There is nothing quite like watching potato salad aficionados become weak in the knees or begin to drool in anticipation when a big bowl of homemade potato salad is set on the table. Especially a classic potato salad, the one lovingly made by the grandmothers, mothers, and Aunt Toni's in our lives. The paprika kissed top, brimming with red potatoes, sweet onions, celery, hard-boiled eggs, sweet pickles, and mayonnaise kind. Every family has their sacred, 'it's not broken so don't fix it', throw down worthy version of a homemade potato salad recipe. However, more often than not, these recipes aren't always written down. Instead they are passed down through the generations via word of mouth or learned by hovering in the kitchen and keeping a very close eye on potato salad maker.
Without a doubt, making a homemade potato salad is a labor of love. Which may explain in part why it is so crave worthy delicious. And why it usually makes only special appearances.
This Potato Salad made a reappearance over the Labor Day weekend.
To prevent your potatoes from being too mushy or too hard, pick out same or similar sized red potatoes. Smaller ones are preferable to larger ones as they are the most flavorful. In a large pan of cold salted water, bring first to a boil and then immediately turn down to a simmer. The potatoes are done when the tip of a sharp knife inserted into them midway goes in smoothly. Allowing the potatoes to cool completely is key as warm potatoes will add moisture to your potato salad. A good way to begin passing this recipe along to your family and friends is to invite them over to peel your perfectly cooked potatoes.
There are no exact specifications to the size of the potato salad chunks. Some of mine are half-inch chunks, some a little smaller, some a little larger as I like a potato salad that looks like it was homemade.
There are also no hard and fast ratio rules with regard to the potatoes, onions, and celery. I use a medium sized sweet yellow onion and about 3-4 stalks of celery. Before I add any other of the ingredients I make sure to mix together the cut potatoes, onions, and celery. If it looks there isn't enough onion or celery, I might add a little more. I don't want the onion and celery to overwhelm the star of the show potatoes, but I do want to make sure every fork bite has some crunch to it. As laissez-faire as I might be about the sizes of the cut potatoes, I am all about cutting the onions and celery into an as even as possible small dice.
Some homemade potato salads use dill pickles and some use sweet pickles (with or without some added pickle brine). This one uses only sweet pickles. Note: Sweet pickle relish is not the same as chopped sweet pickles.
It's hard to say what makes this humble Potato Salad so wicked good. But the dozen, roughly chopped hard boiled eggs might be one of the front runners. Yes, one dozen (large) hard-boiled eggs. And even more if you like finishing the top of your potato salad with hard boiled egg slices.
Before adding in the mayonnaise I mix in the salt and pepper, so I can decide if it needs any more after the mayonnaise is mixed in. So let's talk about a bit about the mayonnaise. I don't add all of it at once. I start with 1 1/4 cups, mixing with a spatula to begin evenly coating the vegetables. Then I start adding more mayonnaise in 1/4 cup increments to ensure the salad is not 'over-mayonnaised'. Usually I end up using somewhere between 1 1/2 and a generous 1 3/4 cups of mayonnaise. If not serving the potato salad until later or the next day, I won't add all of the mayonnaise all at once but will mix in more if needed.
Taste for seasoning and then transfer all of this amazingly goodness into a serving bowl.
Serve immediately, chill for several hours, or chill overnight. Any and all of these options work.
When I am craving a homemade potato salad, I will either make the Lemony Potato Salad or this one. They are both amazingly good. Once you taste either one of them, you will find it hard to ever consider serving a store bought version to your family and friends again.
Recipe
Serves 10-12
Ingredients
5 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled (Note: Choose same sized potatoes, preferably ones on the smaller size)
1 medium sized yellow or other sweet onion, diced (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)
3 - 4 stalks of celery, diced (about 1 to 1 1/4 cups)
12 large eggs, hard boiled, peeled, coarsely chopped (plus more for garnishing on top if desired)
5-6 medium sized (3") sweet pickles, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt or more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1 1/2 to a generous 1 3/4 cups mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
Sweet paprika for garnish
Directions
1. Place potatoes in a large pan of salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook potatoes for approximately 30-35 minutes or until a sharp knife inserted into the potatoes goes in easily. (Note: Be careful not to cook the potatoes to the point where they begin to severely blister or get too mushy.)
2. Drain potatoes and allow to come to room temperature. The potatoes should feel cool to the touch.
3. Peel potatoes and cut into chunks (e.g. approximately 1/2" dice).
4. Mix together the cut potatoes, onion, celery, sweet pickles, kosher salt and pepper.
5. Add in coarsely chopped hard-boiled eggs. Mix until well incorporated throughout the potato mixture.
6. Stir in about 1 1/4 cups of mayonnaise using a spatula to begin to evenly coat the vegetables. Add an additional mayonnaise in 1/4 cup increments or until vegetables are evenly coated but not drenched in mayonnaise. Usually this brings the total amount of mayonnaise somewhere between 1 3/4 and 2 cups of mayonnaise.
7. Taste for seasoning. Add additional salt and/or pepper if needed. Transfer to a serving bowl.
8. Serve immediately or cover and chill for several hours.
Notes: (1) This makes enough for a large gathering. If serving less people, cut all of the ingredients in half. (2) Could also make this potato salad using all varieties of waxy potatoes (red, fingerling, or new potatoes).
Forest Preserve views (September 2017)
