I noded my recipe for tuna salad in 2004. As of this writing, it's
2022. I was looking back over my old writeups and realized a couple of
things. First, I was a pretentious douche in my early 20s. So much of
my written output from those days has this didactic, snooty, and yet
somehow unsophisticated quality. So much so that it's evident even in a
noded recipe.
Second, I don't make tuna salad the same way
anymore. At all. I eat homemade tuna salad at least twice a month.
It's a staple of my regular diet and one of my most practiced,
consistent recipes. I figured I'd do all my friends here a service and
update that node with my current recipe because it's really tasty.
Then I thought, as you'll see below, "Why not just node an egg salad
recipe too?"
My friend opened a bakery and cafe a lot of years
back and one of her offerings was this really, really tasty homemade
tuna salad on a fresh croissant. I loved her tuna salad so much. After
a few slow business years and rising rents, she closed her storefront
and changed her distribution model. But sadly... no more tuna salad.
So naturally I asked her if she would mind sharing her recipe. She
obliged. However, what I learned from her that changed my enjoyment of
tuna salad forever wasn't her specific recipe. It was a technique. A
principle.
Are you ready? Because this is EVERYTHING when it comes to tuna salad...
She makes egg salad first. Then uses that as an ingredient in her tuna salad.
This
BOMBSHELL revelation transformed my tuna salad making forever. And due
to the method, you get a great egg salad recipe to boot. Sometimes I
double the egg salad recipe then use half for the tuna and half on its
own. However you choose, enjoy!
First, the reason you're here. You didn't come to this node about egg salad for me to go on and on about tuna. Let's get to the all important egg salad:
- 3 hard boiled eggs (coarsely chopped)
- 3 Tbsp Duke's Home Style Mayonnaise
- 2 tsp yellow mustard
- ½ tsp apple cider vinegar
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 pinches black pepper
- 2 pinches paprika
Chop
or smash the eggs in a mixing bowl with a fork, then fold together with
remaining ingredients until you have a chunky egg mix in a creamy base.
That's
it! You're done! Enjoy that on a fresh bread of your choice. It's
great on a croissant, baguette, rye, or on plain old sliced white
sandwich bread.
If that egg salad recipie is all you came here for, you can stop right here. But, if you're ready to get wild, here's how you turn that into my favorite tuna salad.
- Egg salad from above
- 1 can Chicken of the Sea or Starkist tuna in water (drained)
- ½ small onion (yellow or sweet)
- 3 stalks of celery (chopped)
- 3 Tbsp sweet pickle cubes, sweet relish, or chow-chow of your choice
- 1 Tbsp of liquid brine from the sweet pickles
- ½ Tbsp Duke's Mayonnaise (optional)
- ¼ tsp celery seed
- ⅛ tsp salt
Fold
the tuna into the egg salad first until you get a consistent mixture.
Then add the onion, celery, relish, pickle juice, salt, and celery seed. If
you'd like the finished product to be a little thinner or less chunky, add the
optional additional mayo. Gently fold all these ingredients together
until the mix is consistent. Then refrigerate for at least 2 hours
before serving. It's even better the next day. Osmosis will pull
liquid from the onions and celery and give it the perfect texture.
If you want yours to taste exactly like mine, you might have to go to a little more trouble. Rather than off the shelf sweet pickles or relish, I use homemade Craven County pickles. They are pretty fantastic on their own too. If you grow your own cucumbers, definitely check out that recipe.