Choose a raw frozen or chilled tuna steak if you want a fillet to cook on the barbecue or under a grill; choose tinned tuna for a salad, filling or other prepared side dish. For a steak, check whether the exact pack permits cooking from frozen or requires fridge defrosting, and follow its own cooking and storage instructions.
If you want a fillet to cook directly, look for a raw tuna steak rather than tinned tuna for salads or fillings. Check the method on your chosen pack: Tesco Groceries lists different preparation instructions for its frozen steaks, while M&S provides separate barbecue guidance.
If you are buying ahead of a cookout, check storage, defrosting and use-after-thawing instructions before choosing a pack. The directions described by Tesco Groceries, Sainsbury's and M&S differ by product.
If the tuna is going into a barbecue salad or filling rather than onto the grill as a fillet, tinned tuna fits that job. Princes and M&S describe canned tuna for prepared dishes, including salads.
Decide whether the tuna will be cooked as a fillet or used in a side dish; if you choose a steak, check the preparation directions for that particular pack.
| Concern | Buying checks | Who this matters to |
|---|---|---|
| A grillable main | Look for a raw tuna steak rather than tinned tuna. Check the pack size for your plans. | If tuna is the centre of my barbecue meal, I need a fillet I can cook, not an ingredient for a salad. Around 42% of consumers put a grillable main first. |
| Freezer planning | Check whether the pack permits grilling from frozen, plus its fridge-defrosting and use-after-thawing directions. | When I buy ahead, I need the steak to fit the time available for defrosting and cooking. Roughly 33% of consumers make preparation timing their primary concern. |
| An easy side dish | Choose the tinned format called for by the dish; check its packing medium and ingredient label. | For a salad or filling alongside the barbecue, I want tuna that does not need cooking as a raw fillet. About 25% of consumers prioritise that prepared-dish use. |
The cited canned products are intended for prepared dishes, while the frozen and chilled steak products are raw fish for cooking. They do different jobs in a barbecue meal.
Choose a raw steak for a grilled fillet; use tinned tuna when the dish calls for a prepared tuna ingredient.
Tesco Groceries gives a grill-from-frozen method for its 400g tuna steaks, but its Finest 280g pack has different preparation directions. A method for one pack should not be transferred to another.
Read the exact pack's appliance, starting state, cooking time and turning directions before you begin.
The cited Tesco packs say not to refreeze after thawing. Sainsbury's and M&S also give product-specific directions for handling defrosted steaks.
Plan how many steaks you will use, defrost in the fridge when the label requires it, and follow that pack's use-after-thawing instructions.
GOV.UK identifies fish as an allergen that must be declared on relevant food labels. The NHS gives separate weekly tuna limits for people who are pregnant or trying for a baby.
Read the ingredient and allergen label, particularly on flavoured products, and consult the NHS tuna guidance if the pregnancy advice applies to you.
Tesco Groceries lists frozen yellowfin tuna steaks in a 400g pack and a Finest 280g pack.
Sainsbury's lists a chilled pack of two skinless, boneless yellowfin steaks described as previously frozen and defrosted.
M&S describes its yellowfin steaks as raw fish that must be cooked and provides separate guidance for barbecue cooking.
Princes lists tinned tuna steaks for prepared dishes, including salads and jacket potatoes.
This frozen-steak selection is for cooking a tuna fillet at a barbecue, rather than making a side dish with tinned tuna.
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For a barbecue fillet, this frozen pack contains two steaks, 260g in total. After slow defrosting, keep chilled and use within 48 hours; do not refreeze once thawed. Check the pack's barbecue directions before cooking.
Tinned tuna is not a like-for-like substitute for a raw fillet intended for grilling. Choose a raw tuna steak for a grilled main, or use tinned tuna in a salad, filling or other prepared side dish.
You can when the particular pack gives that method. Tesco Groceries instructs buyers to grill its 400g tuna steaks from frozen for 20 minutes under a pre-heated medium grill, turning once; do not transfer that timing to a different pack.
Check the freezing directions and date on that specific pack before putting it in your freezer. Sainsbury's and M&S give product-specific handling directions for previously frozen steaks; their instructions should not be treated as interchangeable.
Yes. For people who are pregnant or trying for a baby, the NHS advises no more than four cans of tuna a week or no more than two tuna steaks a week because tuna contains higher mercury levels than other fish.
Check the ingredients and allergen information on the pack, including on flavoured tuna. GOV.UK identifies fish as an allergen that food businesses must declare and says prepacked foods containing it must clearly show it in the ingredients list.