On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:22:01 -0500, Jim wrote:

This article is how to make the Tuna Fish Sandwich a part of your
boating pleasure.
This beloved sandwich, an absolute classic, was suggested by a reader,
and I thank him for his positive contribution.
Because in the kitchen it takes thinking outside the breadbox.
And in the boat it takes thinking outside the tackle and bait box.

When the ability to think outside these boxes is nurtured and honed,
an entire new horizon of Boat Food Techniques comes in view.
Eating the Tuna Fish Sandwich aboard the boat exemplifies that.

How so, you ask?
(If you know the answer, stop reading. But don't cheat.)

Well, so far we have prepared sandwiches in the kitchen, then
transported them to the boat using various methods.
The Reuben and Fried Egg Sandwiches present a challenge in getting a
warm and non-soggy sandwich to the boat for the eating of it.
The Cold Ham Sandwich is easy, if simple rules are followed.

Now, The Tuna Fish Sandwich can NOT be transported to the boat without
getting soggy. No way, no how.
Does that stop boaters - who are well known for their logic, cool calm
demeanor, and versatility - from eating a good Tuna Fish Sandwich on the
boat?
Hell NO!

We take the kitchen-prepared tuna fish mixings in a Tupperware(TM)
container to the boat in the cooler, and toss a loaf of fresh bread in
our tote bag. Then make the sandwich on the boat.
Problem solved. Another victory for boaters!

Once the convention-forged shackles of the mind are cut, and we see that
it's easy to make the sandwich on the boat, the Tuna Fish Sandwich
appears on the boat non-soggy, and in all its glory of interesting tastes.

Recipe. Let's get "recipe" out of the way.
You don't need one. It's impossible to screw up a Tuna Fish Sandwich.
Anybody who would do that isn't even a boater. Just won't float.
Sometimes I use sweet relish, sometimes chopped dill pickles.
Sometimes white or yellow onions, sometimes Vidalia.
Sometimes green olives, sometimes black, sometimes none.
I always use real Mayo, but there's many ways to make a good-tasting
Tuna Fish Sandwich.

Choose any bread you like, but don't disgrace yourself with American
white bread. That's for French toast only. And little kiddie bread
pudding. And you can feed it to ducks, geese, and other lower animals.
Real Frenchified commie stuff.
I use toasted Rye at home, but I don't do that on the boat.
I could work that out, but if I did, I would think I was at home, which
defeats the purpose of boating.
Wayne might see that differently.
Anyway, you just don't need toasted Rye for a good Tuna Fish Sandwich.

Tuna salad ingredient flavors start to blend not too long after being
mixed. I mix mine up as the last thing done before I go out the door
and head down to the boat.

Utensils/Preparation.
You need a small cutting board and a fork to put the tuna on
the bread, and a knife to cut the bread if you brought a French* or
Italian loaf. Lay it on as thick as you like it.
Though I have a knife and cutting board I use for cutting bait, I bring
utensils dedicated to sandwich preparation.
There's probably nothing wrong with squid eyeballs and mullet guts in a
Tuna Fish Sandwich - some people even use anchovies - it just
makes me queasy.

Which brings to mind a warning I should make here.
Don't make your sandwiches in a tossing or porpoising boat.
Wait for calm seas or get into a cove where it's pretty flat.
Otherwise you could make a mess, or cut yourself slicing bread.

* French bread has nothing to do with other French stuff, because it
was invented by cavemen before France and communism even existed and
even before Charles de Gaulle was born, so don't worry about eating it.
If the name wasn't already taken, we would have renamed it to American
Bread at the same time we invented American Fries.
The name American Bread doesn't really exist, but most everybody thinks
so because there's American Cheese.
Just one of those linguistic oddities that fools people.
And some fool real easy.
I still think we could call it American Crusty Loaf bread but nobody's
done that - yet.

Jim - Boating with good food. It's a way of life.

A couple pieces of lettuce placed under and over the tuna fish salad will help
keep the bread from becoming soggy as a wet cat.

But, the salad should be made at home, as you so aptly stated, but the anchovies
should be placed on the salad after the salad is spread on the sandwich. If
you'll carry a bucket of water on the boat for rinsing your hands in, after
messing with the mullet guts, you shouldn't need separate utensils. Just rinse
the bait board and knife in the bucket. Plenty clean enough.
--
John H

All decisions are the result of binary thinking.