Tuna canned in oil

[emglow101]

Looking for some suggestions of what you buy. Most of what I see is packed in water. Domestic, imported , either is OK.
Thanks

[toasts]

Ortiz has white tuna, yellowfin tuna, and tuna belly packed in oil, either in glass or canned, from Spain. Tonnino also has oil packed tuna and tuna belly from Costa Rica in glass or cans too, but they taste less silky compared to Ortiz -also about $2 cheaper per can/ jar than Ortiz too. Sometimes I'll just buy fresh tuna and poach them in oil for a similar taste for a better price.

[Bacardi1]

While I do buy fancy imported tuna sometimes as a treat, my hands-down favorite every-day canned tuna that I ALWAYS have in my pantry is "Starkist 'Gourmet Choice' Solid Light Tuna Fillet in Olive Oil". LOVE it!

[John Francis]

Julia Child used to recommend buying tuna in oil instead of water, and I agree that it preserves the flavor better.

Nowadays I buy Trader Joe's Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil, or when that's out of stock, the Albacore Tuna in Olive Oil. Used to get tuna in a pouch, forget what the brand was; Alton Brown said it's cooked less than the canned tuna, and that's good - but I've gone back to the canned tuna and am happy with it.

A friend pays extra for the Genova Tonno and speaks well of it, but says it would be wasted in conventional tuna salad (with mayo etc.).

[emglow101]

Julia said to Jacque, "It preserves the flavor better" while making the nicoise salad. Made a believer out of me.

[emintey]

I find the best canned tuna w/o doubt, short of the expensive and fancy imported kinds is Genova in olive oil. I think tuna in olive oil is superior and genova beats the others in olive oil, it's yellowfin tuna which the others arent, has a better flavor and it is also a sold tuna very similar to solid white tuna which the others arent. I do agree once you add mayo it takes away the 'specialness'.

[John Francis]

Correction: like I said, Trader Joe's sells canned yellow fin tuna in olive oil. How it compares with Genova, I don't know, but it exists.

[drongo]

I use Cento (inexpensive -- about $0.6/oz). Chow.com has a recipe here where they recommend Ortiz Bonito Del Norte (more expensive -- about $1.50/oz)). Cooks Illustrated's top recommended tuna-in-oil (in a jar not can) is Nardin Bonito Del Norte Ventresca Fillets (very expensive -- about $4/oz).

[sedimental]

I usually don't buy tuna anymore due to the mercury levels, additives and practices I don't like. In addition - it all seems like such a rip off for the cost to product ratio in the cans.

However, I just bought Wild Planet Albacore Tuna from Costco.This pole caught tuna has half the mercury in it. No added water or oil. Just nice Tuna steak in a can. Really good, really worth it IMO.

[emglow101]

I have seen the Wild planet albacore. There is mercury levels in tuna. But I don't believe line caught tuna has half of the mercury.

[sedimental]

I have no idea if it is * because* it is line caught...I would think it is more about *where* they catch them or maybe how big they are. Anyway, I have no reason to doubt their claim (more than anyone else) at this point, and it is damn good tuna!

[sedimental]

From their webpage, look what I found:

Why is there so much less mercury?

The troll-caught albacore in the North Pacific fishery are lower in mercury because these migratory fish are smaller (about 9 to 25 pounds) and younger (three to five years old) than the long-line caught older fish that reach up to 70 pounds after ten to fifteen years of growth. Naturally, the longer a fish lives and feeds, the more it bio-accumulates mercury.

While all fish caught along the West Coast are low in mercury compared to larger overseas fish, we have made it our quest to produce the safest possible product. We do this by packing only these smaller fish.

[emglow101]

Thanks for your info. Makes sense, smaller fish. I will try the Wild Planet.

[kseiverd]

I also like Genova and Cento in olive oil. Only saw this ONCE at Trader Joe's and wish I hadn't been so cheap... imported, solid tuna, in olive oil, in a jar. No idea what the "brand" was. Probably $5-6 a jar but at least twice the size of a typical can. It was very tasty... and I only bought ONE jar!!

[treb]

I buy domestic tuna in water, imported in olive oil.

[pinehurst]

If you search for canned tuna, you'll find hits on other threads. I like the Genova tonno and the Cento, both in olive oil, but do other brands as well.

[corneygirl]

I like the Genova as well. Traders Joes brand isn't bad either.

[connies419]

I'm happy with Trader Joe's albacore in olive oil for my go-to. I squeeze it well so it's not too oily because I usually like a little mayo with it. (You wouldn't have to squeeze it much if you ate it as-is, like on a green salad.) At about $2.50, it's the one good one that I don't wince to look at the price.

[GretchenS]

I really like Flott tuna.
http://fresh.amazon.com/product?asin=... I do not pay even half as much as Amazon charges however.

[Steve Green]

We just tried 'ASdoMar, a Portuguese import, and it's great, although a bit pricey ($5 per 7-oz can). We found it in an Italian deli in San Francisco. Several notches down from this, there's Trader Joe's skipjack, and Chicken of the Sea albacore. All these are packed in olive oil.

[Musie]

I tend to buy tuna chunk in water. I'm not a fan of the slippy texture of oil, hence avoiding the stuff in oil.