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White tuna


Suzanne F

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I noticed that in the thread on Best Korean in Manhattan, LESider mentions having "white? tuna." I also had something I was told was called white tuna at Tokyo Bay, a new sushi place in Tribeca. Is this something new? A different kind of tuna, or just a different cut? What I had was incredibly juicy and soft, with a fatty-but-not-too mouthfeel. Anyone know anything about this?

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I noticed that in the thread on Best Korean in Manhattan, LESider mentions having "white? tuna."  I also had something I was told was called white tuna at Tokyo Bay, a new sushi place in Tribeca.  Is this something new?  A different kind of tuna, or just a different cut?  What I had was incredibly juicy and soft, with a fatty-but-not-too mouthfeel.  Anyone know anything about this?

I think you are talking about 2, possibly 3 different things. There's garden variety canned white tuna. There's white tuna served in sushi bars which is supposed to be albacore--it's soft so it's seared on the outside to firm it up (in high end places this might be done in front of you with a torch). There's escolar that's being called white tuna because of bad associations, greater familiarity with the term tuna.

I'm hollywood and I approve this message.

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I'm not sure I've ever had albacore raw -- only canned -- but I know that what I ate was definitely raw, not seared. Whether or not it was actually escolar, I don't know. But if I see some escolar in a market, I'll check if it looks like what I had.

In any case, neither He Who Only Eats nor I suffered any adverse effects. :blink::laugh:

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In Japan the "white tuna" (albacore) is called binchou maguro it is a very light pink color.

Bonito also called skipjack in English is referred to as katsuo in Japanese, this is a very strong tasting oily fish very dark in color, that is most commonly prepared seared on the outside in a dish known as katsuo tataki.

binchou maguro looks like this:

http://www.inet-shibata.or.jp/~ytoshi/japa...nchoumaguro.jpg

Edited by torakris (log)

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 3 years later...

Funny I should see this here today. My wife returned last night from a trip to DC. She reported seeing "white tuna" on a menu (I cannot remember which restaurant) and asked the waiter about it. He was a bit evasive but admitted it was escolar.

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I love escolar sashimi. It seems to be slowly gaining popularity in US sushi restaurants.

Escolar is by far my favorite sushi, and I get two orders of it every time I visit Joss in Annapolis, Md. -- saving one for 'dessert.'

It has a buttery flavor unlike any other fish, in my opinion. But I have heard that one shouldn't consume too much of it in one sitting, as it has purgative properties.

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  • 1 month later...

I recently read an article about mercury in canned tuna. It singled out albacore as having especially high levels; the FDA recommends limiting it to one meal per week, 6 ounces. In the same article it says that the American Heart Association advises people to eat fish at least twice a week. I guess just not albacore.

For those interested, below is a link to a fun online "Mercury calculator". You can choose a fish, enter in the amount of it you eat per week, and enter in your own body weight, and it will tell you if you're getting too much mercury. (I'm guessing this is just an estimate, though, because I read that, for a particular type of fish, the larger ones contain more mercury than the smaller ones.)

http://gotmercury.org/

Now that I wrote this, I'm wondering if anyone is going to come out and say: "I happen to like mercury! Mercury is good. Savior it. Let it pool on your tongue in little beads that you can roll around in your mouth. Hell, on occassion I crack open a thermometer and slather that beautifully gleaming silver liquid all over my seafood! Oh man, that's heaven..."

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Now that I wrote this, I'm wondering if anyone is going to come out and say: "I happen to like mercury!  Mercury is good.  Savior it.  Let it pool on your tongue in little beads that you can roll around in your mouth.  Hell, on occassion I crack open a thermometer and slather that beautifully gleaming silver liquid all over my seafood!  Oh man, that's heaven..."

Hey- mercury makes ya crazy... maybe some people who are only halfway there might say something like that. If you're half crazy, no harm in going all the way! MMMMMmmmm mercury!

Christopher D. Holst aka "cdh"

Learn to brew beer with my eGCI course

Chris Holst, Attorney-at-Lunch

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A friend of mine pulled an escolar out of about 250 feet of water last winter on a late night fishing trip in Jamaica. I was dismayed when the captain of the boat let the sixty-some pound creature go. His claim was that it was delicious but that it gave everyone the runs. Sorry for the candor. Anyway, is this true and if so, why?

You shouldn't eat grouse and woodcock, venison, a quail and dove pate, abalone and oysters, caviar, calf sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, and ducks all during the same week with several cases of wine. That's a health tip.

Jim Harrison from "Off to the Side"

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A couple of weeks ago, Dave, the fish man at Springfield Penn farmers market told me that butterfish and white tuna are the same. My sister simply cooked it on her George Foreman grill and wow- It was great.

He also desrcibed it as like monkfish but cheaper. Says it sells out whenever he can get it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
In Japan the "white tuna" (albacore) is called binchou maguro it is a very light pink color.

I recently ate "super white tuna" at Oishi in Boston, which they called mutsu. Is this escolar / butterfish?

If so, is binchou / albacore just plain white tuna?

Me very confused.

I absolutely love the super white - I am drooling just thinking about it!

"Unleash the sheep!" mamster

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