# Tuna Melt. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823 "2014-09-18T14:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/1 "2014-09-18T14:59:06Z")
As weather cools, my thoughts turn to more comfort food: Solid White tuna in water - drained, squozen and flaked with fork Red onion or shallots - finely chopped Celery - finely chopped, including the celery leaves near the center of the bunch Jalapeno - one small, seeded, very finely chopped Fresh Parsley or Cilantro - finely chopped Mayo - go easy, just enough to moisten and bring it all together Pepper - generous amount of freshly ground Lightly toast some bread (I like rosemary olive oil bread, pita is good too). Load on the tuna. Cover with sliced or grated cheese (cheddar or provolone or swiss or…) Into the oven until the cheese is bubbling and turning brown. Let cool for as long as you can stand to wait. Pile on the arugula and eat with kosher style dills on the side. Chase it down with a coke or ginger ale. How do you make yours’? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/2 "2014-09-18T17:19:30Z")
Chunk Light tuna, with a little mayo to moisten it. Spread on halves of an everything bagel. Cabot 50% reduced fat swiss cheese slices. Microwave. Eat. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/3 "2014-09-18T17:34:12Z")
I use a much simpler recipe: tuna, mayo, relish, celery, salt and pepper (I also like lots of pepper). For cheese, I tend to prefer jack or mozzarella, but a mild cheddar works too. Swiss and provolone have that sort of funky flavor that I don’t think goes with tuna. Part of the secret with the cheese is to be sloppy in putting it on - little bits of crispy fried cheese around the edges are part of the appeal. For bread, my ideal is an onion hamburger bun. Rye is also good. Really, anything that doesn’t get soggy will be fine. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/4 "2014-09-18T17:35:19Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Spread on halves of an everything bagel. :smack: Why have I never thought of this before? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/5 "2014-09-18T17:44:36Z")
Like **dracoi** , my tuna is much simpler. I used to ‘doctor’ it up, and liked it that way; but now I like it with fewer ingredients: Chunk light tuna in oil, mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, celery seeds. A dash of tarragon is nice sometimes, too. I use the chunk light tuna in oil because I feel it has a stronger flavour that chunk white or solid white, especially the water-packed kind. For making a tuna melt, I use American cheese (not ‘cheese product’). One thing I used to do years ago was to add a dollop of Dijon mustard to the tuna salad. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/6 "2014-09-18T18:45:04Z")
Mix up the tuna, mayo, some seasonings depending on what strikes my fancy. Heat a skillet, preferably cast iron. Butter two slices of the bread of your choice. Butter side down in the hot skillet. After a minute or two, add tuna to one, some muenster on top, put the other slice of bread on, flip for 30 seconds or so to get a nice melt to the cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Mllz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Mllz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mllz)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/7 "2014-09-18T18:48:39Z")
Love tuna melts! The standard in our household: [ul] [li]Solid White Tuna[/li][li]Chopped Red Onion[/li][li]Chopped Dill Pickle (lightly pickled, so still crispy)[/li][li]Olive Oil[/li][li]Balsamic Vinegar[/li][li]Oregano[/li][li]Crushed Red Pepper[/li][li]Salt/Pepper[/li][/ul] …with sharp cheddar and typically on ciabatta rolls. And like **Johnny L.A.** (or like he _used to_, I guess), we enjoy a little Dijon in it. Though generally spread on the ciabatta rather than mixed in. The more basic mayo-based versions are great, too, though, if light on the mayo. My mom used to do tuna/mayo topped with tomato slice and American cheese, open-faced on English muffin halves when I was a kid. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/8 "2014-09-18T19:26:33Z")
Tuna Pizza Bagel One bagel, sliced Smear of tomato sauce (or some drained chopped tomatoes) Tuna Cheese Microwave or toaster oven. Eat ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/9 "2014-09-18T19:45:08Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > Tuna Pizza Bagel… Okay… didn’t see that one coming. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/10 "2014-09-18T20:19:20Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Mix up the tuna, mayo, some seasonings depending on what strikes my fancy. Heat a skillet, preferably cast iron. Butter two slices of the bread of your choice. Butter side down in the hot skillet. After a minute or two, add tuna to one, some muenster on top, put the other slice of bread on, flip for 30 seconds or so to get a nice melt to the cheese. There you go. When I think of melts, I think of a grilled sandwich. I don’t buy much canned fish, but any tuna salad I’m willing to eat better not have sweet pickle relish on it. I hate that sweet note in just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/11 "2014-09-18T20:20:18Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I don’t buy much canned fish, but any tuna salad I’m willing to eat better not have sweet pickle relish on it. I hate that sweet note in just about anything. I don’t always use sweet pickle relish. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/12 "2014-09-18T20:23:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I don’t always use sweet pickle relish. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. Hey, different strokes and all that. My wife loves it on a hot dog, so we keep it around the house. The people in charge of the deviled eggs at our tailgate always add sweet relish, so I never touch them. Even worse is when it ends up in potato salad. It’s one of very few ingredients that I really feel strongly about. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/13 "2014-09-18T20:42:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I use the chunk light tuna in oil because I feel it has a stronger flavour that chunk white or solid white, especially the water-packed kind. It’s funny, I’m not a seafood person because of the “fishy” taste, so I thought I would prefer chunk or solid white. But I missed the “tunaness” and realized I needed it to be fishy since that’s what I grew up on! I do get it packed in water though, as some kind of nod to being a tiny bit more healthy. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/14 "2014-09-18T20:44:15Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > :smack: > > Why have I never thought of this before? 🙂 When I do it, the bagel is lightly browned in the toaster first, because I slice and freeze 'em when I get 'em (usually because it’s buy six, get six free, and I wouldn’t be able to eat them all in time). ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/15 "2014-09-18T20:47:57Z")
My late mother used to make hers with Kraft slices, canned tuna, heavy mayo and white bread. Then she would let it sit in the sun on the beach, not entirely protected so that sand would get in the plastic wrapping and on the tun. I think of her version as the most disgusting sandwich of all time. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/16 "2014-09-19T06:17:43Z")
Just FTR, I think the perfect tuna melt has a leaf of iceberg lettuce, a slice or two of tomato, and 2 rashers of bacon. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/17 "2014-09-19T16:27:21Z")
Chunk light tuna, Miracle Whip (yeah, I know…), maybe chopped celery if we have some otherwise celery salt, pepper, a bit of sugar. Mix and spread on slice of white or wheat sandwich bread that’s on a shallow baking sheet. Top with a slice or two of tomato and cover with American cheese. Broil until cheese melts, then add the top slice of bread. Broil/toast until brown. Flip over and toast until the other side is brown. Slice and eat. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/18 "2014-09-19T16:36:49Z")
Miracle Whip _and_ sugar? :eek: _shudder_ But go ahead. It’s your sandwich. 😉 . ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/19 "2014-09-21T02:14:48Z")
On an english muffin with roasted red pepper, sautéed spinach, and cheese. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823/20 "2014-09-21T12:56:36Z")
> [@Carl\_Corey](#): > > On an english muffin with roasted red pepper, sautéed spinach, and cheese. I’d stop short of the cheese, so it wouldn’t be a melt, but I’m intrigued. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tuna-melt/698823.md?page=2)