Who has time for boring sandwiches? You won’t find that here, and this Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Sandwich is making sure of it! The tuna is prepared with dill pickles and fresh dill for maximum dill flavour. Finish it off with a slice of cheese, crisp lettuce, and sliced tomatoes all on great-tasting, multi-grain bread!
DILL PICKLE TUNA SALAD SANDWICH
So, Dear Reader, I know I’ve said this before, but the Thomas-Ewing household loves everything there is to love about dill, and we’re very passionate about our dill pickles! When I set out to make a really great tasting Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Sandwich, I thought it would be easy. But, I had to make it a few times to get it just right.
What’s the secret? It’s simple, really. The secret to maximizing the dill flavour without it being too overbearing, was the combine fresh dill with dill pickles. I love the flavour of fresh dill, but I also love the flavour of that salty, garlicky, extra-dilly dill pickle juice. Both of them together, was just what I needed to do to make the best sandwich possible.
If you love dill and you love tuna, I’m sure you will love the pairing of them both. We love it so much that I combined the two into a pizza! Don’t believe it!? Check out my Tuna Pizza with Lemon and Dill recipe. So, with fresh dill and dill pickles in hand, let’s get to making this sandwich!
DILL PICKLE MAYONNAISE
Some sandwich lovers swear that buttering the bread is the key to a good sandwich. I had many sandwiches in my lifetime with butter on the bread, and to me, it’s just okay. I’m a lover of Hellman’s mayonnaise in general and only ever buy that brand. Furthermore, every sandwich I make will have mayonnaise, or a jacked up version of it, on each slice of bread.
Making a dill pickle mayonnaise is easy. Before I talk about how to do it, please note that you don’t have to do this step at all. You can use mayonnaise just as it is. As for me, I was determined to maximize the dill flavour. And, why not make the mayo? It’s so easy. This is how I did it.
For four sandwiches, I used a 3/4 cup of mayo. Yes, that sounds like a lot. But, I did smear it on the bread, and I incorporated it into the tuna salad itself. Toss the mayo into a food processor, along with 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper, and a roughly chopped dill pickle. Pulse until the pickle is finely chopped and incorporated into the mayo. That’s all!
MAKING THE TUNA SALAD
Whether you decide to make the dill pickle mayonnaise or not, you will need something to bind the tuna with the other ingredients. As previously mentioned, regular mayonnaise is perfectly fine. If using the dill pickle mayo, set aside 1/4 cup to spread on the bread. Add the rest to a bowl with the lemon juice, fresh dill, and chives. Stir to combine.
If using regular mayo, add it to a bowl with ground black pepper, dill pickle juice, fresh chopped dill, and chopped chives. Stir well to combine.
Next, flake in the well-drained canned tuna. Use a fork to combine the tuna with the mayonnaise mixture. You can make this ahead of time, cover it well, and refrigerate it. It will keep fine in the fridge for 2 days. Or, you can use it immediately.
PICKING PICKLES AND CANNED TUNA
Well, Dear Reader, the best type of dill pickle for this Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Sandwich recipe is quite simply the dill pickle that you personally buy each time you buy pickles. I find some dills too salty, but if that’s the type you like, buy those.
Some dills are too dilly, but if that floats your boat, get those kind! For us, there’s only one brand of dills that we buy and have never bought any other brand for the past 7 years. They’re the Bick’s Polskie Ogorki. They have just the right amount of dill-salt-garlic ratio and they’re always crunchy.
I used two cans of tuna for this recipe. Two cans seems like a lot for four sandwiches, but these were really big sandwiches. Look at how much room they take up on the plate! The tins were each 170 grams. I think that’s roughly equivalent to 3 ounces per can. You can use any brand you prefer, but it’s imperative to use tuna that is packed in water, not oil.
It’s very important to squeeze as much water out of the tuna as possible. Normally, I tend to open the can, leaving the lid in place. I turn the can upside down and push the lid up, squeezing out the water. Please be careful if you do this. Just one slip and you’ll slice your hand open on that lid. You could use a can drainer. They’re great and can be used quite often to drain liquids from canned goods.
HOW TO SERVE A SANDWICH
I dearly love sandwiches; I really do! I’m that one person who loves to bake and cook, but can be easily satisfied with a sandwich. In fact, a few times a week, I’ll have a sandwich for lunch. My favourite quick lunch is ham and cheese on a good grainy bread with a hot cup of coffee. I love sandwiches with hot coffee!
But, on the occasion that I make sandwiches for dinner, I go all out. I love to serve sandwiches with kettle chips and a pickle on the side. Sometimes, I serve them with coleslaw and potato salad. A good, well-made sandwich can be quite impressive. Look at my White Bean Salad Sandwich and my Smashed Lentil Salad Sandwich. I would totally serve one of these, or this Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Sandwich, to any guest! Wouldn’t you?
Dill Pickle Tuna Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Dill Pickle Mayonnaise:
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 large dill pickle
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Tuna Salad:
- 6 ounces tuna packed in water, drained well
- 2 teaspoons dill pickle juice
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped
For Sandwich Assembly:
- 8 slices multi-grain bread
- 6 slices tomato
- 6 whole lettuce leaves
- 4 slices cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the dill pickle mayonnaise by placing the ingredients into a food processor. Pulse until very smooth.
- Transfer 1/2 cup of the dill pickle mayonnaise to a bowl. Add the dill pickle juice, fresh dill, and fresh chives. Stir well to combine. (If you did not make the dill pickle mayo, add 1/2 cup of mayo to a bowl with the pickle juice, fresh dill, fresh chives, and 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper. Stir to combine.)
- Add the well-drained tuna to the mayonnaise mixture. Use a fork to incorporate the tuna into the mayo. Set aside.
- Using the remaining dill pickle mayonnaise (or 1/4 cup of regular mayonnaise), smear evenly over the 4 slices of bread.
- Working with the bottom slice of bread, top it with two slices of cheese.
- Next, layer the lettuce onto the sandwich, followed by the sliced tomatoes. (This is optional, but I like to sprinkle the tomatoes with a bit of salt and pepper.)
- On the top slice of bread, liberally spread on half of the tuna mixture.
- Flip the top slice onto the bottom slice and press down lightly to join the two halves together. Slice the sandwich in half and serve with kettle cooked chips.
Nutrition
Patrice Pickering says
This looks delicious. My question is… What kind of tuna do you really like. It seems to me that no matter what I use these days it doesn’t taste as good as it did when I was a kid! Please bear in mind that I have to share it with our two cats, Cookie Blue-Eyes and Caramel Green-Eyes, so it HAS to be good! They are very discerning.
Thanks! Please keep these great recipes coming!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Patrice – your cats must be high class cats, because our two cats will not eat higher end canned tuna. Isn’t that strange? The don’t eat the fish at all, actually; they just lick up all of the brine. Anyway, I tend to Clover Leaf.
Gina Hoskins says
So excited to try this recipe! I use to love eating tuna sandwiches as a kid! So much nostalgia! I like adding apples to mine!
Allyssa says
Thanks a lot fir sharing your recipe! It’s really tasty and very easy to make which I really love! Will make it again!
Marlene Wilkins says
After we have had a busy day somewhere we will just have a sandwich to erase the hunger. Once a month it seems tuna comes to mind so I make simple sandwiches. I see your recipe and know what I will do next time. Along with one of your soups would be especially nice too.
Thank you Byron M.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
We do sandwiches for dinner once a week! There’s no shame in it, is there? 🙂