Page 95 - South Mississippi Living - May, 2024

So, what exactly is Smoked Tuna Dip?
No matter which city or restaurant you nibble Smoked Tuna Dip, the recipe will likely include some combination
of smoked tuna, mayonnaise, scallions, celery, peppers, dill pickles, lemon juice, and sometimes cream cheese or sour cream, relish, or capers. It might even have a little kick with cajun or Creole seasonings and there’s always a secret ingredient or two.
And creating the legendary knockout dish with fresh, yellowfin tuna straight from the Gulf is the only way to make it, according to smoke master and restaurateur Ramsay Taylor. Smoked Tuna Dip is served freshly made each day at both locations of Tay’s BBQ in Pascagoula and Moss Point. It’s also featured in a sushi roll at Jacks by the Tracks in Pascagoula.
“And a lot of people use scraps and bits and pieces from different tuna, but we actually use a fresh, yellowfin tuna steak in our dip,” Taylor said. “We smoke it every day and add our seasonings and our ingredients. And we are truly smoking
it. There’s no liquid smoke or anything like that. We are actually putting it on a
Taylor said one of his top tuna dip secrets is to let the tuna cool and then break it up by hand before adding any ingredients. “A lot of places use a food processor, or they don’t have a smoker
to smoke the tuna right and it turns into
a kind of smokeless paste,” Taylor said, adding they also sell the dip wholesale across the Magnolia State, and they never have any leftover at the end of the day for wholesale or at any of the restaurants.
And make no mistake, those are the only chef-kiss secrets you’ll be getting from Taylor. Smoked Tuna Dip recipes are varied and fiercely protected generational treasures most coastal chefs intend
on safeguarding despite any culinary guardianship secrets you’d be willing to trade.
Now, you might be thinking... can Smoked Tuna Dip really be so delicious that it deserves its own trail? Yes, yes, it is, and that’s the reason it’s so popular on the Gulf Coast. And restaurants from Bay St. Louis to Pascagoula will let you order their Gulf-fresh cracker-dipping creations.
Trevor Reid with McElroy’s Harbor House said their smoked tuna dip is the
when you visit the Biloxi restaurant, but only if you’re lucky enough to get there before it sells out. “We have it year-round,” Reid said. “It’s fresh. It’s flavorful. It’s creamy and it’s gone quick every day.”
Chad Taylor-Henson, the southeast director for the Half Shell Oyster
House, said the two Biloxi locations and the restaurant in Gulfport, keep the
dish traditional. “Our ingredients are mayonnaise, a Creole seasoning, white pepper, diced red onions, and a little bit of lemon juice,” Taylor-Henson said. “It’s not very complex, and we have found that the simpler it is, the better it is. We serve ours with buttery salad crackers and our garnish is fresh diced tomatoes and chopped chives on top.”
So, here’s a smattering of the best coastal staples with melt-in-your- mouth Smoked Tuna Dip on the menu. Now, you can dash and splash your way down this flavorful fish dish trail
to local restaurants all over the Gulf Coast and decide for yourself which of these eateries’ Smoked Tuna Dip reigns supreme.
rotisserie at our restaurants and smoking most popular appetizer on their menu it until we get the color and the look that and a must-have dish
we want.”
May 2024 | 95
BAY ST. LOUIS
LONG BEACH
BILOXI
OCEAN SPRINGS
The Blind Tiger
200 North Beach Restaurant
Harbor View Café
Steve’s Marina Restaurant Lil’ Ray’s Restaurant Bull’s Restaurant
McElroy’s Harbor House The Reef
Yul’s Place
Boogies Grill & Chill The Project Lounge
Government Street Grocery Bacchus On the Beach Shrimp Basket
Murky Waters BBQ
and Bar
Cuz’s Old Town Oyster Bar
& Grill
GULFPORT
The Blind Tiger Biloxi Beach Shaggy’s
Half Shell Oyster House Half Shell Oyster House
The Lady May South Coast Seafood
PASS CHRISTIAN
Shrimp Basket
Murky Waters BBQ
Half Shell Oyster House The Cadillac Cuisine and Spirits
Beach Blvd Steamer Shaggy’s
Lil’ Ray’s Restaurant
Company
Keg & Barrel
The Cypress Taphouse The Wilbur Bar
Bacchus On the Beach Shaggy’s
Savory Roots
at the Hard Rock Hotel &
PASCAGOULA
Casino
Desporte Seafood, LLC Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar &
MOSS POINT
Bozo’s Seafood Market Tay’s BBQ
Jacks by the Tracks
Restaurant
Tay’s BBQ