Recipe of the week: Charcoal-Grilled Tuna Steaks With Red Wine Vinegar and Mustard Vinaigrette

Properly grilled tuna should combine a smoky surface “with a cool, rare, sashimi-like center,” said Andrew Janjigian in Cook’s Illustrated. “So how do you make fish that’s both very hot and very cool?” We found that using intensely hot coals and brushing the grate with oil gives the flesh a nice char, while applying a liberal coating of vinaigrette moistens the exterior, solving the “problem of dry, stringy flesh.”

Charcoal-Grilled Tuna Steaks With Red Wine Vinegar and Mustard Vinaigrette

Vegetable oil

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3 tbsp plus 1 tsp red wine vinegar

table salt

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp honey

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme or rosemary leaves

¾ cup olive oil

6 tuna steaks, 1-inch thick (about 8 oz each)

ground black pepper

• Light grill. When ready, clean grate. Then, lightly dip wad of paper towels in oil. Holding wad with tongs, wipe grate. Continue to wipe with oiled paper towels, redipping between applications, until grate is black and glossy, 5 to 10 times. Grill is ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grate for 3 to 4 seconds.

• While grill heats, whisk vinegar, ½ tsp salt, mustard, honey, and thyme or rosemary in large bowl. While whisking, drizzle oil into mixture until lightly thickened and emulsified. Set aside ¾ cup vinaigrette for cooking. Reserve the rest.

• Brush tuna liberally with vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Grill without moving until grill marks form and bottom is opaque, about 1½ minutes. Carefully flip, and repeat for rare (3 minutes for medium-rare). Serve immediately with reserved vinaigrette. Serves six.