Happy Friday, W4D Friends! By mid-June, you’ve no doubt been invited to a few cookouts, BBQs, Summer Soirees, and outdoor hangs—’tis the season, after all. This week, we thought it would be a good idea to arm you with not one, but two amazing Potato Salad recipes, so you can dazzle the crowd with your spud sensation! Elizabeth is making a traditional Southern-style Potato Salad, and Anthony’s showcasing his mayo-less, Super Dilly Potato Salad.
There are basically two kinds of potato salad: Creamy, mayo-based, and a vinaigrette-style potato salad. There are people who feel very strongly about what’s the right and wrong way to make and eat potato salad, but we love them both! There is nothing—besides coleslaw—that says summer picnic, cookout and barbecue more than potato salad.
Before we get into our individual recipes, here are some tips for making whichever kind you love even better.
Buy waxy varieties of potatoes
Red Bliss, New Potatoes, French Fingerlings, Baby Potatoes, etc. are all varieties known for their waxy and firm texture. Although some people swear by using russet potatoes for potato salad, classic southern potato salad is made with waxy potatoes like red bliss, new potatoes or even Yukon Gold potatoes. You can certainly use Russet (a.k.a. baking potatoes), but you may wind up with a salad that has the texture of the inside of a baked potato.Start the potatoes in cold salted water
Cook the potatoes whole and peel them once they’re cooked. It takes a little bit longer, but we think that the potatoes come out better than when you cube them raw and cook them. If you’re using small potatoes that don’t need peeling, still start them in cold water.Testing for doneness is simple
Use the tip of a long skinny paring knife to insert into the flesh of the potato. When you can pierce the potato all the way through and pick it up with the knife, you know it is done. If it falls apart when you pierce it, you’ve overcooked the potato.Dress the salad while the potatoes are warm
Some people say not to dress warm potatoes with a mayo-based dressing, but we disagree. A good mayonnaise-based dressing has enough vinegar and other seasonings in it to thin it out and prevent the oil in the mayonnaise from “melting and becoming oily.” Your potato salad will always taste better if you dress the warm potatoes and toss them in the dressing to coat. When the potatoes are warm, they will absorb the flavors of the dressing, making them pop! Letting them sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours also allows all the flavors to develop.
EK: This Southern Potato Salad is traditional and based on my Grandmother’s potato salad, but I did leave out the pickles. I love the flavor of the pickles and use pickle juice like she did, but I left out the actual pickles this time. If you want to use pickles, just add them back in. When I do use pickles, I am partial to bits of the small French cornichon pickles but if you like sweet pickle relish in your potato salad, by all means, add it!
AU: That’s the great thing about potato salad—it’s infinitely customizable, and truly based on your own personal preference!
EK: So true! This recipe is very straightforward. It’s potatoes, a couple of hard-boiled eggs, a bit of celery for crunch and some scallions for a light onion flavor and a creamy mayo-based dressing spiked with dill pickle juice and apple-cider vinegar. You can customize it to your liking and add any mix-ins that suit your fancy, but to me, there is something refreshing about this simple version that I really love.
EK: You boil the potatoes in salted water, make a mayo-mustard dressing with some chopped boiled eggs, peel and chop the potatoes and toss them in the dressing—the hardest thing about it is remembering to make it 24 hours before you want to serve it.
If you don’t have that long, at least make sure to make it in the morning and refrigerate it covered all day before serving it. Leftovers are great for at least 3 days but it won’t last that long. Stir gently just before serving to re-distribute the dressing.
Southern Potato Salad
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AU: I get asked to make and bring potato salad ALL the time to summer gatherings. Maybe it’s because my husband loves it so much? Maybe it’s because I’m a really big dill? Dad jokes aside, I almost always make a mayo-less potato salad. One that relies on a zippy vinaigrette, as opposed to a creamy dressing.
EK: I love a big dill!! In fact, dill in my Southern Potato Salad is a delicious addition. But there is something lighter about a potato salad dressed with a zippy herby vinaigrette that makes it a good choice on really hot days!
AU: This version is super spiked with both dried and fresh dill. Using both is a semi-cheffy trick that lots of professionals use, because they taste different. You get that super dilly familiar taste from the dried dill, and then you get the fresh grassy version of dill from the fresh herbs. I took the pickle theme one step further, and used a teaspoon of the Trader Joe’s “Seasoning in a Pickle” Blend which also has salt, citric acid, vinegar powder, etc in it. Since the TJ blend is a seasonal product (because of course it is), you can sub a teaspoon of dried dill in its place.
AU: Like my W4D pal Elizabeth’s recipe, there’s not much to mine. Simply boil the potatoes in salted water. While they’re boiling away, I combine chopped shallot, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and two types of mustard—whole grain and Dijon—in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil to make a vinaigrette. It will look like a ton of liquid in the bowl, and you’ll think that your potatoes are going to be swimming in it. Don’t worry. When you add the hot potatoes to the bowl, they will absorb most of the liquid, making them packed with flavor!
AU: The only “trick” I do to my potato salad, is one that I learned from a Julia Child recipe. As soon as she drains the potatoes into a colander, she sprinkles the hot spuds with Dry Vermouth. It adds a lovely wine-y note that works well with the mustards.
EK: This is the best trick ever! And, I will never not make potato salad without a splash of vermouth ever again—no wonder everyone asks you to bring this dish!
AU: After you’ve sprinkled the potatoes with vermouth, immediately toss the warm potatoes in the vinaigrette. You want to toss them quite a bit, so they spud sponges realllllly soak up all that goodness, but be gentle, so you don’t break the potatoes apart too much (and end up with mashed potatoes).
AU: At this point I cool the dressed potatoes to room temperature, tossing occasionally, so that they really soak up all the vinaigrette. If I’m making this a few days ahead of time, I will store it in the fridge at this stage for up to three days.
When it’s time to serve (or earlier in the day that I’m going to serve it), I add a heap of fresh dill, and fresh parsley. Just before serving, I crush up some potato chips (or use up the dregs from the bag that didn’t make it into the pool of french onion dip), and sprinkle the chip crumbs all over the serving bowl for a little salty crunchy surprise. Think of it as Maldon Sea Salt for Potato Salad. :)
Super Dilly Potato Salad
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IDEAS FOR NEWFANGLED POTATO SALAD
If you’re a real potato salad lover, try these fun twists on the classics
Toss cooked potatoes in Buttermilk Ranch Dressing for a zesty potato side dish. You can do this with boiled potatoes, like classic potato salad, or chunks of grilled or roasted potatoes.
Try Grilled Chimichurri Potato Salad for an herby refreshing side dish.
Bake those russets and scoop out the insides. Add all your favorite baked potato fixings, mix it up in a bowl and serve it with crunchy bacon bits on top for a Baked Potato Salad.
Make it modern. Add lots of fresh basil, shallots, and walnuts to a vinaigrette-dressed potato salad. This is also good with halved cherry tomatoes during the height of tomato season.
Make it FRANCH by tossing potatoes in a vinaigrette and combining with blanched haricot vert and crispy bacon bits.
Let us know what else you like to put in your potato salad by commenting below!
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