The Tuna Salad Mistake That Has Been Holding You Back From Superior Sandwiches

A tuna salad sandwich is often a simple, no-frills sandwich: You may not always be proud of the tuna salad sandwich you've just eaten, but you will be full. If you've come to expect bland tuna salad, however, it's possible you just haven't experimented enough with its ingredients. There's only so much you can do with the tuna, but you can do quite a bit with that mayonnaise which makes tuna salad so creamy, so there's no excuse for falling into the trap of sticking to plain mayo and nothing else. We spoke to Vivian Villa, chef and founder of UnButter, about how to make a tuna salad sandwich more punchy by making the mayonnaise itself less drab. And you don't have to limit yourself to standard mayonnaise, either.

Villa suggests some flavored or differently mixed alternatives, telling The Takeout exclusively that you can "reach for Duke's, Winiary [a Polish mayonnaise known for tasting extra rich] or Japanese Kewpie mayo or Hellman's mayo (so many varieties now for the novice chef) mixed with other easy to find and yummy condiments or spices." Brands like Hellman's have plenty of spins on mayo, like a chipotle mayo or Italian herb mayo, which may not be gourmet but they're new flavors for experimenting. You can also choose an aioli, which is a more flavorful condiment similar to mayo — it's simple to transform mayo into a garlicky aioli, but there are also other kinds like wasabi aiolis which can easily go with seafood like tuna. For something entirely different, avocado makes for a surprisingly good mayo substitute as well.

There's still a way to fix up a tuna salad even if you plan to work with the plain, normal mayonnaise in your fridge: Add lots of mix-ins to turn store-bought mayo into a superior spread. Vivian Villa says there are lots of ingredients you can add to mayonnaise before adding it to tuna salad, ranging from creamy options with specific flavors like "creamed cottage cheese, tzatziki, [and] whipped full fat ricotta," to more umami options which take the place of salt. These include ingredients such as "nutritional yeast, mushroom seasoning (found in Asian stores), soy sauce, miso, sesame oil, [and] fish sauce," the last of which only needs a smidgen to be effective. You can even do this while making homemade mayonnaise (which is easy if you follow the rules). She also suggests adding in condiments like honey mustard, apple sauce, and pickle juice, along with spices like garam masala and curry powder.

Regardless of what you choose, assuming you've got some sort of emulsified mixture of creamy ingredients and oils, you also want to make sure that extra flavor is packed tightly into your tuna salad. Villa explains exclusively to The Takeout that you can do this by making sure the tuna is dry enough to absorb the new flavors you're mixing in. According to the chef, "Blotting the tuna (draining then placing tuna on paper towel to remove as much excess liquid as possible) keeps the filling thick and the flavours concentrated (not diluted in the excess liquid in the can)." The results should be a sandwich which tastes much more memorable.