Tuna and Mayo, Cold
A pouch of tuna, a packet of mayo, and whatever you fold it into. No stove, no pot.
- calories
- 560
- weight
- 7.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 75
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 3 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 3 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Lunch
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Day hike
- Canoe / raft
- Bikepacking
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- Eat in the bag
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Foil pouch tuna | 5 oz | pouch, not can, the can is dead weight and drains wet |
|---|---|---|
| Mayonnaise packet | 1 tbsp | single-serve packets are shelf-stable until opened |
| Flour tortillas | 2 | or a sleeve of crackers |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste | |
| Dried dill | 1/4 tsp | optional, but it is what makes this taste like fish and not like protein |
| Hot sauce packet | 1 | optional |
Method
- Tear the tuna pouch open along the top seam so it stays a bowl. Do not dump it out.
- Squeeze the mayo packet in. Add the dill, salt, and pepper.
- Stir with your spoon right in the pouch until the tuna breaks up and everything is coated.
- Spoon it onto a tortilla, fold, eat. Hot sauce if you brought it.
- Roll the empty pouch tight and bag it. It will smell for the rest of the day otherwise.
Camp cooks fry fresh fish because they have fresh fish. On a trail with no rod and no pan, the honest version of the same idea is a pouch and a mayo packet. Tuna in foil is already cooked and already shelf-stable, so the entire recipe is seasoning and a spoon.
Mayo is the part people distrust. Single-serve packets are shelf-stable at room temperature until you tear them, which is why they turn up in restaurant caddies and not refrigerators. Use the whole packet in one sitting and there is nothing to keep. The fat is also doing real work here: plain tuna is lean enough that it eats like a chore, and a tablespoon of mayo puts about a hundred calories back and makes it stick to the tortilla.
Packing
Tuna pouch, mayo, and seasoning ride in one zip bag so the fish smell stays in one place. Tortillas go flat against your back panel or they come out as crumbs.
Variations
- Swap the tortillas for crackers and eat it as a sit-down lunch instead of a walking one.
- A packet of relish or a spoon of dried onion flakes adds bite without weight.
- Foil-pouch salmon works the same way and carries more fat.
https://www.canoetripping.net/threads/favourite-fish-recipe.62277