Photo by Jenny McQueen
There are some cookout classics that will always be there. Dishes that consistently show up at the family barbecue or that are the source of friendly competition on the potluck table. Dishes that everyone makes, everyone loves and everyone shares. Dishes that aren’t expensive or fancy, but that end up on every plate and rarely result in leftovers. My hope is that everyone reading this is thinking of a different dish, but I am thinking of potato salad.
I confess, potato salad eluded me for a significant portion of my life. I always ended up with something closer to cold, mustardy mashed potatoes – not great. Which is the trouble with this seemingly simple side dish: Bad potato salad is terrible – watery, an overabundance of mustard, not enough salt, mushy potatoes – so many potential hazards! After failing at potato salad more times than I care to admit, I swore it off and resigned myself to contributing other dishes and simply enjoying potato salad when someone else made it. But a few years ago, I mustered (ha!) up some confidence and decided to figure out how to make this classic.
I am delighted to share that this recipe is absolutely delicious. There are a few specific tips that helped me over the daunting potato salad hurdle:
Start with Yukon Gold potatoes. They have a glorious flavor and a texture that won’t end up soft as russets might. I quarter and cook them with the skin on, peeling it off with my fingers after they have cooked and cooled. This gives the final product a great texture, somewhere between smashed and cubed.
Do not salt the boiling water. In fact, do not salt anything until you are ready to serve. Adding salt early will pull the moisture out of your veggies and eggs, leaving an undesirable pool at the bottom of the bowl.
Separate the whites and yolks from your hard-boiled eggs, as you would when making deviled eggs. Add the chopped whites as you normally would to the bowl, but add the yolks to your mayo and spices to mix up a creamy dressing for the salad as a whole. This step really brings a great flavor to every bite, instead of just bites with egg yolk in them. This recipe is one of probably thousands of spectacular recipes that have graced plates for generations and will continue to do so. So, whip up a batch, find a potato-loving friend or two and swap recipes!
Sarah’s hard-won potato salad
Yield: 8-10 servings (depending on how much you like potato salad)
8 Yukon Gold potatoes (about 3 pounds), skins on and cut into quarters
⅓ cup white vinegar
6 hard-boiled eggs
3 carrots, peeled and diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 cup bread and butter pickles, drained and diced
1 small yellow or sweet onion, diced
2 cups mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons celery seed
¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon paprika, optional, for garnish
Add potatoes to a large pot of unsalted water and bring to a boil. Cook for 25 minutes or until a fork goes through easily.
Drain thoroughly and place in a large bowl. Add the white vinegar and toss. Let cool until they are cool enough to touch.
Use your hand to peel away the skins and discard. Roughly chop the potatoes into grape-sized pieces and add back to the bowl.
Peel your eggs, separating your whites and yolks. Chop the whites and add them to your potato bowl.
Place the yolks in a smaller bowl and set aside.
Add your carrots, celery, pickles and onion to the potato bowl. Toss and set aside.
Add all the remaining ingredients (except the salt and paprika) to the yolks and beat with a hand mixer.
Add this mixture to the potato bowl and mix well.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
When you’re ready to serve, add the salt and mix it up! Garnish with paprika if desired.
Delicious. Extra yummy alongside hotdogs. Possibly while watching fireworks. Definitely with friends.
June 23, 2021 at 09:06PM
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The struggle for perfect potato salad finally pays off - Chesterfield Observer
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