"Hot Tuna Delahanty" by Representative Amo Houghton
Delahanty — until today, you probably thought it only referred to the early 20th century baseball player who was murdered by being thrown over Niagara Falls. But thanks to a friendly, also-deceased politician, every time you hear “Delahanty” you’ll think of hot, sticky tuna.
Our incredible dish that I had the honor of recreating — Representative Amo Houghton’s Hot Tuna Delahanty.
Chef Amo Houghton
Republican Congressman from New York
As always, I followed the recipe word for word from the New York congressman with a net worth of $500 million, no alterations:
INGREDIENTS
Two 7oz cans of tuna
3 large tomatoes
3 hard-boiled eggs
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
1.25 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
1 tbsp catsup
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 dill pickle, chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Drain tuna, peel tomatoes, cut in eighths and remove seeds, then cut in half and drain. Cut eggs in eighths.
Now, I found peeling the tomatoes I bought to be a little difficult — impossible, actually. Since I always follow the recipe to a tee, I didn’t throw them in boiling water and peel the skin off with ease. Ol’ Amo didn’t write it so I didn’t do it. That said, if you’re willing to betray the ideals of Constitutional literalism, you can interpret what he meant differently and boil your tomatoes with an ‘x’ slit at the bottom.
2) Melt butter in top of double boiler over boiling water, add flour and cook until smooth.
If you don’t have a double boiler at home, a pot of boiling water and a metal mixing bowl set on top will do. This is also a great way to make a poor man’s fondue if you’re having a 70s themed party.
3) Add milk gradually and stir until thickened.
4) Pour in cream, cover and cook slowly for 10 minutes, stirring often.
I took “cook slowly” to mean that I should just savor the 10 minutes and enjoy watching the cream-roux thickening. I only took the lid off to stir every minute or two. Leave a comment below if you have a better idea of how to understand “cook slowly” please.
5) Mix mayonnaise, catsup, dill pickles and seasonings, then add to the sauce. Add the tuna, tomatoes, and eggs.
Catsup vs. ketchup — is there a difference? No. The important thing is how often both items are used in vintage recipes. You’re going to get very used to corn syrup and tomato juice by the time you’re done cooking everything on this site.
And after some stirring, the dish is complete.
Don’t waste your time waiting for this dish to get cold — it’s supposed to be piping hot in your mouth! This isn’t your grandfather’s tuna salad. Warm, gooey, and full of dairy, it’s almost like a tuna bisque, but with raw tomatoes and pickles. Like a tuna salad, a tuna sandwich and a tuna bisque all decided to get together and make things easy on those of us who wanted to eat all three. It’s decidedly soupy, so a good bet would be to ladle some over a baked potato or grilled cheese sandwich, or simply enjoy it with a spoon and a cup of celery juice on the side. Still unsure what “Delahanty” means in this context. Bottoms up!
Verdict:
I like my tuna hot…when it’s in a sandwich. But in a soup? I’m not so sold. That said, I let this dish get cold, slapped it on some greens the next day and I was not upset.
