Having grown up in a household where an abundance of freshly-caught Pacific tuna always was available on a weekly basis, some of the tricks we learned to preserve freshness included defrosting the tuna in the refrigerator at near freezing temperatures with a layer of napkins (Bounty brand) wrapped around the portioned filets. My family has a separate home refrigerator solely dedicated to defrosting seafood because the smell can become overwhelming even for the most experienced fish handler. The refrigerator was set at a lower than normal temperature (35-38°F) to ensure a slow defrosting process which usually took 24 hours. This assured no mushiness and kept the tuna plump and red, and made for easy clean up and disposal of the napkins. My family has been in the commercial fishing business for over 25 plus years and has been using this technique for as long as I can remember -- since the Care Bears cartoon was a smash hit on network TV. The tuna preservation technique can also be utilized with other saltwater creatures such as swordfish and Pacific saury.
