A trip down the memory lane that passes through my mind.
My daughter made tuna burgers for us for dinner tonight. These hot sandwiches were served at Disneyland's Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship restaurant/Captain Hook's Galley from 1955 through 1982.
There are two recipes online for Disneyland's tuna burger. The first was printed on the paper placemat/tray liner when the restaurant was sponsored by Chicken of the Sea.
The Chicken of the Sea Pirate Ship Restaurant Recipe
This recipe calls for 6.5 oz can tuna, drained, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1/4 cup finely chopped celery, salt/pepper to taste, 4 sesame seed hamburger buns, Thousand Island salad dressing, sweet pickle slices.
The directions are to mix together the tuna, celery, and seasonings. Spread the bottom bun halves with the Thousand Island dressing. Add tuna salad to each bun half and top with a few sweet pickle slices. Top with the other bun half. Wrap in individual squares of foil. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. Serves 4.
This version was served at the restaurant until 1969, when the Chicken of the Sea sponsorship left Disneyland.
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| "mermaids" from the early years at Disneyland |
The Captain Hook's Galley Recipe
When Disneyland took over the operations of this restaurant, they renamed it Captain Hook's Galley. Disney 's website has provided a recipe for the tuna burger that is like what was served from 1969 on. This is the version my daughter made for us tonight, with a couple of minor modifications.
For one, we had 2 hamburger buns, 1 hot dog bun, and 2 soft (and flattish) drop biscuits to use for buns. In addition, my daughter used two 5-oz cans of tuna (in place of a 9-oz can) and sweet pickle relish (in place of sweet pickle slices).
Also, our sandwiches were not double decker. Otherwise, she made the sandwiches as directed. And, we passed the mayo-chup at the table for those who wanted more dressing.
I said at the top that this took me down memory lane. I lived in Southern California for most of my childhood. When I was in middle school (6th, 7th, & 8th grades), if a student made honor roll for the first 3 quarters of the year, during the 4th quarter he/she could go with a school group to Disneyland for the day. I was fortunate to go each year. On one of those days, my mother gave me money to buy myself lunch. What do you think I ordered? I ordered the tuna burger from Captain Hook's Galley, aka the pirate ship. My daughter's tuna burgers were every bit as good as the one I remembered from my youth.
Like all kids, mine have asked me about some of my childhood memories. Several months ago, I mentioned the pirate ship restaurant that is no longer in Disneyland. I also recalled a hot tuna fish sandwich that I had for lunch one time. One daughter especially likes to recreate restaurant dishes. So she went on a quest to find this hot tuna sandwich from my childhood. The internet makes finding such things a breeze. Tonight was my daughter's night to cook dinner for us, and she asked to make the tuna burgers. How could I turn her down?! A memory and a meal wrapped up in a square of foil.
While canned tuna isn't as cheap as it was 5 years ago, it's still a decent budget "meat". Both WinCo and Walmart carry canned tuna fish (5-oz) for 88 cents per can in my area. Two cans feed the four of us adults. So under $2 for the tuna portion of a family meal. That's a pretty good value.
