Driving through picturesque seaside villages along the western coast of Portugal, the ocean's influence on the landscape is everywhere. White-washed houses sport louvered shutters to deflect the glaring sun. Trees and vegetation lean inland as if sculpted by the wind. Sun-bleached seashells pave driveways and footpaths. And fish is found in unexpected places.
My boys, who were quite young then and restless from the ten hour road trip, giggled from the back seat. "Why does everyone wash their fish here?" one of them asked. I wasn't sure what he meant until I caught sight of a clothesline. Hanging between the socks and knickers were splayed sides of salted fish, curing in the heat of the sun and swaying in the salty breeze. The ubiquitous bacalhao (salt cod) were easy to pick out and I guessed that the smaller, dark slabs were tuna.
Arriving at our destination in the Algarve, we were weary and hungry. A restaurant was chosen based on its proximity to our hotel. With stomachs rumbling, we were led onto a terrace, perched high on the side of a cliff overlooking a coved beach, and beyond, an emerald green sea from which ancient limestone formations rose up like pillars.
Distracted by the view, I ordered a tuna dish which I assumed would be cooked. I was surprised to be served what looked like thin slices of raw tuna. The Portuguese are known for preparing fish a hundred ways, but never raw.
Tasting the tuna was revelatory–salty, silky, pungent and fishy, but clean–like the ocean itself. The accompaniments: slices of boiled, waxy potatoes, hard boiled eggs, minced onion and fruity, green olive oil were the perfect foil for the aggressive tuna.
Before leaving, I inquired about the tuna and learned that it was salt-cured and sun-dried; a traditional preparation called mochama. When I asked where I could buy it, I was told that it could not be bought, that it had to be made.
Its taken me a long time, but I finally did make it.
Eleven days ago, I buried slabs of fresh tuna loin in sea salt. Nine days ago, I soaked them in cold water. Seven days ago, I hung them to dry in a spare refrigerator. Today, I cut thin slices of mochama, and ate them, accompanied by potatoes, eggs, onion, and olive oil.
For a moment, I forgot that its a cold and dreary day. In my head, I was back in a land of emerald sea and warm salty breezes, where people hang their dinner out to dry with their laundry.
salt cured tuna
Mochama (Portugal), mojama (Spain), and mosciame (Italy) should be made from very fresh tuna (sushi quality). Cut the loin lengthwise with the grain into portions that are up to 5" wide and no more than 2" thick. On a whim, I brushed half of the portions with sweet soy (equal amounts of soy sauce and brown sugar, brought to a boil) during the first three days of drying. I found that this untraditional finish enhanced the final product.
In a deep, nonreactive dish, spread out a 1/2" thick layer of sea salt. Lay tuna portions on top, leaving a space between each. Cover tuna with 1/2" thick layer of salt. Cover and refrigerate for 2 days.
After 2 days, remove tuna from salt and rinse well. Place tuna in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Set aside in the refrigerator for 2 days, changing the water 6 times during the soaking period.
After the tuna soaks for 2 days, remove from water and pat dry with paper towels. Thread a coated wire through one end of each portion and bend the end into a hook. Hang in the refrigerator to dry, allowing plenty of room between each portion for good air circulation. After 7 days, it is ready to use.
Playing with Fire and Water 
OOO, this sounds really good! I bought some great pink sea salt from http://www.sustainablesourcing.com/
This will be yet another great way to use it!
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Sounds great. Is the necessary to soak it that long after? I recently prepared beef this way with a teres major- salt pack and air dry, but I did not soak and it turned out great.
If you did not soak the tuna how do you think it would turn out? Does it actually take on that much salt in the 2 days?
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JP- the soaking is what differentiates this from salt cod, which needs to be soaked after curing to be made edible. Remember–mochama is not cooked. The soaking not only removes excess salt, but leaves the flesh supple and silky, not unlike proscuitto.
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We add ground vanilla pod and fresh lemongrass leaves in with our curing mix, you wouldn’t believe how much flavour it adds to the cure, we always soak our fish in ice cold water as well before smoking, of course we only cure ours for a short period of time, the fish is sooo fresh!
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Chef, I understand what you are saying, but what I ment is that I’ve done the same proceedure with both beef teres major and duck magret and did not do the soaking step and neither were overly salty after the drying phase. I’m just wondering what the tuna would be like if you just wiped off the salt and went straight to the drying phase.
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JP-I still suspect that the fish would be too salty and dry without soaking, but I would be interested in testing it on the next go-round. I’ll let you know the results.
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Cool. I am thinking though that the flesh density of the magret and teres major are probably greater.
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i tried the tuna step buy step. took it off of it hook today. and was terribly disapointed. the tuna lacked any flavor at all, salt, tuna anything. could have been i soaked it in too much water. the steps did not specify liquid to mass ratio. durring the soak i became concerened when the entire outer surface became opaque white. finaly the ” grains” of the tuna seperated. i did not use a tail piece like that in the picture. if it were not for the cheese cloth that i lightly wraped it in, i fear that it would have fallen apart. all in all i belive it can be achieved, the “procuito like” texture, yet the two day soak left it ablsolutly bland. and poosiblely would ahve let it hand a lil longer.
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i also did not use the soy, brown sugar mix.
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derek-
Are you cutting the tuna across the grain as in a steak? It needs to be cut with the grain. Sorry for that, I will amend the recipe. It will become milky when it is soaked, but will then darken and become translucent as it dries.
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wow, preety damn good tuna gravlax……
salute for your knive skills, never had a chance to cut that kinda paper thin….
wel done!
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