中トロ · チュウトロ · chutoro
Chutoro
Chutoro is the medium-fatty cut between lean akami and rich otoro — marbled like good beef but balanced, and for many the best-value sweet spot of the tuna.
- Also known as
- medium fatty tuna, toro
- Species
- Thunnus orientalis (Bluefin tuna (medium-fatty cut))
- Category
- Red-flesh fish (akami)
- Texture
- tender, lightly marbled — balanced, marbled, melts slightly
- Peak season
- Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb
- Sustainability
- red — Usually bluefin — heavily overfished.
- Mercury
- Not in the FDA consumer table
- Pregnancy
- Eat in moderation
- Price tier
- $$$
The balanced one
Chutoro is the medium-fatty cut between the lean back (akami) and the rich belly (otoro). It marbles like good beef but stays composed — enough fat to melt, enough structure to taste of fish. For many diners it’s the best-value sweet spot of the tuna.
Where it comes from
Chutoro is cut from the transition zones — the upper belly and along the spine toward the tail. The marbling (sashi) shows as fine pale lines through the red.
A mercury note
Like otoro, chutoro carries less mercury than lean akami — the contaminant concentrates in muscle rather than fat. See how it sits between the other tuna cuts.
Related neta
Akami
Akami is the lean, deep-red back muscle of tuna — the most traditional cut, all clean iron and umami, and the one with the most mercury per bite.
大トロ otoroOtoro
Otoro is the fattiest cut of the tuna belly — densely marbled, pale pink, and rich enough to dissolve on the tongue. The prized luxury slice of edomae sushi.