I never buy tuna in cans - I only make tuna salad from leftover grilled ahi tuna or from albacore that I steam in order to make tuna salad. This eliminates whatever additional ingredients are used in the canning process.

I never put it in a food processor - I just flake it and generally add mayo and lemon juice to start. Additional ingredients include chopped green onions, minced celery, and a bit of white pepper. Sometimes I add capers or green olives, but generally not much more than that. If I have it, I may add a bit of minced fresh oregano or thyme - both of which I have in my garden at the moment.

I toast the bread, if I am using bread, but more frequently I use flour tortillas or lavash and make a wrap, which may or may not include Jarlsberg cheese. If I use tortillas, I heat them with the cheese; if I use lavash, I keep it cold and add lettuce, and I may also add chopped vine-ripened tomatoes.

Lars

I use canned tuna well drained and then add sweet pickle relish and diced celery and sometimes a hard boiled egg. Then I bind it together with some mayonnaise. I like it all kind of ways on bread, toast, rolls or made into a tuna melt on a half and English muffin with some cheese on top heated in the oven!

I llike all my meat salads with lots of body so I use

drained and flaked solid albacore tuna
thinly sided celery
minced sweet onion
sweet pickle relish
just a litte Hellmans

tossed gently and chilled for at least 30 minutes.

sometimes I'll add cooked red potatoes or pasta.

I prefer tuna packed in olive oil, but everyone else wants it paced in water, so I accomodate.

don't make sandwiches ... eat with crackers or bread sticks.

I use solid pack albacore....and flake it with a fork....add finely chopped onion a few drops of vinegar, a chopped hard boiled egg and enough mayo to make it hang together.
No pickles, no relish no celery.
and my favorite sandwich is tuna tomato and onion on white toast....with lettuce too!
I also like tuna on a bun with some cheddar melted in the toaster oven....the cheese should melt but the tuna still be cold!
Linda C

I'm a miracle whip for sandwich stuff so
miracle whip, a couple of grinds of a seasoning blend that has a little garlic, pepper, red pepper and sliced green olives

Everything -- chopped green & red peppers, chopped water chestnuts, mustard (prepared), fresh herbs, chopped onions, chopped celery, chopped dill pickles & dill pickle juice. I like lots of fiber in my tuna fish, so anything I can chop up goes in it.

No rules...just an "everything but the kitchen sink" approach.

I am quite particular about my tuna salad. First, the tuna must be drained very well...I put it into a fine mesh strainer and press it hard with the can to squeeze out all the tuna water (the cats get that, and wait for it with some anticipation!)

Minced green onion, finely chopped celery, my own sweet pickle relish (likewise drained), pepper, mayo and a bit of spicy brown mustard.

Iceberg lettuce. Any kind of bread, but unless it's a crusty roll of some kind, I prefer it lightly toasted.

A friend of mine served me a tuna sandwich one time with cheddar cheese in it. I was skeptical at the time, but it was quite good, actually!

I can't see making tuna salad out of fresh tuna...why hide the flavor of fresh tuna with all the stuff?

Every month I automatically get six cans of Progresso solid light tuna in olive oil from Amazon. I love tuna sandwiches and tuna casserole. I like tuna salad sandwiches with just mayo; mayo and sweet pickle relish; mayo, hard-boiled eggs, celery and sweet pickle relish and sometimes apple.

I call my updated tuna casserole 'tuna pasta al forno'. It contains one package of Dreamfields rotini, 8 oz. of mushrooms, cut into 1/4 inch dice and sauteed in butter, a cup of frozen petite peas, three cans of Progresso tuna in olive oil, one jar of Bertolli alfredo sauce, and a half cup of milk. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, mix the other ingredients in, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. It's rich, satisfying and freezes well.

The typical Salad Niçoise is always made with fresh tuna, and I don't waste ahi tuna steaks on salad - I only put it in salads when I have leftovers. Albacore tuna has less flavor than ahi tuna (from my experience), and so I don't think anything is lost by putting it in a salad - in fact, that is the only way I can eat it, as I do not like the texture of it in a steak. Since I generally only put green onions and celery in the salad to start, I don't feel that the tuna flavor is hidden. I particularly do NOT like the flavor of canned tuna - it is way too salty for me. However, I would not waste fresh tuna on a salad that had sweet pickle relish in it, and so I can see your point. I only add salty ingredients (olives or capers) after the salad is a couple of days old, if it lasts that long.

Lars

None of that raw onion, celery stuff in mine!!

Just:
Albacore (in oil if I can find it) flaked
mayo, just a dab
pickle relish
pecans
sometimes a dab of mustard like my chicken salad

Eaten mainly as a sandwich, but if there are fritos in the house, I'll use it as a dip. For some reason tuna salad goes well with fritos..

Beth

I would eat every one of these tuna salads. I don't think I make the same tuna salad twice. Sometimes I toss a few capers in it. I also like freshly ground pepper. I have a recipe for tuna-stuffed deviled eggs that is very good too.

Sea Sandwich

6 sourdough French rolls
7 oz can tuna
¼ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped celery
2 Tbsp grated onion
6 pimento stuffed olives, finely chopped
½ cup cheddar cheese, cut into med-small cubes
Dash Worcestershire
Dash Tabasco
6 water chestnuts, coarsely chopped
¼ cup blanched, toasted almonds
Scan ½ cup mayonnaise
6 pimento strips for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Slice off tops of rolls and scoop out centers (save breadcrumbs for another use).
Mix the tuna, green pepper, celery, onion, olives, cheddar, Worcestershire, Tabasco,
Water chestnuts and almonds. Fold in mayo. Pile mixture into shells. Garnish each with
a pimento strip and bake until rolls are crisp. Serve.

Bumble Bee albacore packed in water, drained. Blob of Hellman's mayo. Mix. Eat -- on white bread or toasted whole grain. If I'm feeling energetic, I chop up some celery and mix it in, too.

I am an infrequent poster, but this tuna thread caught my eye!

I use albacore packed in water, and add chopped green olives, a smidgen of minced raw onion and a dab of mayo. I spread it on Heidlberg cracked wheat bread, and top with swiss cheese and organic lettuce.

Oh yeah, Lars...a Nicoise is a totally different animal.

When I think tuna salad, I'm thinking the mix I described, or something similar. Wouldn't pay fresh tuna prices to slop all that dressing and stuff into it. Unadulterated, fresh grilled tuna on a bed of greens with vegetables & a light vinaigrette of some kind is wonderful, and I certainly wouldn't add pickle relish!!

I can't eat canned tuna without all the "stuff," as it just tastes like, well, canned tuna on it's own.

(How do you get the cedilla on GW, by the way?)

Never pureed! White albacore packed in water only. Forked gently and not overworked.

When I was a kid my father made it for my school lunches with dried parsley, dried green onions, and a diced hard boiled egg, done with an egg slicer (loved the straight sides). And Best Foods/Hellman's.

My new basic has sliced scallions, chopped celery, seasoning and Best Foods light mayo, with yellow mustard in the sandwich but mixed into the salad.

Commercial mayo has the pasteurized eggs, and fewer calories so I never use homemade for salads.

Recently I did one with garlic pepper, dried blueberries, diced orange bell pepper, pistachios and fresh mint ribbons. Just enough light mayonnaise to wet and stick it together. Everyone loved that one.

Another good one has chopped celery, slivered almonds, currants, minced onions, black pepper, and fresh dill. Goat's milk yoghurt if served right away, but it's fine with mayo.

You know, in Nice, they make salad niçoise with tinned tuna and serve it in an enormous bread bap and it's called a pain bagnat. They pour olive oil on the bottom half of the bread, pile on the ingredients and pass it to you. The only really safe way to eat it is standing in the sea!

mmmm I LOVE Pain Bagat!

I can't eat tuna anymore and it was a staple all of my life, but suddenly I'm allergic to it. But in the days before I always bought white albacore packed in water, had to add fresh lemon juice, Hellman's(best foods), celery and sometimes chopped apple on some type of toasted bread.Used to love tuna melts! And definitely no raw onion! As I tried to cut calories I would add some Dijonaise in place of some of the mayo. I don't like mushy tuna, so if it's too wet with mayo or pureed, I won't eat it. Chilling makes tuna salad taste better, but I rarely thought that far ahead!

DH likes it mixed with lemon juice, lots of mayo and a few drops of Cholula or Tabasco.

Pretty basic here.

Always - Solid White Albacore, just enough mayo to make it moist, pepper.

Usually - Raw onion

Sometimes - Celery, celery salt, lemon.

I make mine exactly like kayskats does.

Solid albacore tuna, celery, chopped onion,sweet pickle relish and Hellmans; on toast. I also use this same mixture to make tuna melts, adding American Cheese and rye bread.

If I have one made, I'll chop up a hard boiled egg in it too.

I much prefer the tuna in the pouches over the cans and usually do some kind of Asian inspired flavoring with rice vinegar, ginger, soy, etc. But I'm not a big tuna salad lover as we have seared tuna at least once a week. Can't imagine it pureed although I could eat seared fresh tuna almost everyday.

I've tried and tried, but just can't stomach tuna packed in water.

I use tuna in oil, Bumble Bee or Starkist, and *gasp* I do not drain it. I take the heel of the loaf of (whole grain) bread and crumble it all into the tuna. An old habit from childhood when mom had to make a can stretch to feed five of us. The bread soaks up the oil and stretches a can of tuna. Then add chopped celery, onions and dill pickles. Some seasoning salt, pepper, a dash of mustard powder, dash of paprika and just enough Best Foods mayo to mix. Refrigerate, preferably overnight.

Serve on sandwiches, toasted or untoasted bread, saltine crackers, in an avocado half, on top of tomato slices, on top of a bed of lettuce leaves ...

Man - now I gotta have a tuna sandwich for dinner. LOL

I made tuna salad for sandwiches a couple of weeks ago. Two cans of tuna and I only got to have one sandwich. Kim came home, saw it in the fridge and decided to have it with crackers for her dinner, she finished it off!

I make it the way many on here do. Drain water packed tuna, a little sweet onion, sweet pickle relish, S+P. and celery. This is a Hellman's house but when it comes to a couple of things, I have to have Miracle Whip.
Tuna fish is one the other is ground bologna sandwich spread. I guess those two things need that extra bite.

Nancy

I made this creamy tuna salad just this past weekend. It is the recipe I use most often.

Home on the Range Tuna Salad

2 eggs
1 (6 ounce) can tuna, drained
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Place eggs in a saucepan, and cover completely with cold water. Bring water to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, and cool. Peel, and chop.
2. In a large bowl, flake tuna. Add cottage cheese, eggs, celery, green onions, parsley, lemon pepper seasoning, celery salt, lemon juice, and mayonnaise; mix well. Chill.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2010 Allrecipes.com

I flake canned tuna (in water), add chopped hard boiled egg, sweet pickle relish and enough mayo to hold it together. I eat it with crackers, on white or grain bread or on top of tomato wedges. Love it.

Didn't we discuss tuna salad here a year or two back??? I remember one of the conclusions was that the inclusion of hard cooked eggs was very regional. I'm from one of the regions where it ain't done. Never heard of eggs in a tuna salad before GW.

Anyway, I'm a generic girl, and I use supermarket generic light tuna packed in water, but well drained. I much prefer its hearty flavour to that of White or Albacore. Add a bit of chopped celery and a dollop of generic light mayo. But use good bread - I like the specialty whole grain one from a local artisan bakery.

Dedtried said it for me.... drained water-pack albacore (usually from a 6- or 8-pack from Costco) and Best Foods mayo. Period. What else do you need?

I just remembered: During my kitchen remodel I got the tuna salad from Whole Foods, which was surprisingly good. Apparently, it's one of their best sellers. It's white albacore, minced white onions, mayo, lemon juice, and dried cranberries.

I guess I am different. My mother made it this way and I haven't changed it very much. Two cans solid white albacore in water, a little mao, some chopped celery, and....a well drained can of crushed pineapple! I always warn guests to whom I serve this crazy tuna salad about the pineapple and I have never had anyone dislike the addition of the pineapple. The only changes I have made from my mother's recipe is that I use tuna in water and not oil, and I don't use pineapple in heavy syrup. Any old bread is OK but a great roll or artisan bread makes it special.
Nancy

Eggs are a regional thing ????
I guess I don't know where it came from but I have, as my Mother, added hard boiled eggs to tuna salad. Let's see:
Born and early life in Ontario, Canada. Then onto Florida, Central Calif., Virginia, and Southern California. So where is my "region"?
Jim in So Calif

White tuna, in water. Drain, add Hellmans canola mayo (for health, not my first choice), chopped onions/or celery and sprinkly with old bay. I have never knowingly had tuna with egg or sweet pickle relish, but it explains why some tuna had always tasted weirdly sweet to me.

Jo (venturing to guess that perhaps it is a new england thing to not add those two things?)

cumin

I am with Stacy on this one. Try adding mayo to bind, finely chopped celery, one diced apple, juice of one half lemon and a dash of cumin, S&P to taste, to one can of tuna packed in water.

Tuna, mayo (Best Foods), a tiny squirt of dijon, some sweet cuke relish and a couple of shakes of Worcestershire.

DH grew up with chopped eggs in his tuna. The kid sometimes adds cheddar cheese, cut in a small dice (euw).

I think it's just a family thing, Jo. I am from Maine, my mother from Mass., and we've always had pickle relish in our tuna, but not egg. I do put egg in my potato salad though, which some of my friends do not.

While I'm perfectly happy with my basic tuna salad, there are some interesting spins here that I plan to try. For one, I love the crunch of water chestnut and will give that a shot. But... I just got home from shopping and in one bag is a can of crushed pineapple. I've been having such a hard time deciding if that sounds good or bad that I need to find out for myself! Will let you know.

When I make tuna salad, I always put a hard boiled egg, chopped up into my tuna salad along with some sweet pickle relish and chopped onion then I add a little mayo and mustard(spicy brown) no baseball park yellow mustard in my tuna salad.

Mayo, chopped tomato and cucumber. My husband thinks this is weird.

Chopped green onion , Miracle Whip, salt and pepper on my cold tuna salad sandwiches.

My favourite though is Miracle Whip, diced cheddar, onion and chopped hard boiled egg spread on a slightly toasted English Muffin and then lightly broiled until golden and warmed through.

NY DELI style.....2 can tuna, 1/2 small onion minced,1/4 cup of small diced celery,S&P to taste,1/2 tsp garlic powder,2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and always Hellmans mayo approx 1/4 cup....mix the tuna by itself with a fork breaking down the tuna almost to a mushy look add all other ingredients. I broke this down to what would be for 2 cans of store bought tuna, obviously deli's use the industrial size cans.

Eileen's post reminded me of this recipe. It's something they make at Whole Foods who were kind enough to share the recipe. It is delicious on a bit of lettuce or used as a spread on crackers.

Tuna And Artichoke Salad

Fresh tuna,poached in a court bouillon
Mayo, they made their own, so did I but Hellmans would work (this is one time when I would NOT use Miracle Whip)
Kalamata olives,chopped
Artichoke hearts,chopped (canned)
Green onions,chopped
minced garlic
oregano,dried
lemon juice,fresh
salt and pepper

Mix , chill, go light on the mayo

Mudlady - I had it with pineapple for lunch. I really liked it and would recommend others to try it. It won't become my regular as it makes it pretty sweet and my tastes lean more towards savory, but it sure was a nice variation. Thanks!

Foodonastump--Glad you liked it. As I said, I have served it to many people over the years (always told them it had pineapple first) and nobody has ever disliked it. I have no idea why or how my mother decided to include pineapple in tunafish salad.
Nancy

Hot sauce! Tabasco, Barbadian yellow, sriracha, Texas Pete, Endorphin Rush -- you name it, I'll put it in or on any mayonnaise-y salad; it makes then all better. I never even liked potato salad before I learned to put mustard and hot sauce on it.

Well I tried it with craisins today for lunch! hahah! I liked it.

It must have been too many lunches from the years when I worked in NYC's garment district but I prefer what the delis used to call "individual can tuna" sandwiches - two slices of toasted white bread, a small can of drained white tuna, and a condiment cup of mayo.

That's still my favorite tuna sandwich, toasted bread with a smear of mayo, tuna, salt and pepper.

It's rare to see it on the menus nowadays but it was a standard back in the 70's, along with "individual can tuna" salads.