Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak with Soy Dipping Sauce

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Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak is easy and absolutely delicious! The savory lime and soy based dipping sauce in this recipe is mouthwatering and full of flavor. Learn how to grill tuna steaks in less than 10 minutes, including a great dipping sauce, using any type of grill.

Grilled Tuna Steak on a cutting board with slices of perfectly cooked Ahi Tuna
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Recipe Highlights

  • This recipe is focused on fresh (Ahi) tuna cooked on a grill over high heat.
  • The goal is a good sear on the outside leaving a rare center.
  • A thick cut of fresh tuna is important for the right flavor and texture and to avoid overcooking.

Type of Tuna

There are many different species of tuna that can be sourced for various tuna recipes, from poke bowls to tuna salad.

  • Ahi Tuna or Yellowfin Tuna – Our preferred for this recipe. Often found in tropical warm waters. It is leaner with less fat than Bluefin. Often seen in poke and makes great steaks given their size and flavor.
  • Bluefin Tuna – From the Atlantic ocean it tends to be used more for sushi, versus cut up for steaks, given its higher fat content compared to Yellowfin.
  • Skipjack Tuna – A more common tuna caught all over the world, it takes on a characteristic more like Albacore. Rich in flavor but not as large as compared to Ahi.
  • Albacore Tuna – Albacore is more often used for canned tuna in water or oil. It’s still very good, but we do not recommend using this recipe with Albacore.

What to Know When Buying Tuna

Try to source raw tuna from a quality local fish market. They will typically be bringing in fresh or frozen tuna in real time and selling through them quickly for the best flavor.

If you are not near fish markets or not close to the ocean, then the most common type of tuna you will see in local grocery stores is Yellowfin tuna (also known as Ahi tuna). When fresh and cut thick, it’s one of the best for grilling tuna steaks.

Specifically look for thick cut of tuna that are at least 1 ½ inches thick. This allows a quick sear on both sides while leaving a nice pink center.

Try to buy them fresh. The frozen tuna steaks in the freezer section of your grocer may be thinner, and (more importantly) when thawed look more an ashen gray from the freeze drying process. The tuna steaks should have a pink and fresh look. They should not have an oily sheen or any graying. If they do, do not buy them.

Two raw Ahi tuna steaks on a dish

Here is a great visual resource on the various species of tuna.

Note on Sushi Grade Tuna: Tuna is dense and tends to resist parasites better than say, salmon. Most tuna can be eaten raw if sourced from the proper fish monger or market. Sushi grade, or sashimi grade tuna, refers more to tuna that is fresh and has a specific look and texture.

Ingredients for Grilled Ahi Tuna Steaks

  • Fresh Ahi Tuna Steaks
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Kosher Salt
  • Coarse Black Pepper
  • Soy Sauce
  • Lime Juice
  • Honey
  • Garlic
  • Fresh Ginger
  • Fish Sauce
  • Optional: Sesame Seeds

Amounts are in the recipe card.

Dipping Sauce

Tuna is very lean, so instead of a marinade we prefer a simple dipping sauce to add flavor at the end. Combine all the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl right before grilling the tuna.

Seasoning

We use an equal mix of kosher salt and coarse black pepper. Simply coat the tuna with extra virgin olive oil and the salt and pepper seasoning. When using only two ingredients for the seasoning, use the best quality salt you can find.

Seasoned raw tuna steaks. Specifically ahi tuna.

Preparation and Equipment

It’s absolutely important to have a CLEAN grill rack. Any residue from previous cooking will stick to the tuna and can cause tearing. So be sure you have scraped off and cleaned your grill grates. A well oiled tuna steak will also help prevent sticking.

The grill should also be HOT and prepared for direct grilling. Target 600 degrees Fahrenheit. This level of heat will allow a nice sear and avoid overcooking the interior of the steak.

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  • On a gas grill this means the burners are running on high.
  • On a charcoal grill you are set for direct grilling and cook as close to the charcoal as you can (on a grate).
  • We do NOT recommend this recipe if using most pellet grills as they don’t get hot enough to perfectly sear the steaks (while leaving them close to raw on the inside).

If cooking inside we recommend using a cast-iron skillet over high heat versus a grill pan. Be sure the skillet is seasoned and hot.

We also recommend having a good fish spatula to flip on the grill. It is much more delicate and prevents the tuna from falling apart when flipping.

Ahi Tuna Steaks on the grill

Myth

You do not need to let the steaks come to room temperature. The interior of the tuna will not “come to room temperature”. Just be sure it’s well oiled and seasoned prior to putting on the hot grill.

How To Grill Tuna Steaks

Ahi Tuna Steaks on the grill cooked to rare
Ahi Tuna Steaks, seared on both sides, leaving a delicate pink in the center.
  1. Dipping Sauce: Combine ingredients in a small bowl and set aside. Once the grill is hot the steaks cook in just a couple minutes and they are best warm. So having the sauce done first allows you to eat the grilled tuna steak warm.
  2. Prep Grill: Set up the grill for direct grilling with lump charcoal and target 600 degrees Fahrenheit. If using a gas grill use the burners on high for the same target temperature.
  3. Season Meat: Coat in olive oil and sprinkle tuna with salt and pepper.
  4. Grill: Place tuna steaks over the direct heat. After just barely 2-3 minutes, the sear will occur and the tuna will easily release from the grill grates and be ready to flip. Use good tongs to flip or a fish spatula (preferred). If the tuna is not easily releasing, let it continue cooking another 30 seconds.
  5. Flip: And continue grilling over direct heat again for barely 2 – 3 minutes. Then remove. You’ll see that the center of the tuna is still still pink, which is the goal.
  6. Serve: Slice and serve immediately with the soy ginger dipping sauce. Serve the slices warm as an appetizer, or plate it with the sauce for each guest.
Slice of Ahi Tuna dipping in a soy dipping sauce

How Long To Grill Tuna Steaks

Tuna cooks fast when cooked over a very hot grill. With a 1 1/2 inch steak it should take no longer than 2-3 minutes per side at 600 degrees F over direct heat.

Temperature Ranges for Grilled Tuna Steak

If you like your tuna cooked more that’s fine. Here are our chef’s ranges for tuna.

  • Rare: up to 100 degrees F
  • Medium Rare: 100 – 120 degrees F
  • Medium: 120 – 130 degrees F
  • Well: over 130 and we don’t typically cook our tuna that high (145 is the USDA recommended temperature)
Slices of grilled ahi tuna steaks on a cutting board with dipping sauce.
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Other Favorite Seafood Recipes


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About Vindulge

Mary (a certified sommelier and recipe developer) and Sean (backyard pitmaster) are co-authors of the critically acclaimed cookbook, Fire + Wine, and have been creating content for the IACP nominated website Vindulge since 2009. They live in Oregon on a farm just outside Portland.

5 from 4 votes

Grilled Ahi Tuna Steak Recipe

Ahi tuna, grilled over direct heat with a savory soy dipping sauce served rare.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 6 minutes
Total: 16 minutes
Servings: 2 Steaks

Equipment

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Ingredients 

  • 2 Ahi tuna steaks, (1 ½ inches thick, around 12-ounces each)
  • ½ tablespoon kosher salt
  • ½ tablespoon coarse ground pepper

Dipping Sauce

  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoons good quality honey
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime
  • 1 clove garlic, grated
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
  • teaspoon fish sauce
  • ½ teaspoon sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions 

  • Prep Grill: Set up the grill for direct grilling with lump charcoal and target 600 degrees Fahrenheit. If using a gas grill use the burners on high for the same target temperature.
  • Season Meat: Coat in olive oil and sprinkle tuna with salt and pepper.
  • Grill: Place tuna steaks over the direct heat. After 2-3 minutes, the sear will occur and the tuna will easily release from the grill grates and ready to flip. If the tuna is not easily releasing, let it continue cooking another 30 seconds.
  • Flip: Flip steaks and continue cooking over direct heat again for 2 – 3 minutes. Then remove. You’ll see that the center of the tuna is still pink, which is the goal.
  • Serve: Serve immediately with the soy ginger dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

  • Combine: In a small bowl combine all ingredients and whisk to incorporate. Place in 4 small individual dipping dishes if serving as a main course or one dish if doing for an appetizer.
  • Optional: Sprinkle some sesame seeds into the dipping sauce.

Notes

Chef’s Tip: Use a micro plane to grate the both the ginger and the garlic. It makes for very fine texture when in the dipping sauce. Another great trick is to freeze unused fresh ginger. You can remove from the freezer and simply grate it again for the next recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.03g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 0.4mg | Sodium: 1698mg | Potassium: 60mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 28IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Total Time: 16 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Entree
Cuisine: American, Asian, Asian inspired
Servings: 2 Steaks
Calories: 62
Keyword: grilled ahi tuna steaks, grilled tuna, grilled tuna steak recipe, how to grill tuna steaks
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About Mary


I'm Mary, a wine/food/travel writer, Certified Sommelier, mom of twins, former vegetarian turned BBQ fanatic, runner, founder of Vindulge, and author of Fire + Wine cookbook. Thanks for stopping by!

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5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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1 Comment

  1. 5 stars
    Yummy! My husband said itโ€™s a do-over! My only suggestion is maybe heat the sauce so itโ€™s not so cold when you dip your fish in. So good though!!