Melody's Luau Lulu

A super unusual sandwich from 1960!

This last post in my Hawaii inspired series is one of the most unusual sandwiches I've ever eaten. I know the ingredients are probably going to be a bit of a hard sell to some readers - even I was pretty dubious about how it would actually taste! - but trust me, this treat from 1960 is definitely not to be missed. 

But I can't take credit for discovering this unicorn of a sandwich. I was first introduced to it by reading The Mid-Century Menu, one of my favorite historic cooking blogs. If you aren't reading Retro Ruth's stuff, you're really missing out! Check out her post about the Luau Lulu, and read on to see how our version turned out!

This recipe felt like the ideal end to our Hawaiian inspired June for three reasons: 

1. I've been wanting to try this recipe since first reading Retro Ruth's post about it 
2. The name and ingredients both fit perfectly into the trend of shooting for something "Hawaiian" without actually being a recipe originating or popular in the islands. Its reliance on pineapple, coconut, and even tuna make it seem "island inspired", and the name just further cements it. If someone told you this sandwich was called the luau lulu, where would you guess it originated? 
3. It comes from a cookbook published by Mr. Mustard, a perfect compliment to my post last week about Dole's print advertisements with recipes. Companies have been producing cookbooks spotlighting their products for a long, long time, and the small booklets produced in the mid-century are a literal goldmine of vintage recipes. Unlike vintage advertisements that ran in major publications, these pamphlets aren't always well preserved by museums and archives. Institutions like the Library of Congress are motivated to preserve The Saturday Evening Post, but might not have the interest or space to hunt down every single 20 page booklet produced by Dole or Nestle. This makes these mini cookbooks cool finds if you stumble across any. It also means some of the more experimental or unique recipes hidden within them may only exist in that one pamphlet thanks to the creativity of a test kitchen or recipe writer! 

I've found book like these can be sort of hit or miss, but I guess that's any cookbook for you. I think some have earned the reputation of basically telling the test kitchen to use their featured product in any way imaginable to convince buyers that the product's super versatile, without really stopping to ask "would anyone actually eat this?" and thus creating some abominations that probably deserve to stay forgotten. 

At first glance, this sandwich might make some folks feel that way. The combination of fruit and fish is a hard sell, and even I was a little bit skeptical about how it would turn out. But bouyed by Retro Ruth's positive review, I dove right in to try it out for myself. 

This is another delightfully easy recipe to make. All you need to do is drain two 7 oz cans of tuna, flake it, and mix it together with the drained contents of an 8 oz can of crushed pineapple, 2 tablespoons of mayo, and 2 1/2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard. Mr. Mustard doesn't sell their Dijon product anymore, so go with any brand you're a particular fan of.

This then gets spooned onto a toasted hamburger bun. Sprinkle it with unsweetened coconut - trust me, this is worth it!

And finally, layer some sliced avocado on top.

You're ready to serve!

I went into this with some trepidation, but I'm happy to report that I was right to put my trust in Ruth and her husband's review. This was honestly a really delightful little sandwich! The toasted bun added a wonderful crunch to an otherwise very light, soft sandwich. The pineapple was just a little bit fruity, and the coconut added an extra crunch to the bite without overpowering the sandwich with its flavor. It honestly tasted like a lightly mustard-spiced tuna salad/sandwich with avocado and a subtle fruitiness. 

But that was my opinion. My wife is not a big fish eater, and even she liked the sandwich! She doctored hers up to use a little more mayo and some pepper, but she agreed that the combo of fruit and fish actually really worked well here. I definitely think we'll be making this again, especially as it makes just enough (about six or seven sandwiches) to feed a crowd without being super overwhelming to prepare. As I was chowing down on it, I couldn't help but think how well this would pair with my crab rangoon dip and a tropical gelatin dessert for a mid-century "luau" party. 

So, would Melody have actually enjoyed a luau lulu on a hot summer day? 

Honestly, I'm not sure. Since this recipe appears to have a relatively limited circulation and wasn't necessarily a huge, game changing hit, it's definitely possible she never would have encountered it unless her mother happened to have a copy of the Mr. Mustard booklet. However, I did do some newspaper database searches and found the same Mr. Mustard recipe reprinted in The Tennessean and a few other papers in the mid 1960's. A few even called the sandwich "better than a burger", which is a pretty ringing endorsement! The Tennessean article was a response to a write in requests for suggestions of something simple to make for a summer lunch, as the reader was sick of burgers and hot dogs. Mrs. Ellison wouldn't be getting a newspaper from Tennessee in Detroit, of course, but just as recipes circulate among friends and family today, she could have gotten it from someone who had the booklet or read a similar article even if she hadn't found it herself. 

Either way, this is a really neat find that doesn't deserve to languish away in an archive or forgotten cookbook! I'm so pleased I finally took the chance on this one and really appreciate Retro Ruth's willingness to try out these odd sounding historical recipes. If you aren't subscribed to Mid Century Menu, what's stopping you??

Thanks for coming along on this journey through 20th Century Hawaiian inspired recipes! It's been a lot of fun to tackle some of these treats and share tidbits about how Americans have related to Hawaii through food. It's always fun to do blog posts that have to do with my seriously scholarly research!

Aloha for now!