This Tuna Sandwich Addition Gives A Velvety Texture You'll Keep Going Back To

Tuna sandwiches are an easy, nutritious, and filling meal or snack for those who want something quick. There are plenty of ways to customize it to your own personal preferences, ranging from chopped peppers to ranch dressing. Cheese is a fantastic addition, but it can be unfriendly to those who are lactose intolerant. Luckily, if you're looking to upgrade your tuna salad sandwich with cheese, there's a non-dairy, protein-packed option. This option is grated egg yolk, and it's a lot creamier than you might expect.

While you can just hard-boil eggs and grate them into the tuna, there's a slightly more advanced way to do it. Instead, consider salt-curing egg yolks and then grating them over the tuna salad while assembling your sandwich. To create this yolky masterpiece, you'll need to separate the yolks from raw eggs. Then, place them in a mixture of salt and sugar. Store the yolks for four to five days in the refrigerator until they become firm and waxy, similar to a wedge of Parmesan in texture. After that, you can grate them onto the tuna directly, for a velvety mouthfeel that can't be replicated.

These cured egg yolks — also called "graved eggs" — take on a flavor that's similar to aged cheese, and they provide a similar pop of salt, too. Adding them brings richness to any dish and boosts umami flavor off the charts. Tuna is already an umami-filled fish, so the combo of the two is a serious flavor bomb. Do this straightforward hack, and the only thing you'll have to worry about flavor-wise is what soup to pair with your tuna sandwich.

As it turns out, egg yolk is the ultimate flavor bomb, regardless of what dish you include it in. This is because of a reaction that happens during the curing process, in which salt and sugar draw moisture out of the egg. The egg flavors themselves become intensified, including the umami notes. They also take on sweet and salty flavors from the curing process. The curing also inhibits the growth of bacteria, so you end up with a safe-to-eat yolk that's rich and dense with savory goodness. Grated yolk takes on a melty quality when added to hot food, creating that creamy mouthfeel warm dishes often call for. This is potentially the oldest food preservation mankind has used. While it may sound primitive, it works easily, and the results are consistent. 

Once you've cured your egg, it can go with a massive number of things besides tuna sandwiches to add complexity. You can put it over salads instead of grated cheese, or use it to add more flavor to tacos. Put it into burgers before cooking to make the savory taste of the meat really sing. Top your pasta with it as a nice finishing touch, or put it into risotto to boost luxurious richness. You can even use it in sweeter dishes, such as cheesecake or cookies. Of course, putting it in a tuna sandwich keeps things easy, and you're sure to get a salty, sumptuous bite every time. If you're interested in changing up the canned fish you use in your sandwiches, you can substitute canned salmon for tuna as that also goes well with graved egg yolk.