How to Cut Bluefin Tuna: 12 Lessons
How to cut bluefin tuna, cut by cut: ventresca and loin first, then the sashimi, tataki, carpaccio and cheek dishes each one feeds.
Ekaitz Apraiz
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What you'll learn
12 Lessons, 72 min total
- FREE
Introduction
- FREE
#1 Ventresca Tuna Intro & Cutting
- FREE
#2 Tuna Loin Intro & Cutting
- FREE
#3 Umeboshi Honey & Sauce
- FREE
#4 Shoyu Dashi & Infused Shiitake
- PRO
#5 Kizami Wasabi
- PRO
#6 Ventresca Sashimi Plating
- PRO
#7 Tuna Saku Marinade & Cooking
- PRO
#8 Escalivada Ponzu Sauce
- PRO
#9 Nanbanzuke Vegetables & Tataki Plating
- PRO
#10 Tuna Secreto Carpaccio Plating
- PRO
#11 Marinated Tuna Cheeks
- PRO
#12 Tuna Cheeks Paté & Cheeks Plating
About this course
This class answers how to cut bluefin tuna before it cooks anything. The first two lessons open the ventresca and then the loin, naming each part and where it sits on the fish. Ten preparations follow out of those two lessons, so the cutting work is never abstract and never separate from the cooking.
The method is Japanese, and the reason is even cooking: each part is separated so it can be portioned to the thickness that suits it. Umeboshi honey, shoyu dashi with infused shiitake and kizami wasabi are built as standing preparations, then carried across sashimi, a marinated saku, tataki, a secreto carpaccio and the cheeks.
The finish is Mediterranean. An escalivada ponzu and a cheek paté sit on the same fish as the ventresca sashimi, which is the argument the class is making. You leave able to break down a loin, grade what is in front of you, and route each piece to the preparation it suits.
"Butchering tuna properly is where Mediterranean and Japanese technique actually meet."
Ekaitz Apraiz
Lessons
12
Video
1 hr 12 min HD
Recipes
13
Level
Audio
Spanish (VO)
Subtitles
English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
At the end of this course you will be able to
Cut ventresca and loin from bluefin tuna, naming each part of the fish.
Apply tuna butchery to sashimi, tataki and carpaccio without wasting a cut.
Build umeboshi honey, shoyu dashi and kizami wasabi as standing preparations.
Marinate and cook a tuna saku, then turn the cheeks into a plated paté.
Bluefin tuna today, salted codfish tomorrow.
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Meet your instructor
Ekaitz Apraiz
Ekaitz Apraiz Olaeta is a Basque chef and has been executive chef at Tunateca in Barcelona since 2017, cooking bluefin tuna supplied by the Balfegó group. He arrived at the fish with no prior experience and learned it under a mentor at Balfegó.
He began as a poulterer, worked his way up through Basque kitchens including Etxanobe and Boroa, took formal culinary training at twenty-two, and later opened his own restaurant before moving to Barcelona with the Sagardi Group. Here he teaches the cutting before the cooking.
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Who is this course for?
First time with tuna or long practised
First-time and long-practised fish cooks who want the cuts, the marinades and the plating in order.
One fish, a whole run of dishes
The Japanese method of cutting tuna into evenly graded pieces, for chefs who want each part to cook evenly.
Anyone who cooks with bluefin tuna
Ventresca, loin, secreto and cheeks, chefs who want every part of a bluefin tuna on a plate.
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Mastering Bluefin Tuna: Expert Tips & Recipes · Ekaitz Apraiz
