Beurre blanc and albacore: A heavenly match

Published 11:11 pm Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Some of my best summer grills have been centered around fresh, local, line-caught Pacific albacore.

Whether poached in wine, lemon and herbs, or cooked straight over the coals, those exquisitely lean loins always turn out firm yet tender and flavorful.

A good accompaniment is beurre blanc, the classic butter sauce.

For the uninitiated, beurre blanc is a reduction of white wine, vinegar and shallots into which a large amount of butter is whisked, one dollop at a time, until a rich and creamy-yet-tangy sauce is formed.

The result? Heaven.

Beurre blanc’s zippy yet velvety character makes it a perfect compliment to grilled albacore.

To add a Pacific Rim influence, incorporate a few Asian or Hawaiian elements into beurre blanc: shredded bits of fresh ginger, a drop of sesame oil, a splash of soy sauce.

Two of my favorites, mustard butter sauce and spicy black-bean garlic butter sauce, are both spinoffs from beurre blanc.

And while they’re certainly rich, the idea is to use them sparingly, as an accent to the grilled or roasted albacore.

Grilled albacore in honey-soy marinade

2 pounds albacore (a portion of a whole loin, loin cuts or steaks)

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon honey (or brown sugar)

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the albacore in a large baking dish or resealable plastic bag. Combine the orange juice, soy sauce, fresh ginger, honey and olive oil, and pour over the tuna. Refrigerate for several hours to marinate.

When ready to cook, prepare a hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the grate with a bit of vegetable oil. Ideally, you should use a special grill grate designed with narrower slots or holes in it for fish and cut up vegetables, but because albacore is so firm, it will do pretty well on regular-sized grate.

Remove the albacore from the marinade and drain slightly. Place the albacore on the hot fire and grill for about 3 minutes per side (if cooking a portion of a whole loin, you should cook it on 3 or 4 sides), or until the fish is just becoming firm and turning opaque when prodded with a fork. Do not overcook; for “medium-rare,” the inside should still be pink; for “medium,” the inside should just be turning to gray.

This sauce is a spinoff from a classic French butter sauce, beurre blanc.

Hot mustard butter sauce for grilled albacore

2 tablespoons prepared Chinese mustard (I use Beaver brand “extra hot”)

2 tablespoons ponzu sauce (a citrus seasoned soy sauce; Kikkoman makes one), or regular soy sauce

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white wine vinegar

11/2 tablespoons minced shallot

Pinch of ground white pepper

3 tablespoons whipping cream

1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 32 pieces (see note)

Up to the point of adding the butter, the butter sauce may be prepared several hours ahead. Don’t add the butter until just before serving. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard and the soy sauce; set aside. You’ll be adding it to the butter sauce at the very end of cooking.

In a small pot, combine the wine, vinegar, shallots, and white pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer until it is reduced to about 4 tablespoons. This will only take about 5 pr 6 minutes. Whisk in the cream and boil just until it begins to thicken and reduce slightly, about 1 minute. Set the reduction aside until just before serving.

When ready to finish the sauce, bring the reduction to a boil. Turn the heat on the burner to low, then whisk in the chilled pieces of butter one or two at a time.

Note: To make 32 chunks of butter, cut the cube lengthwise into quarters, then cut cross-wise into 8 pieces.

Keep whisking steadily until all of the butter has been incorporated. Keep the sauce over very low heat or in the top of a double boiler set over hot water, or the sauce will separate. Whisk in about half of the reserved mustard-ponzu mixture. Taste and then add more of the mustard mixture as desired.

Makes about 11/3 cups of sauce; enough for 2 to 3 pounds of grilled Pacific albacore, which will feed 6 to 8 people.

Spicy black-bean garlic butter sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 tablespoon finely minced sweet onion

1 teaspoon peeled finely shredded fresh ginger

2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce

1 teaspoon ponzu sauce or regular soy sauce

1 teaspoon black bean garlic sauce

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 cup chopped green onions

Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a heavy, large skillet over medium high heat. Add the sweet onion and ginger and saute for 1 minute. Stir in the chili-garlic sauce, black bean garlic sauce, and the wine. Simmer until reduced by half, which will take about 5 minutes. Whisk in the heavy cream and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. (NOTE: The sauce may be prepared ahead to this point up to 24 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate.)

When ready to serve, heat the reduced sauce over medium-high heat and bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat on the burner to low, then whisk in the chilled pieces of butter one or two at a time. Keep whisking steadily until all of the butter has been incorporated. Keep the sauce over very low heat or in the top of a double boiler set over hot water, or the sauce will separate.

Serves 4; enough for 2 pounds of grilled Pacific albacore.

This is my more decadent approach to a simple teriyaki grill. You could cut back on the butter, and it would still be delicious.

Foil-grilled albacore with teriyaki sauce

2-21/2 pounds fresh albacore loin

Jan’s teriyaki marinade (recipe follows)

1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 chunks

Combine the albacore and Jan’s teriyaki marinade in a zip-lock bag. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours; remove 30 minutes before grilling.

When ready to cook the fish, create a foil pan for the fish that is large enough to surround everything and partially enclose the top. Spread open the foil. Remove the albacore from the marinade and place it in the center of the prepared pan. Pour 1/2 cup of the marinade over the fish. Pour the remainder of the marinade into a pot, which you will boil before serving.

Distribute the four chunks of butter around the sides of the fish, then snuggle the foil up and around the fish, leaving the top open so the fish will poach but not steam over the grill or in the oven. Cook over hot coals or in a 375 degree oven until the fish is just cooked through, which will take about 30 to 40 minutes, depending on how thick the loin is. Several times during cooking, spoon the butter-sauce on top of the fish.

Toward the end of the cooking process, bring the reserved marinade to a boil in the pot, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly while you deal with the grilled albacore. Serve the boiled marinade in a small container alongside the albacore for people to spoon over their serving of fish as desired.

Serves 4 to 6.

Jan’s teriyaki marinade

1 cup Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce (or your favorite)

1/2 cup dry sherry or extra dry vermouth

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (my favorite brand is Lee Kum Kee)

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a zip-lock bag large enough to hold the albacore loin, combine the Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce, sherry, lemon juice, chili garlic sauce, and olive oil. May be prepared several days ahead and refrigerated until use.

This makes about 21/2 cups of sauce; enough marinade for about 21/2 pounds of albacore loin.

Jan Roberts-Dominguez is a Corvallis, Ore., food writer, cookbook author and artist. Readers can contact her by email at janrd@proaxis.com, or obtain additional recipes and food tips on her blog at www.janrd.com.

Buying albacore

Here’s is what to look for when shopping for albacore.

Whole loin: Each albacore has four wedge-shaped loins, which radiate out from a central backbone. They taper in thickness, thinning as they approach the tail, and should be totally boneless. They are sold either skin-on or skinless.

Loin cuts: Cross-cut sections of the loins. Like the whole loins, they are boneless and trimmed of the dark meat, which tends to have a stronger flavor.

Steaks: Cross-cut sections of the fish, which includes the backbone and dark meat located near the backbone. The dark meat tends to be slightly stronger in flavor than the light meat, so you may want to remove it before cooking. The skin is typically removed before serving.

Cooking albacore

First, be sure you’re working with outstanding albacore. It’s gotta be fresh!

Since albacore has a tendency to dry out quickly, all albacore cooks agree that it should be cooked just until it becomes firm to the touch.

Some like to leave the center pink, while others take it just slightly beyond that.