'Really? You’re asking how to make tuna salad? :dubious: ’
No. I’m asking how you make your tuna salad.
I grew up with chunk-light tuna packed in oil, drained, and mixed with Miracle Whip and sweet pickle relish. (We were a Miracle Whip household. I know half of you hate it with a passion, but it has its place. Not necessarily in tuna salad.) In my late-teens, when I could have some input on groceries, I made it the same way except for using mayonnaise instead of MW. Later I used chunk-light tuna packed in water. I used to come up with some wild concoctions when I was a teen. Tuna salad might have dijon mustard, loads of pepper, and Bac-O bacon bits. Yeah… For years, I could never get tuna salad that tasted like it did when I was a kid. It finally occurred to me that I needed to use chunk-light tuna in oil.
Nowadays I’m using solid white albacore packed in water. (Sometimes I’ll use chunk-light in oil, yellowfin, skipjack, or whatever.) I mix it with mayonnaise – Mrs. L.A. says I never use enough – celery seeds, and tarragon. Mrs. L.A. made some (as above) recently, with the addition of dill.
You hit the basic tuna salad of my youth: chunk-light tuna in water, Miracle Whip, sweet pickle relish. These days I add a shake or two of red pepper flakes, maybe a finely diced pepperoncini or two. Stuff into a tomato or serve on toasted white bread with Thousand Island/Russian dressing. Cut diagonally.
Chunk light tuna in oil, mayo tempered with a little bit of Miracle Whip, finely chopped celery and cracked black pepper. Maybe a squeeze of lemon juice. I like it better on saltines than I do on bread.
Mayo and a bit of lemon olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Dried thyme or dill, depending on mood
Chopped green onion
Minced garlic (or a spritz of garlic powder)
Diced celery
Chopped home-canned sweet pickle
Sometimes I’ll add a bit of red pepper flakes or even some chopped jalapeno, if the mood calls for it. Other times, I skip the olive oil and just add some finely grated lemon rind or some lemon juice and maybe a shot of brown mustard.
Because of my geography, this popped up at the company lunch one day. It was good.
Tuna packed in water
little bit of diced onion
small amount of mayo (this is a dry salad–you might want to use more0
chopped tomato
finely chopped celery
cup of peas
cup of corn kernels
pinch of garlic salt and pepper
perhaps a little finely chopped cilantro
You could use it on crackers but I think tortilla chips are more in tune with this.
White Albacore in water, drained.
Sweet onion finely chopped
Miracle Whip
Paprika
Sweet pickles or dill pickles finely chopped
A couple of hard boiled eggs finely chopped
Dill, Celery Seed
Stir together, taste and adjust as needed.
Spread on toasted white bread with or without melted cheeese.
I absolutely hated tuna salad as a kid, and have not had it since. In fact, I hated tuna because I never had the real thing.
Why not make it with fresh tuna sashimi… kind of a poke style? Or, lots of restaurants offer a “tuna tartar” which is more than just raw tuna, but with avocado and other filler type things that could easily be modified into a “salad” spread. Just a little bit of mayo to give it spreadiness, and the rest just good, raw ingredients with a kick.
I’ve never made this type of salad thing (no chicken salad no egg salad no tuna salad) in my life, so maybe I’m off my rocker on this. Just wondering, though.
I think we just did this, because I remember thinking “Huh! Pickles in tuna salad! I got to try that!” And I haven’t made tuna salad since.
For the record, I would chop up a little kosher garlic dill pickle instead of sweet pickle relish. Otherwise just Hellman’s mayo, salt & pepper. I usually add celery, but the pickle would take its place.
chunk light tuna in water
mayo
finely diced celery
coarsely ground black pepper
That’s the basic recipe. Sometimes I add some fresh snipped chives, since they don’t upset my stomach like raw onions do. Sometimes I add some dill pickles ,finely diced, especially if there is no celery.
Albacore tuna in water
Chopped hard boiled eggs
Finely diced onion, celery and sweet gherkins
Hellman’s mayo
A squirt of mustard
Salt
The Yellow Dot Cafe where I buy lunch sometimes puts capers in theirs, and I really like it. I haven’t done that at home yet though.
Sometimes I want to make hot tuna sandwiches, and that calls for some finely chopped green pepper as well. Butter the buns, wrap them in foil, and bake 20 minutes or so. My mom made this when I was a kid, and every once in awhile I’ll make them. Must be served with tomato soup.
I made tuna salad sandwiches for my lunch every day for four years when I was in high school. Chunk light in oil, hard boiled egg, sweet pickles chopped up, Miracle Whip, on white bread, the squishier the better. Yum.
Mention of hot tuna sandwich reminded me of the tuna melts I used to get at a little cafe: thick-sliced sourdough bread, tuna salad (celery, no pickle or egg), big slice of American cheese, mayo, grilled crispy. Yum yum.