Salvage tuna marinated in pineapple

Question

I was experimenting with marinating tuna steaks in a pineapple/orange sauce and when I seared one, it had a mushy surface and overwhelming pineapple flavor. I still have a few steaks marinating. Can they be salvaged?

Answer 1

No.

While you could get most of the pineapple flavor out of the tuna by soaking it in ice water for several hours, you couldn't restore the texture. Pineapple contains a natural meat tenderizer that has broken down the protein structure of the fish. Soaking out the juice won't firm it up.

I suggest mincing the fish with some hot sauce and using it for spicy tuna rolls.

Answer 2

Pizza.

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Well, you're probably not going to get decent tuna steaks out of them at this point, so double-down on the pineapple, cut up or mince the steaks, and put them on a pizza. Mushiness and a pineapple flavour wouldn't be out of place on a pizza, and wouldn't dominate next to the tomato and cheese. You could add some pineapple chunks too and anything else you fancy. Pizza is a good way to use up left-overs and failed experiments, as it is very forgiving.

Answer 3

Crumbs !

Literally, use a series of egg wash and dip into breadcrumbs/flour/spices/seasoning to give you a KFC-esque layer on the outside, then pan-fry it. Seasoning will help thin the pineapple flavour.

If your steaks are thick, then you may want to halve them across the middle (thin them?) more like a minute steak. This will allow more coating and surface area to give a more-solid outside texture, to overbear the mushiness.