Tuna
The Tuna sandwich is perhaps the most difficult sandwich on my site, but it is also my favorite. Many people don't like tuna, or think it smells or tastes bad. All I can say is that Tuna is a special fish, and you have to be really really cool to like it. Now onto the sandwich. Going to the average grocery store, you see no less than 20 different types of canned Tuna. Choosing the type alone is difficult, but, is a very rewarding experience as you find the type of Tuna that you most enjoy. Remember that you are going to need mustard, mayonnaise, relish, and bread. The Tuna sandwich may be difficult to make well, but once you know how, the skill is never lost. As long as you balance your time and work precisely, your results will be excellent. Good luck.
Ingredients
Tuna
There are an incredible amounts of tuna available, ranging from regular generic tuna to the most elegant Albacore. In my experience, even the best Albacore makes only a marginally better sandwich than the regular stuff, so no worries there. One thing you might want to watch for is Tuna in water versus Tuna in oil. The oiled variety will generally have a better taste, yet is not as healthy. Again, even the water Tuna still tastes great, and is more healthy. Another important thing is to buy Dolphin Safe Tuna. While this does not guarantee that Dolphins are not killed, it represents a committment to environmental responsibility, which is always a plus.
Mustard
Mustard is the one ingredient that is optional. I like it becuase it gives the sandwich a little more spice, but others would never think of adding it. Also, those who do use it tend to use many different types. As always, find what fits you and go with that. Just remember, overuse of Mustard is not good, so be careful.
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise is a very important ingredient to create the mushy consistency of good Tuna salad. The type or brand does not matter so much as you have it in some way shape or form.
Relish
Relish falls into the same catergory as Mustard. Some people like it, others don't. Do what works best for you.
Bread
Bread is possibly the most important part of a sandwich, and for that reason I would say that it is a must for you to find one that works best for you. From a health standpoint, some sort of wheat bread is a better choice, and it tastes better than white bread anyway. No matter what you choose, it is important that your bread by strong enough to withstand spreading upon, and toasting. And, as always, don't use moldy bread.
The Process
1. Get out all of your ingredients, what I use is shown below:
2. Cut drain holes like as shown below. The larger hole allows any liquid to flow out. The top hole allows air to escape to allow this liquid to drain.
3. Place your can in the sink, and allow it to drain for a couple minutes. During this time, put on some of your favorite music and really get in the mood for the sandwich to come. After all, a good sandwich is half physical, and half mental. Okay, so you've got your music playing, now let's move on. Squeeze out all of the juice in the tuna and let it drain. This is a very important step, but to get the desired flavor and consistency, you want a minimum of juices.
4. Now, let's take a look at what we've accomplished. Take off the lid to the tuna. As you can see, we have a very nice steak right here. Many times the company will give you shredded crap. To that I say "nuh uh! No you didn't!" Here in Portland, Oregon, Fred Meyer brand tuna almost always has a nice steak. Those more expensive brands often give you above mentioned shreded crap.
5. Scrape your tuna out into a large bowl, like the one shown. Take your favorite mayonnaise or miracle whip or whatever and add about 2 fork loads. Just like that. Bam wham let's move on.
6. Now, the relish. This is only optional, as said above, but tastes very nice. Put about a teaspoon of relish in and do your best to spread it around.
7. Now, let's do some mustard. Grey Poupon please. Apply just a squirt or two. In this picture I almost do too much, but it should be done to taste.
8. Now, we're all done. Mix up everything now, crush the tuna steak into a nice pulp. Mix it all around for a couple minutes, and then let's go on to another part.
9. We're on the toasting stage now. Here I am using a poppy-seed bagel, as this process is extracted from my May 4th 2004 review of a tuna/poppy bagel. Don't burn the toast, and don't stick metal in it. Next step.
10. All the ingredients are in place now. Spread the tuna evenly over the bagel. As below.
11. Now, cut that bagel. There's a lot of tuna, you can't handle it all in one sandwich. If you can, email me and tell me about it, I'll post your story in the sandwich stories page. Okay, we're done.
12. Pour a nice big glass of your favorite juice, sit down in a comfortable chair, and read a nice magazine or periodical etc. Enjoy your fine fine work.
13. Check out the Extras page for other things to enjoy.