Help me jazz up my tuna salad

Cafe Society
1

I love tuna sandwiches and have been eating them a lot lately. I have a very basic tuna salad recipe that just involves a little mayo and a spoonful or two of sweet relish.

I’ve been making it this way since I was very young and I’m thinking it’s about time to try out some new ideas. I figure I’d come here, list what I have in my pantry/fridge and see what everyone here might suggest I do… Ok, so here’s what I have on hand that seem relevant…

Mayo
Worcestershire sauce
Soy
Mustard (yellow)
Red pepper flakes
Old Bay Seasoning (garlic)
An onion
Celery (I already plan on using this in my next attempt)
Hardboiled egg
Sweet relish
Dill pickles

Ok, I think that about does it… If there’s a must-have ingrediant that I should go pick up, I can do that… I just wanted to try and use what I had on hand.

Any suggestions?

2

I put curry powder, green onion and apple bits in mine, with a little no-fat yogurt (instead of mayo).

3

Any of the things you mention could work. I mostly came in, though, to say that your request reminded me of this bit from the Onion:

4

Dried or fresh thyme leaves are nice, as is herbes de provence. And a squeeze of lemon juice.

5

Curry powder, capers, horseradish…

6

garlic powder
vinegar (just a couple of drops)
hard-boiled egg

The above is my personal recipe for tuna salad, with the tuna and mayo (MAYO, not Miracle Whip (or as we call it here, the Devil’s Semen)).

7

Thyme is essential.

8

Mayo, fresh black pepper and lemon juice- much simpler. Pickles to add crunch, along with celery if you must pad it.

9

Parsley, sage and rosemary are, however, optional…

10

I can’t eat it any longer, but my favorite tuna (or chicken) salad was always a little bit of mayo, a smaller amount of yellow mustard, and diced banana peppers.

God, I miss banana peppers.

11

Red pepper flakes, a dash of pickle juice along with the relish, and maybe a dash of Tiger Sauce. Don’t mess with the tuna salad, mess with the condiments on the sandwich! Try hot mustard and horseradish one day, then something else the next.

12

Two words:

Green Apple.
I like a lot of different tuna salads, but hands down the best I have ever had was made with minced green apple. The apple gives the whole situation a sweet/tart/crunchy goodness that is fantastic.

Give it a try with a slightly simple list of other ingredients.

I like
cayan pepper (optional, but I put cayan in damn near everything, you can use red pepper flakes in a pinch but get yourself some cayan)
black pepper
salt
mayo
mustard
green apple
pickles
squeeze of lemon

Freakin good stuff. A little celery would probably be good too, but my wife hates the stuff so I haven’t given it a try yet.

13

Yep! I’ve got three basic recipes:

  1. Tuna and mayo and maybe a couple other things like pickles or celery, but maybe just tuna and mayo. This is my regression-to-childhood comfort food salad.
  2. Tuna and lemon juice and olive oil and herbs and black pepper, maybe with good olives. This tastes all sophistimucated and stuff. It’s summery and good.
  3. Tuna and olive oil and a nice dash of Sriracha (hot cock) sauce and a clove of crushed garlic and a dash of curry powder. This is based on a recipe from Chapel Hill’s excellent Skylight Exchange: they call it African Tuna, and I used to order it every time I went there. It’s great as a tuna melt or with (really) peanut butter.

Daniel

14

A good saxophone solo, maybe.

15

Capers and anchovies. You don’t need a lot of anchovies, but just a tiny little bit will amp up the flavor without being overbearing (actually, your Worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it already, but I would skip Worcestershire in tuna salad in favor of controlling the flavor myself with anchovies. Worcester has a tendency to overpower foods quickly.) My standard tuna salad starts with good, oil-packed tuna, EVOO, balsamic vinegar, capers, anchovies, and goes from there.

16

Mayo
Prepared horseradish
Capers
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Lemon juice

Or, my other, dirt simple version:

Fresh, rough cracked black pepper and rice vinegar.

17

This is my favorite “standard” tuna salad:

2 (6 ounce) cans solid white tuna packed in water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 stalk celery, minced (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons red onions, minced
2 tablespoons dill pickles or sweet gherkins, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1/8 tsp.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Two points:

  1. The tuna should be well-drained. It ends up runny if you leave any water from the tuna. You might use a collander instead of draining from the can.
  2. Yes, that’s the right amount of lemon juice. Try it.
18

I sometimes make mine like this:
Tuna
Mayo
Honey Mustard
Bacon Bits (real bacon if possible)
Whatever mild cheese I have on hand

Heated (preferably grilled, but microwaved when I’m feeling lazy.)

19

From what you have on-hand, definitely the celery, onion, and boiled eggs.

One ingredient not mentioned yet - Pineapple! Yum, yum, yummy yum.

Don’t knock it 'till you try it - Tuna, Mayo, celery, onion, a little cayenne pepper, and pineapple. Spicy and sweet, my favorite combo.

:cool:

20

I’ll second the chopped apple. I’ve never been specific about red or green, but I do know that chopped apple in tuna salad is wonderful!