Fired Up Fridays: How to grill seared Hawaiian ahi

Seared ahi perfectly blends smoky flavor with chilled, fresh Hawaiian fish.

Seared ahi is one of my family’s favorites, so I grill it quite often. It is a fast, simple cook and makes for a wonderful summer meal, which is when ahi are plentiful and its prices more affordable. Seared ahi perfectly blends smoky flavor with chilled, fresh Hawaiian fish. It can be grilled and eaten right away or cooked earlier in the day and stored in the fridge until serving.

The Prep

Lightly coat large ahi blocks with any oil that can handle high heat, such as peanut, avocado or algae. Algae oil is my new favorite, as it is heart healthy, can handle intense heat and will not impart any flavor to the fish. I prefer my ahi to be cut almost square as opposed to rectangular, so it is easier to sear on all six sides. If you can only find large, rectangular blocks, cut them in half to form two squares.

Rub with your favorite spicy rub. Or, if you don’t like heat, Hawaiian rock salt and pepper will work just fine. You can do this after you light the grill or, if you want to marinate the ahi a bit, earlier in the day.

Scott Schumaker is president of PacificBasin and interim publisher of Hawaii Home + Remodeling. He is also an avid barbecue hobbyist who often tempts co-workers by posting images of his culinary feats on his Instagram, @schuboxphoto. Read more from his delicious blog, Fired Up Fridays, this summer on  hawaiihomemag.com.