yellowfin Archives

Genova Yellowfin Tuna with Calabrian Chili

This Genova Yellowfin Tuna with Calabrian Chili came from Walmart, where I also purchased the lemon and herbes de Provence version. I remember liking that one, and hoped this one would be similarly satisfying.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Similar to the lemon version, it appears to be nice, thick chunks of tuna. The oil is tinged red from the Calabrian chili, and also paprika extract further down the ingredient list. The aroma is not too fishy, a good sign. A sip of the liquid isn't too revealing, but there is a subtle heat to it. As with the lemon version, no physical spices are visible.

Let's Dig In

This time, I just dumped everything straight from the can over rice. You can see the thickness of the chunks is equal to the depth of the tin.

Initial bites are promising. The chili heat is subtle but pervasive and has saturated the meat nicely. Continuing on, the chili flavor maintains a steady, well-balanced undertone of spice. I thought it complemented the flavor of the tuna well.

The label describes the seasoning as "Calabrian chili flavor infused olive oil", but again, as with the lemon version, this should not be construed to mean the packing liquid is totally olive oil.

Sodium is again 500mg, but it doesn't taste that salty. I thought the salt level was OK.

As with the other, I found the tuna a little dry, but not terribly so. My previous experience with chili seasoned tuna was a Korean offering that also had potato mixed in, and I found I preferred this one by a substantial margin.

Main Takeaways

Good quality yellowfin tuna
Chili heat well-balanced

Brand: Genova Seafood
Description: Yellowfin tuna with Calabrian chili
Species: Yellowfin tuna
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO71, Western Central Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 5 oz.
Price Range: $3

Natural Catch Spicy Yellowfin Tuna Filets

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Caught these Natural Catch Spicy Yellowfin Tuna Filets, new and on sale at Whole Foods. Regular $5.49 marked down to $3.77 for Amazon Prime members. One of a few cans of various premium tuna I've acquired recently to try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

Nice presentation with the pepper visible. Packed reasonably full of layers of yellowfin tuna filet. Ingredients list vegetable broth in addition to organic EVOO and spices. A nice, warm heat from the seasoning, not overpowering. No dry mouth feel like some tuna, and a nice, fresh tuna taste.

Natural Catch is an up-and-comer in the premium tuna arena. Based upon this can, I'd say they will be a contender. Recommended.

Update

I had another can in my stash for several months now, and decided to revisit and update this year-old review. Very early reviews here were not as in-depth as they have come to be, and this was one in need of revisiting.

I had been critical in the past about Natural Catch marketing. For a time, they mounted an aggressive social media campaign showing how their tuna consisted of premium filets. I noted, in both individual cans I had tried after the first one, and in the advertising, that the filets comprised only the top third of the can contents, and what was underneath was largely a mass of chunk tuna.

This most recent tin had a little more in the way of filets, approximately 50%, with an additional filet piece below the photogenic ones normally covering the top.

The flavor was consistent with my previous assessment, and I still recommend it, especially if it can be had at the sale price at which Whole Foods periodically offers it.

See it at Amazon.

Brand: Natural Catch
Description: Yellowfin Tuna in Spicy EVOO
Species: Yellowfin tuna
Country of Origin: Viet Nam
Source: FAO71, Western Central Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $5-6

Genova Yellowfin Tuna with Lemon & Herbes de Provence

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This Genova Yellowfin Tuna with Lemon & Herbes de Provence came from Walmart. Yellowfin is my preferred canned tuna, and the label says "solid light", which is a plus. Let's see how it tastes.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Nice looking, solid tuna. The aroma from the can is fresh, not fishy. A sip of the liquid is promising, tasting of fresh lemon. I don't see evidence of any of the other seasonings.

Let's Eat

Lifting the meat out of the can, it stays mostly in sizeable chunks. What you see in the photo above are solid pieces which are as thick as the can is deep.

I poured all of the remaining packing liquid out over the fish and rice. Once again, it appears olive oil is not the main packing liquid, and, to be fair, the can does not state or really imply that it is. It does say "lemon & herbes de provence flavor infused olive oil". Olive oil precedes lemon juice and water in the ingredients list.

I still don't see any of the aforementioned herbes, so I must assume they've been reduced to a flavoring. They appear last on the list, and in tasting, I find their contribution to be little to none.

The lemon, however, is another story, lending a bright, fresh acidity. Sodium is listed at 500mg. but it tastes nowhere near that salty.

I found the tuna itself a tad dry, but not a deal breaker. It had a good, mild flavor that the lemon only improved. It's a shame the Herbes de Provence were underrepresented. At $2.97 for a 5oz. can, though, I didn't feel cheated.

Main Takeaways

Good quality yellowfin tuna
Bright, fresh lemon flavor
Promised spices kind of MIA

Brand: Genova Seafood
Description: Yellowfin tuna with lemon and Herbes de Provence
Species: Yellowfin tuna
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO71, Western Central Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 5 oz.
Price Range: $3

bettergoods Smoked Tuna with Rosemary

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This new bettergoods Smoked Tuna with Rosemary was purchased at Walmart at the same time as the new smoked rainbow trout. That one was very good, and I hoped this one would be as well. Same $4.97 price point and 4.41oz. portion.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

The initial appearance isn't as appealing as the trout, bit I will give it points for being a solid hunk of tuna. The carton calls it "steak cut style", but the grain appears to be running contrary to that of a typical tuna steak. Nonetheless, it is a single, thick piece of tuna (take note, Natural Catch) with nothing hiding underneath.

The aroma is subtly smoky, as is a sip of the olive oil it's packed in. I don't see any rosemary leaves in the tin, and I don't get much of an impression of it from either the aroma or the taste of the oil. I would have expected it to be prominent.

Let's Eat

I was able to lift the "steak" from the tin intact. It is a firm piece of meat. After a nibble of the fish, I decided it would be prudent to pour most of the remaining oil over the fish, in hopes of maximizing any flavor of the seasonings. White pepper, black pepper, garlic, salt and "citric acid anhydrous" round out the ingredient list. Although it doesn't taste that salty, sodium is a whopping 920mg.

The meat is quite firm and resists being divided by a piercing fork. It does, however, flake when the fork hits the right places. It also feels a little dry, but I chalk that up to being smoked over actual hardwood, which has the same effect on much fattier salmon. Here, the meat is leaner to begin with, so pouring that packing oil over it was helpful.

Although not overstated, the smoke is the majority of what I'm getting. That and a note of tuna "tang". The tuna is yellowfin, so I'm not sure if that tang isn't really coming from the citric acid powder.

Once again, the carton says "naturally smoked with oakwood, and finished with rosemary for a fresh, herbaceous twist". I perceived a contribution from the trout's juniper berry, but here the rosemary seems lost under the smoke.

Main Takeaways

Nice solid chunk of tuna
Smoke not overpowering but dominates
Rosemary lost in the smoke

I had hoped this one would be as good as the trout, but it wasn't quite. Kudos, though, for it being solid tuna and MSC certified sustainable.

Brand: Walmart / bettergoods
Description: Smoked tuna with rosemary
Species: Yellowfin
Country of Origin: Turkey
Source: FAO51
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.41 oz.
Price Range: $5

Ramón Peña Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil

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This Ramón Peña Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil has been in my stash for a few months now. I've had it since before I tried their sardines in olive oil, and I just felt like some tuna.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.

A nice big chunk of yellowfin. The aroma of the oil is neutral, with no real scent of the fish. A sip of it has just a hint of tuna flavor.

Tasting a bit of it alone, it has a mild flavor one would expect of yellowfin, with only the slightest hint of tuna "tang".

Let's Do Lunch

It was packed in tight, making extracting the fish from the can in one big chunk impossible. I inverted the can over the rice bowl, and used a fork to pry it all out. There wasn't much oil, but what little there was went in as well.

As I tried larger bites of tuna, I kept thinking it seemed a little dry on the palate. The initial taste was straight from the can and had relatively more oil with it. In the bowl, the oil kind of drained off into the rice, leaving the tuna not as coated with it.

I also thought it could have use a touch more salt, listed as a moderate to low 310mg.

Adding Some Seasoning

This next part was a bit premeditated. Rather than my usual basmati, I chose some sticky rice for this tasting. I also brought out some furikake and gohan desuyo, just for a little Japanese flair.

The furikake added the needed saltiness, its nori and sesame adding some beneficial umami. Gohan desuyo is usually more a flavoring for the rice, and in this case I probably should have left it off, as it did nothing for the tuna except to overpower it. I'll know better next time.

Main Takeaways

Nice, mild yellowfin tuna
A tad dry mouth feel
Needed some salt

At $8, I might have expected a little more from this tin, but at the same time I didn't go into it expecting to be blown away, either. This would be a good choice for some kind of salad with some additional olive oil to moisten things up a bit.

Brand: Ramón Peña
Description: Yellowfin tuna in olive oil
Species: Thunnus albacares
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.9 oz.
Price Range: $8

Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna Fillets with Oregano

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These Tonnino Yellowfin Tuna Fillets with Oregano in Olive Oil came from Whole Foods while on sale there. Packed in a glass jar, you can largely see what you're getting before you buy it, an anomaly in the world of tinned fish. But how did they taste?

Initial impression upon opening the can jar: 4.9/5.

Some nice elongated, solid tuna fillets, three in total. The immersion in oil masks any real aroma at this point.

Pulling the fillets out, they remain largely intact. Two of the three were used immediately over a Mediterranean pasta salad with rotini, cucumber, roasted red pepper and kalamata olives. While delicious, it didn't really allow for a sense of the tuna on its own merits.

Let's Try it Alone

I plated the remaining fillet and poured an ounce or so of the oregano-infused olive oil over it. There was a bit of tuna debris left in the bottom, so... Waste not, want not. I added it to the top.

It was at this point the aroma of the fresh tuna and herbs started to bloom. Breaking the fillet into smaller bite-size pieces, I endeavored to coat each in the golden green-hued oil. I found the tuna itself felt a little dry on the palate, and the oil really improved the mouthfeel.

I thought the level of oregano was just right, not heavy-handed as with some recent tastings. Even though listed at a moderate 380mg. sodium, it seemed a little lacking in salt. But I opted not to make any alterations, and just enjoyed it as-is.

The olive oil, while not listed as EVOO, is of high quality, and I'll keep that remaining in the jar for some near term future use.

All in all, the $9 regular price is reasonable for wild, pole & line caught yellowfin. Also of note is this glass jar pack is 6.7 oz, a generous portion of same. I see Walmart carries some Tonnino tuna in this format at prices more in line with the Whole Foods sale price.

Main Takeaways

Meaty, substantial tuna fillets
Good seasoning level
Lacked salt, on its own

Brand: Tonnino
Description: Yellowfin tuna fillets with oregano in olive oil
Species: Thunnus albacares
Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Source: FAO?
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 6.7 oz.
Price Range: $9

Trader Joe’s Yellowfin Tuna in EVOO

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I happened to notice this can of Trader Joe's Yellowfin Tuna in EVOO during a recent visit there. Four things caught my eye: yellowfin tuna, solid, EVOO and $2.49. Let's see if it was worth it.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.9/5.

Nice looking tuna with large solid chunks. The oil is transparent, lacking the color one might expect from extra virgin olive oil. A sip of it is largely neutral, with no real taste of either the oil or the fish packed in it. This SKU was previously designated simply "in olive oil".

A nibble of the tuna is encouraging. A very mild flavor with only a hint of tuna "tang". It seems moist enough, with a firm texture. The chunks are as thick as the can is deep, with very little debris. I thought it could use a touch more salt.

I was able to remove the tuna out over rice in reasonably large intact chunks. The residual oil in the can was only about a tablespoon, so I poured it over the fish. The net weight was 4.5 oz. with the dry weight only a half ounce less.

As I ate several bites, I began to notice a bit of dryness, but in no way a deal-breaker. Yellowfin tuna is my preference, and I thought this one was a good value, overall.

Kicking It Up

I had a new chili crisp I wanted to try, so this seemed like an opportune moment. I had gotten several new ones from the recent Amazon Black Friday sale. Maya Kaimal Chili Crisp is a bit of a different take, featuring Indian spices including mustard seed, curry leaves, turmeric and star anise.

The spice level is low to moderate and the Aleppo and red chili flakes provide a steady undertone of heat. Unlike most chili crisps whose oils are tinged red, this one's is yellow, courtesy of the turmeric, I assume. Lots of sesame seeds and large bits of crispy onion.

Main Takeaways

Solid chunks of tuna with mild flavor
Good net/dry weight ratio
A tad dry, needed salt

I'd have no problem recommending this one, and would buy it again as an all-purpose canned tuna.

Brand: Trader Joe's
Description: Solid Yellowfin Tuna in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Species: Thunnus albacares
Country of Origin: American Samoa
Source: FAO81, Southwest Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 4.5 oz.
Price Range: $2-3