Yellowfin Tuna: From the Pacific to Your Plate

While catch-and-release is an important part of preserving fish populations, there is nothing wrong with taking a legal and ethical amount of your catch for the table. Two years ago I shipped home 50 pounds of incredible halibut from Alaska, and on last year’s trip back we checked through two boxes of salmon as luggage coming home. We use it to stock our freezer, bribe our friends, and remind us of good times in faraway places. 

For my money, though, there’s no fish as good as sushi-grade tuna. Oddly enough, despite the fact that everyone in my family is a sushi freak, I don’t really care for it. As an act of teenage rebellion, when my family would go to DC’s Sushiko restaurant, I would decamp to the Italian restaurant next door and eat alone. I’m less truculent these days, but I still don’t really love sushi. Sashimi and seared tuna are a different story – I could eat them until my belly burst. 

We were able to bring home a Yeti full of tuna steaks from Panama, and we’re quickly working our way through them. Here’s are close friend and associate Elliott Stark explaining how to properly clean a yellowfin and what their innards tell us about them. 

We’re headed back to Panama later this year. If you’re looking for some tuna excellence and meals of your own, we’d love to have you join us.