Today, I did just that. Had some yellow fin tuna (also known as “ahi” in Hawaii), and at the urging of my wife, Lupe, decided to smoke it.

I normally smoke about 5-10 pounds at a time. I cut the loins into steaks about 1/2 inch thick, then submerge them overnight in a brine: 1 cup of kosher salt, 2 cups brown sugar, 2 quarts water. The next day, I build a fire in my 3-sided smoking pit out of local tangantangan wood (it’s similar to red oak) and coconut husks (the rough outer layer of fresh coconuts).