I haven’t been in the kitchen much in the last month or so, but I’m hoping to change that soon I promise! I did whip up this favorite snack of ours this weekend and I’ve been wanting to share it with y’all for a while now.
One of our favorite restaurants is Virginia’son the Bay in Port Aransas, just up the coast from us. I’m sure alot of you local Texas folks have probably been there if you’ve been to Port A on vacay (their bloody mary’s are to DIE for!). They’ve got an appetizer called Jalapeno Mesquite-Smoked Yellowfin Tuna Dip on the Ritz which is absolutely unbelievable. Some family friends of ours set out to concoct a copycat recipe and man is it close!
It takes shockingly little ingredients and other than cooking the bacon, hardly any prep at all. Any mesquite or hickory-smoked flavor of tuna you can find will work, I always use these in mine. Virginia’s uses yellowfin which I’m sure they get fresh, so by all means if you have a way to smoke your own tuna, it would be even better so go for it!!
After cooking the bacon, just finely chop it, the jalapeno, and the green onions in a food processor until it’s all in small pieces. (yes my jalapeno was a bit old, but still super spicy!)
Then, just mix the bacon mixture in with the tuna and your desired amount of mayo until it’s all well-combined.
You can serve it right away but I find it’s best after it has chilled and all the flavors have melded together for a few hours. And of course, served “on the Ritz” as well. For some reason, this doesn’t taste near as good without Ritz.
We made just a single bag’s worth here and made a nice little lunch out of it, but if you’re taking it somewhere or want to nosh on it for a while, definitely double or triple it! This is one of my FAVORITE things to take to a party because it is so quick and easy to make.
Jalapeno Mesquite-Smoked Tuna Dip
This quick and easy dip is perfect for a snack, for lunch, or to take to a party and is PACKED with flavor!
Ingredients
- 1 package of hickory-smoked tuna, I use these
- 1 jalapeno, seeded if you want it less spicy
- 3 strips of cooked bacon, crumbled
- 3-4 stalks of green onion
- 1 cup mayonnaise, more or less as desired
Instructions
- Add bacon, jalapeno, and green onion to food processor and pulse until everything is in uniform small pieces
- In a large bowl, add the bacon mixture to tuna and mayo, and mix until well combined
- Chill for a few hours before serving if possible
- Serve with Ritz crackers
Notes
Recipe is easily halved, doubled, or tripled as needed.
My husband LOVES jalapeno’s and bacon and I know he’ll love this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome!! Let me know what y’all think!
Thank you so much , I have looked for this recipe from Virginias for years . I get that dip every single time we go . Thank you again.
You’re very welcome Frank! It still falls a little short of theirs of course, but it’ll get you through between visits. I’m going to try it with some blackfin tuna we caught last year, and of course if we ever get into some yellowfin it *may* get it a little closer :)
We are also huge fans of Virginia’s. We were in Port A for 36 hours last month and managed to eat there twice! We had the dip both times!! I made this over the weekend and used fresh smoked yellow fin. At first, I felt bad smoking such a nice fish, but it turned out great. I doubled the recipe and used close to a pound of tuna. It was a hit with everyone that tried it. Not quite Virginia’s, but close. Thanks for sharing.
I’m so happy you tried it!! And sooo want to make it out of fresh yellowfin when we have some again, I bet it was delicious! I’m sure there’s still some secret little ingredient in theirs that I haven’t pinpointed yet but at least this can get us closer :) We have some blackfin I may try it with sometime too.
Heading out on vacay~
How long will this keep in frig?
Anyone know~ looks yummy & want to make in advance if possible
Hi Tonya! This will keep in the fridge for a couple of days.