Classic Tuna Salad Sandwich

For those financially strapped people in the world I find that if you rinse the tuna with cold water in a fine mesh strainer takes away most of the salt in the tuna. Also a trick that I learned while working at a deli is to grab the tuna by the handful and squeeze out the water. This makes the tuna dryer which will allow the flavors in the recipe like the lemon juice and mayo soak into the tuna without making it soggy.

I completely agree. Everyone has a tuna salad recipe. This one belongs to Craig Claiborne, who certainly knew his stuff. Let's save all the ad-libbing and over-tweaking of a classic recipe for another forum. Let's talk about THIS recipe.

i'm ok with the Claiborne contents, except:

Canned tuna is loaded with salt. Therefore, kill the capers and don't add salt.

Perfect tuna salad requires solid light tuna in olive oil, not drained.

grated carrot adds sweetness. kalamata olives add to a Mediterranean flavor. scallions are milder that red onion. finally adding a tablespoon of hummus, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard takes the whole project from good tuna salad to heavenly.

A lovely classic recipe as I am a life-long fan!
Over the years I have experimented within the recipe and I find that oil packed tuna (and wild salmon) has less salt (because oil is a preservative while water packed uses extra salt as preservative). Capers are also preserved and can be awful tasting briney & salty while others divine. I recommend white balsamic preserved because they have a little sweetness. It took me years to figure this out and I now love adding capers. Bon Apetite!

After opening the can of tuna, press down on the lid to squeeze the water out, leaving the drier tuna to absorb mayo and other favors. Btw that liquid in a small bowl is a great treat for your cats.

If you're only interested in the recipe, just skip the comments altogether. But some folks like reading about variations & tweaks. I often learn as much from the comments as from the recipe. Of course, there are know-it-alls in any online forum (some might even read your comment as such, since it too criticizes others and has NOTHING to do with the recipe), but thankfully, nobody forces us to read anything we're not interested in, so live and let live, right? Have a great day!

I sometimes stretch my supply of canned tuna by adding mashed chickpeas to the mix. You can add as much as a tuna can of (unmashed) cooked chickpeas, roughly the same amount by volume as the tuna. The taste changes a little, but chickpeas are fairly mild and so the mix still tastes very much like tuna. Many people will not notice the chickpeas at all.

Craig Claiborne may not have approved, but this is a good way to economize if you are making a batch of tuna for a family.

I go for Duke's mayo every time. Look at the labels: Duke's is the only mayo (other than homemade) that doesn't contain sugar. Who wants sugar in mayo! Hellman's does.

A trick to giving canned, water-packed tuna the unctuous mouth feel the salad needs: Heat a Tbl olive oil in a serving spoon over a stove burner until hot, not smoking, then sprinkle the minced onion into oil. It makes an inexplicably tasty difference.

The quality of tuna makes all the difference. Ventresca yellowfin tuna (Tonnino brand) elevates this to something special. A good, less costly choice: Wild Planet. Besides celery, lots of chopped parsley and chives are essential (also a few chopped celery leaves.) Capers not only drained but rinsed and chopped. A tsp of Dijon to go with a dollop of Hellman's (yes!), a few squirts of lemon juice, and a splash of really good olive oil. But go light on the extras. Let the tuna shine.

Consider adding dill instead of capers.

A Greek grocery store owner, when I asked her why is her tuna so good answered, "mix white and light tuna." That did it! That was over 40 years ago, and IMO it's still the best. I add mayo, red onion and a bit of Louisiana hot sauce and I'm in hog heaven.

I also just discovered dried fried scallion at Kam Man in NY's Chinatown and I add that instead of onion; it adds crunch. Try the dried fried garlic too (not on tuna!). Dried fried garlic and scallion, they're Googlable!

Strange how no one thinks of canned wild salmon, a tragically ignored great food. Makes a great mousse as well.

Capers: Don't buy those in brine. At good Italian markets, they sell capers dry, preserved in salt. They last forever in the fridge. Rinse off the coarse salt in a sieve. These are authentic capers, bigger than the things in brine which I am told are really just nasturtium buds. There is no comparison in taste.
White tuna, water-packed. meh. I get Italian in olive oil, the kind in little glass jars is wonderful. You'll never go back to Bumblebee.

You are right. But this forum is for sharing ideas. It's always interesting to read how some cooks tweak the recipes, to suit their taste.