American Tuna Salad Query
February 29, 2020 9:33 PM   Subscribe

Ok. Short and Sweet (pun intended:) Does The tuna salad recipe at American Delis or in your recipe book include SWEET pickle relish or DILL pickle relish? Please leave out the recipes that have no relish at all. My bf and I disagree about flavor options. I say sweet, he thinks dill is the preference.
posted by The_imp_inimpossible to Food & Drink (45 answers total)
 
Tuna-in-water (drained), Miracle Whip, chopped onion, boiled egg -- chopped hamburger dill slices for the husband, or sometimes sweet relish for me. Sometimes some mustard for husband (he hates mayo and he forgets this isn't potato salad). Serve alone or on various bread products.
Leave out the boiled egg and pickle, and add a fresh egg and some all purpose flour. Fry for tuna patties. Serve hot or cold.
posted by TrishaU at 9:45 PM on February 29, 2020


Tuna, mayo, sweet relish, Mrs. Dash.
posted by doctord at 9:54 PM on February 29, 2020


Sweet here, dill if out.
posted by Chitownfats at 10:10 PM on February 29, 2020


Sweet relish though regular is always an option.
posted by jadepearl at 10:17 PM on February 29, 2020


Sweet
posted by Swisstine at 10:32 PM on February 29, 2020


I am mostly familiar with sweet relish, but I think it's repugnant. I chop up some dill pickles and add a splash of the brine.
posted by mostlymartha at 10:34 PM on February 29, 2020 [9 favorites]


Sweet
posted by mr_roboto at 10:42 PM on February 29, 2020


This is appalling. First, sweet relish is an abomination and should never be chosen over dill relish. Second, tuna salad doesn't really want veggie crunch; it wants to be in a nice gooey tuna melt. So the recipe is basically tuna, mayo, and some seasoning.
posted by ktkt at 10:47 PM on February 29, 2020 [6 favorites]


Sweet, for sure. Dill relish wasn’t even a thing, here at least, when tuna salad recipes were formulated.
posted by rodlymight at 10:52 PM on February 29, 2020


Honestly, the only ingredients that seem to be universal is canned tuna and mayo (sometimes even that is subbed for Miracle Whip). Everything else feels like whatever the person making it prefers. Growing up, it was tuna, miracle whip and sweet relish for me, but I'm pretty sure I'd make it differently nowadays.
posted by Aleyn at 10:52 PM on February 29, 2020 [2 favorites]


I mean, I use dill because I prefer it to sweet. Surely there's no real solution to your "disagreement" This isn't mayo on pastrami territory.
posted by humboldt32 at 11:09 PM on February 29, 2020 [5 favorites]


Chopped dill pickles. It's how my mother made it, I doubt I would eat it with sweet under regular circumstances. (I also put chopped dill pickles and cheddar cheese in my tuna cassarole).
posted by Rufous-headed Towhee heehee at 12:15 AM on March 1, 2020


My mom made it with sweet relish and added apples.
posted by AlexiaSky at 12:43 AM on March 1, 2020


My original sandwich: tuna, mayo, dash of mustard, onions, dill relish (deli style, the big chunks), if I have some, celery. Salt and pepper.

But I've gotten lazy over the years, so I put in a little extra mayo and dried onions, the mayo rehydrates the onions. Celery salt instead of celery because I almost never have any in the house, it goes bad too fast. I have to leave it in the fridge for a few hours for the onions to plump up.

Serve on toast. If I'm feeding others, I'll add a tomato slice and a slice of cheese. Under the broiler for a few minutes, serve with tomato soup.

I went to a different deli once and took a bite and gaked it out of my mouth. I asked the deli guy if it was bad, he took a little taste and said it was normal. I said it seemed really sweet, he told me "Oh yea, we use Miracle Whip and sweet relish, people seem to love it!" I suggested that he should have a big red sign that said "Warning! Miracle Whip and sweet relish in here!" He just laughed.
posted by Marky at 1:10 AM on March 1, 2020 [2 favorites]


The southern way is tuna, Miracle Whip and sweet relish. I prefer mayo and dill relish.
posted by DarlingBri at 1:14 AM on March 1, 2020 [4 favorites]


Both, in the form of Bread and Butter Pickles.
posted by dobbs at 1:35 AM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


One word: Muffaletta.
posted by fairmettle at 1:55 AM on March 1, 2020


Neither, in the form of capers.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 2:10 AM on March 1, 2020 [6 favorites]


Dill. Tuna, celery, onion, a little bit of chopped hot pepper, dill pickle. Sometimes it's mayo, sometimes MW.
posted by james33 at 2:12 AM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


TEAM DILL all the effing way.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 3:23 AM on March 1, 2020


Dill. Sweet should be illegal.
posted by dame at 3:57 AM on March 1, 2020 [5 favorites]


Both sweet and dill relish are very common, at my home, other homes, and delis. I don’t even think you’ll find any clear plurality, let alone majority. Even if answers here lean one way, it’s a poor sample that shouldn’t be trusted as anything but AskMe preference this week.

Give it up: you’re both wrong, there is not a clear preference.
posted by SaltySalticid at 4:12 AM on March 1, 2020 [10 favorites]


FWIW, "tuna salad sweet relish" has 2.65 million hits on google, "tuna salad dill relish" has 825,000. I am the messenger; do not shoot me because I said this. We make refrigerator dills with a little added sugar that are perfect. And remember that the binder - tart mayo or sweeter miracle whip - can add to or counter the sweetness level.
posted by bullatony at 5:03 AM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


I don't use relish in my recipe at all. I use chopped dill pickles.

Tuna salad is a favorite of mine, so I order it occasionally when I'm out. I don't think I've ever had any with sweet relish in it. I don't like sweet pickles as a rule, so I would have noticed I think. The norm to me is either dill, or no pickle-ish ingredient at all. I'm from the midwest if that makes a difference.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 6:45 AM on March 1, 2020


I thought I hated tuna salad/sandwiches growing up, but it turned out that I just hated sweet relish and excessive mayo. That appears to be the default in my region of the US at least, so I buy dill relish and make my own.
posted by Selena777 at 7:10 AM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


Neither, honestly. Before I was allergic to celery it would be: tuna, mayo, diced celery, loads of pepper and salt and a few scratches of onion. Now it's: tuna, mayo, chopped chives, loads of pepper and salt. The dill pickles go on the side so you can have the contrast as you please.
posted by seanmpuckett at 7:21 AM on March 1, 2020 [3 favorites]


Tuna, mayo (not Miracle Whip), a little mustard, celery or celery salt, hard-boiled egg, black pepper, and get ready to have your minds blown: sweet relish AND a splash or two of dill pickle juice.

BOOM.
posted by cooker girl at 8:30 AM on March 1, 2020 [2 favorites]


Sweet in out house
posted by kathrynm at 8:37 AM on March 1, 2020


> Sweet in out house

You got that right. Straight in the toilet.

eheheheh
posted by humboldt32 at 8:50 AM on March 1, 2020 [3 favorites]


Going totally orthogonal on you all - tuna salad does not need pickles of any sort for tartness. The Cook’s Illustrated tip I picked up a couple of decades ago and which has served me well ever since is to use a splash of lemon juice instead. (It is fish, after all...)

So: fully drained tuna. Mayo. Finely chopped red onion. Maybe celery if you want it more chunky and crunchy. The aforementioned splash of lemon juice. Some salt and lots of black pepper. Adjust balance until you like it and mix really well.
posted by sesquipedalia at 9:55 AM on March 1, 2020 [5 favorites]


Sweet.
And none of that Miracle Whip nonsense. Mayo all the way.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:18 PM on March 1, 2020


The stuff I get in delis (up in New England) often has no relish at all, celery for crunch (maaaaybe onions) and sometimes dill for flavoring. However, I think if a deli tuna did have relish in it, it's usually sweet.
posted by jessamyn at 1:06 PM on March 1, 2020 [2 favorites]


Nthing that even though you say "please leave out recipes with no relish," that "classic American tuna salad" in no way mandates the inclusion of relish, let alone relish of a particular type. Including relish of any type in tuna salad is *only* something I've run into in the South, IME (sweet relish in Tennessee, FWIW). In the Bay Area and Boston, the green stuff is celery, not relish. Your relationship disagreement about relish options is just a matter of your personal tastes; neither of you can say that your preference reflects a "more authentic" American tuna salad here.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 1:06 PM on March 1, 2020 [3 favorites]


Also, following up on bullatony's point, "tuna salad" -relish has *13.2 million hits*. Even adding "American" to the search to cut down on other countries' tuna salads still has 4.4 million hits, far more than any hits with relish. :)
posted by Pandora Kouti at 1:21 PM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


Neither - just mayo and a lot of prepared hot horseradish. Yum!!
posted by brookeb at 2:35 PM on March 1, 2020 [1 favorite]


Neither, tuna salad is tuna + mayo + mustard + minced white onion + maybe chopped green olives + chopped celery + black pepper.

If you get it at a diner it's almost always with sweet relish. Which is weird and wrong.
posted by blnkfrnk at 4:34 PM on March 1, 2020


I grew up with tuna, mayo and chopped up dill pickles. Yumm. Eventually learned to add some yellow mustard on the bread. Yummier. (I am not a big fan of yellow mustard, except on a tuna sandwich).

My wife grew up with tuna, mayo and sweet relish. I find this odd, but over 38 years it's become acceptable. When I make tuna, I mix it into two batches, one with sweet relish, one with dill relish.

Just keep that Miracle Whip stuff away from me.
posted by lhauser at 6:08 PM on March 1, 2020


I am so dedicated to my sweet pickles that I chop up sweet gherkins, plus a spoonful of juice. Relish isn't chunky or crunchy enough.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:36 PM on March 1, 2020


I have never once in my life gotten a tuna sandwich at a deli, restaurant, or grocery store that contained any sort of pickle.
posted by coppermoss at 8:09 PM on March 1, 2020 [2 favorites]


My childhood tuna salad (rural GA) included tuna, mayo, and dill PICKLES (not relish). As an adult, I've grown to appreciate the addition of some celery salt. Sweet relish is an abomination.
posted by telepanda at 6:42 AM on March 2, 2020


The StarKist tuna salad kits that were a staple of my sack lunches come with sweet relish.
posted by iximox at 11:08 AM on March 2, 2020


1 part onion, 1 part celery, 1/2 part pickles (whatever is in the fridge, usually dill). All diced to approx the same size.

Sauce base is half mayo, half plain Greek yogurt. Add in a generous glob of mustard, and a ton of dried dill. Think that's enough dill? Nope. More dill.

Great for sandwiches, even better as a melt with Cheddar.
posted by Orrorin at 1:29 PM on March 2, 2020


Chopped dill pickle.
posted by sigmagalator at 2:30 PM on March 2, 2020


Sweet is probably the most common variety I've had that contained pickled cucumber.

I do not prefer it to a number of other ways of incorporating canned tuna into things.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:45 PM on March 2, 2020


Recipes are not laws, they don't arrest you if you don't abide by them. Also there is no point in arguing matters of opinion. Divide your salad in half, put sweet in yours and dill in his.
posted by axiom at 3:14 PM on March 8, 2020


« Older Help me with a U.S. presidential debate watch...   |   How do I find out the things that I believe in are... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.