Replace Mayonnaise With Brine for the Best Tuna Salad
I do not hesitate to mix mayonnaise with the dish and declare it “salad”. Indeed, I love a good marinated bacon salad every day. However, for the past year or so, I have been cooking tuna without mayonnaise. Not out of some aversion to creamy emulsion, but because I once made a good Nicoise with Dijon vinaigrette and stuck with it. But I have found that tuna salad can taste fantastic with even less fuss and (much to my surprise) less oil. To make a flavorful tuna salad, just pour in the brine, baby.
The tuna shines when paired with a bit of lemon, but recently I forgot to pick it up at the store. I made a salad with a mix of tuna and coleslaw, a meal you usually get when you realize how few ingredients you have in your kitchen. I could have eaten raw, unseasoned cabbage, but I didn’t want to. My options for replacing the lemon were vinegar, which would probably be too astringent, or olive brine. I added olives to my tuna anyway, so it worked. I was hoping for something normal tasting but was ready for a dry, crunchy, simple tuna salad. It was out of order; the marriage of ingredients was fantastic. The tuna was complemented by a salty, mild sourness, and the coleslaw added much-needed bulk and crunch. I was surprised how olive juice could make even raw, shredded cabbage taste great without ruining it the way pickling can. I pushed the jar of olive juice towards my boyfriend and all of a sudden we added coleslaw and poured olive brine on it like it was the most natural way to eat tuna salad.
Any brine will do. It is likely that if you like the marinated product itself, sliced into a tuna salad, the brine would be a welcome dressing. You don’t need much, and depending on the brine, you can start with one scoop, mix the ingredients, and taste. Then add more if you like. I made the same tuna coleslaw salad with sliced sour pickles and topped it with a tablespoon or two of brine; it was just as bright and pleasant as the green olive version I made.
In terms of ingredient suggestions, here are my favorite options:
- Tuna in Olive Oil: Yellowfin Tuna Fillet Tonnino Premium
- Gently spiced olives: Mezzetta Jalepeño Stuffed Olives
- Coleslaw Mix: Marketside Tricolor Coleslaw
This is a great recipe for those who don’t like mayonnaise for whatever reason, or if you’re just looking for a substitute. Don’t give up on coleslaw – just trust me on this one. It’s firmer than lettuce, not watery like celery, it lightens the tuna mixture and brightens up the whole dish. The following recipe uses olives and the same brine, but you can use pickled cucumbers or pickled jalapeno peppers (for spiciness).
Tuna salad without mayonnaise with brine
Ingredients:
- 1 can of tuna (about 5 ounces), drained
- 4 olives stuffed with jalapenos, cut into rings
- 1 cup raw kale salad mix
- 1-3 tablespoons olive brine
Break up the tuna pieces in a medium bowl. Add chopped olives and coleslaw mixture. Mix everything, add brine. Stir again until it is evenly coated. Enjoy as is or with a piece of chewy bread.