The St. Paul Tuna Melt
Burgers, Clubs & Sandwiches
There is a specific kind of magic that happens at a diner counter at two in the morning. The neon sign buzzes against the window, the coffee is bottomless, and the short-order cook is orchestrating a symphony of spatulas on a seasoned steel flat-top. This melt is a tribute to the grand, upper-Midwestern diner tradition, where the cheese is sharp, the sourdough is sturdy, and the portions are unapologetically hearty. A great tuna melt is a marvel of engineering—shatteringly crisp on the outside, molten in the middle, and bracingly tangy to cut through the richness. We trade the commercial flat-top for your trusty cast-iron skillet, relying on aggressive moisture management and a dual-fat griddle fry to get it right. Take a bite, listen for the crunch, and you are right back at the diner on Route 1.
Before you start
Wring the drained tuna completely dry.
Transfer the meat to a fine-mesh strainer or wrap it in a clean paper towel, pressing firmly to wring out as much latent moisture as humanly possible to prevent a soggy bottom.
Mix the diner tuna salad.
Transfer the dry, flaked tuna to a mixing bowl and fold in the mayonnaise, celery, red onion, pickles, mustard, lemon juice, pepper, and celery salt until the mixture is cohesive and holds its shape.
Ingredients
- canned solid white Albacore tuna in water10 oz
- high-quality mayonnaise1/3 cup
- celery1 med stalk
- red onion1/4 cup
- dill pickles2 tbsp
- Dijon mustard1 tbsp
- lemon juice1 tsp
- black pepper1/4 tsp
- celery salt1/8 tsp
- sourdough bread4 large slices
- unsalted butter2 tbsp
- neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
- Sharp Wisconsin Cheddar cheese4 large slices
- Smoked Gouda cheese4 large slices
- tomato4 large slices
Method
- 01
Assemble the sandwiches.
Distribute the tuna salad evenly across two slices of bread, top with two slices of tomato per sandwich, layer one slice of Cheddar and one slice of Gouda over the tomatoes, and cap with the remaining sourdough.
- 02
Coat the exterior bread with softened butter.
Spread the butter evenly over the top slices facing you, going completely crust to crust for an edge-to-edge fry.
- 03
Fry the sandwiches in a cast-iron skillet.
Heat your largest cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat, add the oil to coat, and place the sandwiches in unbuttered side down, immediately buttering the new top slices while pressing gently with a wide metal spatula for 3 to 4 minutes until deep mahogany.
- 04
Flip the sandwiches and dome them to melt the cheese.
Swiftly flip the sandwiches with your stiff spatula, press gently, and place a metal mixing bowl or heavy pot lid over them in the skillet for the final 2 minutes to trap ambient steam.
- 05
Scrape the sandwiches from the pan and serve immediately.
Remove the dome and violently scrape the sandwich out of the pan with the sharp edge of your spatula, ensuring any crispy, caramelized cheese skirt stays attached to the crust.
Notes
Bread substitutions require serious structural integrity.
If authentic sourdough is unavailable, a hearty rye or a dense English muffin makes an excellent substitute, as standard supermarket sandwich bread will quickly collapse under the weight of the cast-iron press.
Always place the cheese directly against the bread.
Do not bury the cheese under the cold tuna; keeping it next to the crust ensures it meets the radiant heat of the skillet and melts properly into a cohesive binder.
From Cook Diner Food at Home.