Grade-school lunches and second-rate delis give tuna salad a bad name, but a few simple preparation and flavoring tricks guarantee a sandwich filling that’s properly chilled, evenly moist, flaky, and well-seasoned. Here’s our best advice for top-notch—but still quick and easy—tuna salad.
Cooking Tips
The Real Secret to Great Tuna Sandwiches? Where You Store the Can.
Plus more tricks for tuna salad done right.
By Published June 9, 2022
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Tips for the Best Tuna Salad
- SHOP CAREFULLY A first-rate tuna salad begins with the best tuna. Our favorite water-packed brand, American Tuna Pole Caught Wild Albacore, tastes light, fresh, and moist, with flavor that’s not too fishy.
- REFRIGERATE Tuna salad should be served on the cool side, but waiting for it to chill after opening a new can is not what anyone has in mind when they’re hungry. Instead of storing cans of tuna in the pantry, keep them in the fridge, and you’ll always be just minutes away from a cold sandwich filling.
- DRAIN Be sure to fully drain the tuna in a colander or strainer instead of just squeezing out a bit of the packing water from the can. This minor extra step gives the tuna a toothsome, less watery texture.
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- SHRED With the tuna in the colander, break it down into chunks with your fingers until the whole amount is finely textured. Now your finished salad will have a smooth, evenly flaky consistency.
- SEASON For a lively, deeply flavored mixture, preseason the fish with salt, pepper, and lemon juice before adding mayonnaise.
So forget your last beleaguered, institutional tuna sandwich. Reach into your fridge for a can of tuna, take a little extra care with the contents, and find out how satisfying a well-made tuna salad sandwich can be.
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Start Free TrialAbsolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!
Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.
Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!
John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.