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GUAMANIAN YELLOW FIN

By Steven Raichlen

WHAT’S COOKING ON GUAM?
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We received another missive from our barbecue-obsessed friend, Guamanian firefighter and prolific blogger Rueben Olivas, whose tantalizing photo of the completed dish made us want to book a flight immediately to the beautiful Pacific island. We thought we’d share it with you:
With all the water surrounding Guam, it goes without saying that fish is abundant. One of my favorite methods of preparing fish is to smoke it, especially yellow fin tuna.
Today, I did just that. Had some yellow fin tuna (also known as “ahi” in Hawaii), and at the urging of my wife, Lupe, decided to smoke it.
I normally smoke about 5-10 pounds at a time. I cut the loins into steaks about 1/2 inch thick, then submerge them overnight in a brine: 1 cup of kosher salt, 2 cups brown sugar, 2 quarts water. The next day, I build a fire in my 3-sided smoking pit out of local tangantangan wood (it’s similar to red oak) and coconut husks (the rough outer layer of fresh coconuts).

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I smoke the fish for about 5 hours. The end product is tuna that has a mellow, but very distinguishable aroma and flavor. See photo below. Until next time…
Rueben
Thanks for sharing this compelling recipe and beautiful photos, Rueben!

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