I came across this tuna salad sandwich recipe after forgetting about it for ages, and decided to make it this week since tuna was on sale for $1.70 CAD per can.

According to Susie Clayman’s original recipe, this caused an absolute FRENZY when it was first introduced at a Bridge tournament. It’s delicious in tuna salad sandwiches, or as tuna salad on a plate or a lettuce cup. It really is the cracked pepper and dill pickle that makes it sing.

People can’t quite pinpoint what makes this recipe so delicious, but they can’t get enough of it. One member enthusiastically told me “I don’t even LIKE dill pickles, and this is delicious.”

How I Canadian-ized this recipe:

• You can’t buy dill pickle relish in Canada, so I chopped up dill pickles until I had 18 ounces — more than a pound!
• We also can’t get Duke’s mayonnaise, so I used my favourite Hellmann’s
• We can’t always get the Costco 4 lb. tin of tuna here in Canada, and honestly, I don’t like it as much as I like the standard cans of white albacore tuna, so I used 13 – 170g cans. These actually only have 140g of actual tuna so believe in the math.
• Celery isn’t required in the original recipe, but I chose to add three stalks, finely minced

Susie Clayman’s Tuna Salad for 50

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large 4 lb. can of tuna, drained (or 13 regular 170g cans of white albacore tuna)
• 1/2 cup minced dried onion
• 3/4 of a 30 oz. jar of mayonnaise (Susie used Duke’s, but I used Hellmanns)
• 18 oz. dill pickle relish, drained (or chop your own dill pickles, like I did)
• 2 heaping tablespoons of CRACKED black pepper

NOTES FROM SUSIE:

• Do NOT use sweet relish!
• The secret is the dill relish and the cracked pepper
• You can add chopped celery unless you are stirring it up in a motel room for a Bridge tournament and it’s a pain to chop anything up

DIRECTIONS

• If you can’t get dill pickle relish, start by chopping your dill pickles
• Mix the dry minced onion with the mayonnaise in a large bowl
• Add drained tuna to the mixture
• Add dill pickle relish (and optional celery)
• Crack black pepper into the mixture
• Combine all ingredients
• Serve as-is or in tuna salad sandwiches