Even More Uses For Tuna
Made This?
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When it comes to the easiest, most nostalgic lunch, there’s not much that beats tuna salad. It comes together quickly with simple ingredients, and its ability to elevate sandwiches, lettuce wraps, crackers, and more to new heights is unparalleled. That said, I’ve found that many tuna salad recipes have the potential to wildly succeed or epically fail, so when it came to creating mine, I wasn’t messing around. I settled on a precise mixture of mayo, lemon juice, fresh dill, salt, and black pepper for a light, zingy dressing that generously coats the tuna without overwhelming it. I included celery for crunch, as well as chopped red onion and dill pickle for brightness and tang. And finally, I added a couple tablespoons of chopped dill to bring some welcome freshness. (If you’re not a dill fan or are skeptical about adding a full 2 tablespoons, feel free to reduce the quantity or leave the dill out altogether.) The result is a classic deli-style tuna salad you can make anytime from the comfort of your own home.
What People Are Saying:
"Nice and lemony - that zing! Would be great on a ripped sourdough boule " -3sixty5
"Great texture! Every bite was nice and crunchy." -maddiegate
First things first: Thoroughly drain the tuna; a watery tuna salad is not your friend. As for the dressing, do make sure to chop all the ingredients really well—no one likes to bite into a huge chunk of rogue red onion or pickle.
After you've folded in the flaked tuna, taste and adjust the seasoning with more lemon juice and/or salt if needed. If you're going the sandwich route, whole-wheat bread nicely complements the strong flavors of tuna salad. If you're going the salad route, serve over leaves of lettuce like Bibb or Boston.
Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.
What kind of tuna should I use?
I tested this recipe with a range of canned tunas, but I kept coming back to water-packed chunk white. Chunk tuna tends to be a little softer than tuna labeled “solid,” making it easier to incorporate into the dressing, while "white tuna" is label-speak for albacore tuna, a mild-flavored fish that is perfect for tuna salad.
How far ahead can I prepare tuna salad?
Tuna salad is technically ready to eat as soon as it’s mixed, but if possible, we recommend making it at least a few hours and up to 3 days ahead of serving it. Allowing the tuna salad to "marinate" a little in the refrigerator gives all the flavors a chance to meld together, which improves the overall flavor of the salad.
How to drain canned tuna:
No matter what type of tuna you use, draining it is the most important step for keeping your salad from becoming watery. I find draining it inside the tin to be the easiest, most-effective method. Use a can opener to completely detach the top of the can, but instead of lifting the lid out, firmly press it down against the tuna, then invert the can so the water streams out (do this over a bowl to catch any rogue tuna, just in case). When you flip the can right side up and lift off the lid (use a fork for safety!), the tuna should be compacted into a dry disk at the bottom of the can. From there, you can dump it into a bowl and flake it apart with a fork before folding it into the dressing.
This tuna salad should stay good for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Just keep in mind that it might need a pinch more salt or a half squeeze of lemon juice to revive it.
(5-oz.) cans white tuna, packed in water
mayonnaise
finely chopped fresh dill
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
fresh lemon juice, divided
finely chopped dill pickles (from about 2)
finely sliced celery (from about 3/4 large stalk)
finely chopped red onion (from about 1/4 small)
slices whole-wheat bread (optional)
large Bibb lettuce leaves (optional)
Let us know how it went in the comments below!