Grilled Tuna Kebabs

Last year’s camping season basically ended up being the “Year of the Kebabs” for us.

I’ve posted a bunch of our favourite kebab recipes, across a few of my blogs: Chicken Pineapple Kebabs, Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs, Jambalaya Skewers, Hop Marinated Chicken Skewers, Greek Chicken Souvlaki, Chicken Satay, Fajita Chicken Kebabs, and - most recently - Pesto Chicken Skewers!

Today’s easy recipe is one of the last skewer recipes we made during our fall camping trip - at Pukaskwa National Park, as we started making our way home.

These tuna skewers are so flavourful, we just made them a meal in their own right. Meaty fish chunks and veggies, in a tasty sesame ginger marinade - what else could you need?

We love them with the peppers interspersed between the tuna - it leaves all of the veggies a little crunchy, and just warmed through.

If you want your veggies softer, thread them on separate skewers and cook them longer than the fish kebabs - ideally off to the side.

Either way, these sesame ginger tuna skewers are a fun way to break away from more traditional grilled skewers. Don’t get me wrong, I love chicken... but I will never turn down a round of tuna skewers!

Anyway, let’s take a look at what you’ll need for this recipe...

Ingredients

This tuna kabob recipe uses pretty simple ingredients, you shouldn’t have a problem finding what you need in MOST larger grocery stores.

As always, I have some ingredient notes for you:

Ahi Tuna Steaks

As tuna generally isn’t cooked all the way through, you’ll need to use previously frozen fish, and you want to buy it from a reputable source.

While you’re looking for fresh tuna - in terms of it being good to eat, not smelling overly fishy, etc - you don’t want “fresh fish” in the “has never been frozen” sense.

Sushi grade / sashimi grade fish - which is safe to be eaten raw - is fish that’s been flash frozen to a certain temperature, for a certain amount of time.

This is what kills off any existing parasites. Actual fresh-from-the-ocean tuna would not be safe to eat raw or partially cooked.

Anyway, I use ahi tuna steaks for this recipe, which I buy individually vacuum sealed in freezer bags.

To safely thaw them, I leave them in the fridge overnight, then pat them dry with paper towels before using them.

Btw, want some more tuna recipes? Here are a great options to choose from:

Seared Tuna Salad, Low Carb Tuna Poke Bowl, Tuna Crudo, Ahi Tuna Nachos, Ahi Tuna Burgers, Pepper Crusted Tuna with Wasabi Cream Sauce, Tuna Mango Poke, Tuna, Avocado & Mango Sushi Rolls, and Spicy Tuna Sushi Rolls!

Fresh Produce

To make this more of a meal, I like to include some bell peppers and other vegetables on my tuna skewers.

Personally, I like zucchini, red peppers, yellow peppers, and some red onion... but feel free to play around with this.

If you’re not a fan of zucchini, use extra peppers... and vice versa. Red onion really is the best to use, though, due to the light amount of cooking involved.

Rice Vinegar

If you don’t have rice vinegar, you can use apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or lime juice. I’ve listed those alternatives in order of preference, btw.

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Soy Sauce or Coconut Aminos
Ground Black Pepper
Ground Ginger
Garlic Powder
Grilling Spray
Sesame Seeds
Sesame Oil
Honey
Salt

... I just don’t have anything else to add, as far as these last few ingredients go!

Skewers

In addition to the actual ingredients, you’ll need some skewers.

We’ll use metal skewers when we’re feeling lazy, but use bamboo skewers / wooden skewers to make them look nicer for photos.

Just be sure to soak wood skewers in warm water for at least 30 minutes before threading your ingredients on them.

How to Make Sesame Ginger Tuna Skewers

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Sesame Ginger Marinade

Measure the Sesame Ginger Marinade ingredients - except salt and pepper - into a small bowl, whisk to combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside.

Marinated Tuna Kebabs

Thaw your tuna safely - either in cold water for 30 minutes, or in the fridge overnight.

Blot the tuna steaks dry with paper towels, cut into 1" cubes, and gently place in a large freezer baggie.

Pour the prepared marinade into the baggie, gently mix to coat the tuna cubes, set aside.

Wash your vegetables.

Slice the zucchinis into ¾" rounds, place in a the baggie. Seed the bell peppers, chop peppers and onion into 1" cubes, add to the baggie.

Gently stir the ingredients to coat the vegetables with excess marinade.

Seal the baggie - gently pressing out most of the excess air, chill for at 30 minutes.

Assembly

Get a good fire going, aiming for a high heat. You can cook your tuna kebabs on a camp stove, over hot coals, or even over the open flame of a fire pit.

Use a slotted spoon to remove tuna and veggies from the marinade.

Thread the prepared ingredients onto your skewers, alternating a piece of tuna, with bell pepper squares, zucchini, and onions

Spray the grill grate with grill spray, then arrange the skewers in a single layer, leaving some room between each skewer. Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to work in batches.

Cook over the hot grill for about 2-3 minutes, until tuna sears on one side.

Spray the tops of the skewers with nonstick cooking spray, and flip the skewers. Continue grilling another 2-3 until tuna is seared on the second side, and tuna is as cooked as you like it.

Leftovers

These tuna skewers are definitely best served fresh off the grill. If you’re looking to serve them as leftovers, I recommend serving them chilled.

Once cooled to almost room temperature, leftover skewers can be transferred to an airtight container and kept in the fridge for a day.

More Grilling Recipes for Camping

Looking for some great meals to cook on a campfire or grill? Here's a few of my favourites!

Bacon Venison Burgers with Whiskey Onions
Bannock Burgers
Bison Burgers with Bacon and Caramelized Onions
Campfire Calzones
Campfire Pizza
Elk Burgers with Bacon & Sauteed Mushrooms
Fajita Chicken Kebabs
French Onion Soup Burgers
Greek Chicken Souvlaki
Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Lemon-Dill Fresh Salmon Burgers
Easy Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Grilled Tuna Tacos
Mediterranean Chicken Kebabs
Mediterranean Salmon Burgers
Pesto Chicken Skewers
Thanksgiving Turkey Burgers

Be sure to check out our other Camping Recipes, including Camping Desserts, Camping Snacks, Make-Ahead Camping Mix Recipes, and a ton of delicious Camping Main Dish Recipes.

Also, we had SO much fun designing gourmet jerky recipes for our camping trips, we started a whole new blog for them! Check out Dried & Tasty for all kinds of fun recipes to make in your food dehydrator!