Use the fingertip test and color shift.

Yes. You don’t need to cut into a tuna steak to know when it’s done — just use the same method chefs use for steak: poke it.

Rare tuna feels soft and gives easily, like pressing your thumb into the pad of your palm when your hand is relaxed. Medium feels springy, like the same pad when you touch your thumb to your middle finger. Well done feels firm, like pressing your thumb to your pinky. But honestly, tuna is best rare-to-medium-rare. Overcooked tuna is dry and mealy.

The visual cue: raw tuna is deep red and translucent. As it cooks, the outside turns opaque and beige, but the center stays darker. When you see a thin white line of cooked flesh forming on the side of the steak (about 1/8 inch in), that’s a good sign it’s medium-rare. Any more than that and you’re heading into shoe-leather territory.

Don’t let the raw-looking parts scare you. Tuna is not chicken. A rare center is fine, and cutting into it just lets the juices run out. Trust the poke and the color shift.

Overcooked tuna is a waste of good fish.