Potato salad is hard. It’s much easier to plunk down your 4.99 at the Giant than making this classic from scratch. Potato salad was a popular side dish when I was catering, and I knew that I could never charge for the time it took to make a great potato salad. My copy of Julia Child’s “The Way to Cook”, naturally opens to the pages on cooking potatoes and potato salad because I have used her recipes countless times.
First, you need to choose your potatoes, carefully examining each one. I’ve given up on bagged potatoes because more than once that “one bad apple” or in this case potato, has started to spoil the whole bunch. Then the potatoes need to be peeled and uniformly sliced to insure the proper cooking time. Next you have to find the right moment when the cooked potatoes are not too hard, crunchy potato salad will never catch on, but not too soft so that the potatoes crumble and turn to mush. The potatoes are then drained and the slices are allowed to firm up for 3 to 4 minutes. Now you should be ready to do the initial seasoning with the still warm potatoes, salt, pepper, onions, celery, vinegar or maybe some potato water. Additional ingredients can be added when the potatoes have cooled off. I like finely diced cornichon pickles, some crispy bacon, chopped hard boiled egg and parsley with enough mayonnaise to coat it lightly. Homemade mayonnaise is wonderful but good old Hellmann’s does the trick for me most of the time.
Potato salad brings back good family memories for me. When I was growing up the summer family cookouts were at our house. Most of the relatives on my father’s side lived in the city and we were the only ones with a large enough backyard to host such an event. My dad was the grillmeister, cooking burgers and hot dogs in a cloud of barbecue smoke. Adults and the older children would play spirited games of badminton and the younger cousins enjoyed the swing set. I’m sure there were salads, jello and otherwise but the dish I remember most was my grandmom’s German potato salad. My dad’s mom, Grandmom to us, would come with her potatoes, onion, bacon and vinegar ready to cook. That was quite a challenge because my parent’s home had the typical fifties kitchen, small with very little counter space. Everyone would get out of her way and she went to work, peeling potatoes, chopping onions and cooking bacon. She poured her vinegary dressing over the potatoes and served it still warm. Delicious, you didn’t want to be one of the last ones to be served or you might not get any. Grandmom died suddenly, just one day after our Labor Day picnic of 1969. I never thought to get her recipe, I had just turned 15 at the time and the only cooking I had done to that point was for a Girl Scout badge. Many have attempted but no one has ever quite duplicated her recipe. The lesson to be learned here? If you or someone in your family makes something that you love from memory, take the time to observe, write it down and capture the recipe for future generations. Don’t let it be just a memory but a part of your family’s legacy.
Master Recipe for Cooking Sliced Potatoes for Salad
- 3lbs Yukon Gold or red potatoes
- Kosher Salt-1t per quart of water
Directions
- Fill a saucepan to the halfway point with cold water. Wash the potatoes. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/4″ thick slices. Drop the peeled potatoes into the pan of cold water to prevent discoloration while you peel the rest.
- Once all the potatoes are peeled, drain out the water and add fresh cold water to cover and add the salt. Bring the potatoes to the simmer and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender. Test them by eating a slice to be certain you have achieved the right texture.
- Drain out the water, reserving a cup or so if you want to use it as part of your dressing. Cover the pan and set aside for 3 minutes and no longer than 5 to give the slices the time to “firm up”. Uncover the potatoes and do the initial seasoning while they are still warm.
American Potato Salad
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 3lb Yukon Gold or red potatoes-cooked according to the master recipe
- 2/3c liquid, 3T cider vinegar plus chicken broth or potato water to make up the difference
- 1/2c finely diced red onion, soaked in ice water for 10 minutes to eliminate the “bite”, well drained
- 2/3c finely diced tender celery
- 1/4c finely diced cornichons or dill pickle
- 3-4 strips of crisply cooked bacon, crumbled
- 3 hard boiled eggs, diced
- 3T minced Italian parsley
- 3/4-1c homemade or Hellman’s mayonnaise
Directions
- Turn the still warm potato slices in a large bowl and toss gently with the vinegar/liquid mixture, onions, celery, pickle and seasonings to taste. Let it steep for about 10 minutes, carefully tossing several times.
- When the salad is cool, toss with the bacon, eggs, parsley and just enough mayonnaise to coat lightly. The potato salad can be made 24 hours in advance.
- Before serving, check for seasonings and add more mayonnaise if needed. Sprinkle with additional parsley.
