tuna with Avocado (click there for the recipe).
Oh.My.Gosh.
You gotta try this.
It's amazing.
I did a couple of thing slightly differently. I didn't have fresh ginger so I used powdered. I'm sure fresh is much better but oh well. And I subbed Braggs Aminos for half of the soy sauce.
We used and outdoor grill.
Plated it up with some roasted garden broccoli, brussels sprouts and potatoes.
Heaven I tell ya!
These are for my mom.
She was asking about how the canning process worked.
This step doesn't look like much but it's critical. If ya slack and leave anything on the rim they won't seal.
You can fit 16 quart jars... two layers of eight jars.
This outdoor burner is a new addition to our aresenal this summer. It started out as a search for a camp barbeque...there is a barbeques attachment for it...but we've been wanting one of these for a while.
It's so nice to not have your house smelling like tuna or salmon for days.
And it keeps the house much cooler.
Why is it that canning almost always needs to be done on the hottest week of the year?
Once you vent the steam and get the pressure up to 11# it runs for 100 minutes and then you let it gradually cool.
It's not hard but it takes some time.
Try out that tuna and let me know what you think
Cath
Makes me long for a coast trip! Thanks for the tuna and avocado recipe- looks delicious! We'll have to try it soon!
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