What Potatoes Are Best For Southern Potato Salad
Not all potatoes are created equal when it comes to making this version of Southern Potato Salad. I recommend using starchy potatoes, like Russet or Idaho, which have a tendency to fall apart during cooking.
They also dont hold their shape well and are fluffy in texture and we need this particular texture for this salad, where we will mash the potatoes once they are boiled.
German Potato Salad Recipe
Warm cozy German Potato Salad Recipe with bacon and onions! A fabulous side dish for any back to school dinner.
The first time I ever tasted german style potato salad was at an Octoberfest street fair years ago. As I walked down the street I smelled an intoxicating aroma of bacon mixed with something tangy.
The fragrance seemed to pull me toward a large cast iron kettle filled to the brim with potatoes, onions, and bacon. I asked the attendant for a serving of whatever-that-is, and she genuinely seemed concerned that I was unfamiliar with german potato salad.
Never had I tasted potato salad that was so rich and tangy with a hint of sweetness Plus it was warm, not cold, like the potato salads I was used to.
Although I love making classic chilled potato salads through the spring and summer, the moment the kids are back in school I immediately switch over to this classic German Potato Salad Recipe loaded with crispy bacon, sweet onions, fresh parsley, and tons of tang!
In my German Potato Salad Recipe I like to use the multicolored new potatoes you find in 1-2 pound bags in the produce department. However, you can use any type of new potato you like.
To make this German Potato Salad Recipe start by boiling the potatoes until fork-tender. Then chop them into bite-size pieces.
Meanwhile, sizzle the bacon in a large saute pan or deep skillet. Pour off some of the bacon grease, and cook the onion with the bacon until soft and golden.
How To Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
Note: Start boiling eggs at the same time when boiling potatoes.
Take cold eggs out of the refrigerator and place them in an empty saucepan. Cover them with cold water. The eggs need to be covered by at least an inch of water.
Boil them for 5 minutes, turn off heat and let them sit in hot water for 10 more minutes. Remove, run them under cold tap water, peel and chop.
Meanwhile chop the pickles and fresh onion.
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What Our Readers Are Saying
If you dont believe that our recipe helps you achieve the best homemade potato salad, take a look at what our readers are saying about the recipe! More reviews are in the comments section below.
Ive made this so many times!! Always so yummy and a big hit with even the pickiest eaters!! Pam
Best potato salad ever!! Melinda
Excellent. Tastes delicious! Its so much better than the potato salad purchased at the store. LouAnn
I LOVED this potato salad! Paula
Old Fashioned Potato Salad
Old fashioned potato salad with hard boiled eggs, mayo, mustard and sugar, a traditional and tasty version of the classic American BBQ and potluck staple.
Is there anything more Americana in the summer than good old fashioned potato salad? This is a straightforward classic rendition of this beloved side dish.
I was inspired after watching Jeannie make it for her husbands annual group of golfers, a much loved BBQ side dish after their day of golf. Its a classic small town Iowa version that reminds me of Amish potato salad. Its on the sweet side and yellow with mustard, almost like a deviled egg potato salad.
I spent my college years in Iowa and my graduation brunch was in the Amana Colonies. I have a great fondness of the state, culture and food. Not sure how authentic this is, but Ive heard Amish potato salad is sweet and yellow mustard-based, with onion, sugar and vinegar. No vinegar here, but the rest seems on point.
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How To Make Potato Salad In The Instant Pot
Do I need a steamer basket?
You do not. Your potatoes will come out perfectly fluffy without a steamer basket for this Instant Pot recipe!
Should I cut potatoes before boiling for potato salad?
Yes. You should cut the potatoes to about 1 to 2-inch uniform pieces before placing them in the Instant Pot.
What kind of potatoes are best for potato salad?
Yukon Gold potatoes are perfect for potato salad! They hold up to moisture very well.
How long does potato salad last in the refrigerator?
In an air-tight container in the refrigerator, your Instant Pot Potato Salad will last about 5 days.
Can you freeze potato salad?
You can, but we dont recommend freezing potato salad. The consistency will not be the same after freezing and its easy for it to become mushy.
How do you steam potatoes in Instant Pot for potato salad?
Lay the cut potatoes on the bottom of the pot with water. Nestle the eggs on top of the potatoes so they can cook together on high pressure. Quick release the pressure once theyre done cooking. This is the best way to cook potatoes for potato salad.
How do you make potato salad dressing from scratch?
It is so easy to make homemade potato salad dressing. Mix mayo, vinegar, salt and pepper, and a little sugar until smooth. Thats it!
Can you make potato salad ahead of time?
Yes! It tastes even better after youve let it chill. You can let this potato salad rest in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before serving.
Whats In Deviled Egg Potato Salad
The ingredients in this recipe are kept simple and basic.
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Egg Potato Salad Recipe Easy To Make
This is the best egg potato salad recipe easy to make. It is also probably the most unique one out there. Youve seen the classic potato salad recipes and youve seen those made with mashed potatoes. This one uses a hybrid of those two. It tastes great with the fresh vegetables. Its best after it sets in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours to get cold and the flavors meld together. Definitely, add this one to your list of preferred potato salad recipes.
While youre easy potato salad is getting cold in the fridge, if youre not having regular burgers or hot dogs, consider making these super tasty recipes to go with it:
Make Ahead And Storing Leftovers
- Make ahead: You can easily assemble this the day before serving. We like to prepare it the night before so its had time to chill and the flavors to blend, but still tastes fresh.
- How long does potato salad last? Potato salad with egg should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will keep for 3 days. Do not leave this salad out at room temperature or, worse, out in the sun. Mayo-based dressings do not do well in the heat.
- Can you freeze potato salad? Technically, yes. But I dont recommend it. Once thawed the potatoes get grainy and the dressing separates. We just prefer to make it fresh each time.
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How To Cook Potatoes For Potato Salad
One of the biggest potato salad controversies is do you cut potatoes before boiling for potato salad? My mom says, no.
My mom cooks her potatoes whole with the skin on. I follow her lead, or will quarter them before cooking. The other method to cooking the potatoes is peeling and cutting the potatoes before cooking as suggested in the comments below. But, my mom says that method allows the potatoes to absorb more water, and so I do what mama says.
To cook the potatoes, add them to cold water and bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat, rather than adding the potatoes to hot, boiling water. Boil the potatoes until fork tender and the skin just begins to crack, about 20-25 minutes.
Another cooking method a reader suggests is steaming the potatoes in 1 inch of water for 30 minutes, which works too. Just be sure to watch you dont boil your water away and burn the pan.
The Best Potato Salad Recipe Ever
My moms potato salad is better than your moms potato salad.
There, I said it and Im not taking it back! *wink*
Seriously though, my mother has magical abilities in the art of potato salad making. My mom makes traditional mustard, pickle, and hard-boiled egg potato salad. Its simple, but I have never made or tasted another potato salad better than her version And Im not the only person to think so.
Over the years Ive watched countless relatives and friends swoon over her classic potato salad.
The problem is, when you ask her for the recipe she has a hard time sharing it, because she doesnt actually have a recipe written down. She makes it by feel.
Its taken years of watching, assisting her, and asking questions to come up with what I consider to be her recipe.
Want to know moms secrets?
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Old Fashioned Potato Salad With Egg
Potluck picnics were such a huge deal when I was growing up and I kinda wish we could all bring them back to being really cool again. That and tupperware parties because if were doing potlucks, youll need a ton of tupperware because youre going to lose it when you take a dish somewhere.
I used to go to family picnics totally excited to see what food everyone was bringing because it was always a buffet of the best dishes everyone had to offer. From Aunt Tinas Strawberry Pretzel Salad to my moms broccoli salad, there was never a shortage of good food.but the one thing I was VERY picky about was the Potato Salad.
Potato Salad is a finicky beast because if not prepared properly it can be bland, gummy or just overloaded with mayo. And even if you DO get it right.Potato Salad without a hardboiled egg in it just isnt even a potato salad to me. And dill.
I know Im splitting hairs here because I do have other Potato Salad recipes on my website sans egg and dill. But this one is my FAVORITE.by far.
My Old Fashioned Potato Salad is overloaded with fresh ingredients and a vibrant, creamy potato salad dressing thats loaded with dill. I fold in a bit of chopped egg for good measure.extra flavor.and added texture.
How To Keep Potato Salad From Getting Watery
There are a couple of reasons potato salad can become runny. Heres how to troubleshoot the problem.
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How To Cook The Potatoes
We simmer potatoes whole in salted water when making potato salad. Here are our top tips for doing it:
Salt the cooking water. Its important to add a generous amount of salt to the cooking water. By salting the water, the flavor of the potatoes comes out. They wont taste salty, only like excellent potatoes.
Simmer, dont boil. When it comes to cooking potatoes for potato salad, theres no need to boil. When you do they violently bash against each other. Instead, bring the water with potatoes to a boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. The potatoes cook just as quickly.
Potatoes are cooked when you can push a fork through the center. When they are done, drain the potatoes and add them to an ice bath, which stops them from cooking. After 2 to 3 minutes they are cool enough to handle.
While I love using skin-on potatoes for mashed potatoes, I like to remove the peel from the potatoes for this. Since I use small potatoes, peeling them before cooking would be a frustrating task.
Instead, I cook my potatoes with the peel on, let them cool, and then peel. Since the potatoes are cooked, the peel comes off easily .
I Heard Its Easier To Peel A Cooked Potato And It Saves Time Is That True
It does save peeling time but it costs some time elsewhere and the quality is altered in the entire production process. Here is a list of what is impacted:
- The potato is whole and will take much longer to cook.
- After cooking a whole potato, you have to wait for it to cool down enough to peel away the hot skins or you have to create and use an ice bath.
- Whole, unpeeled potatoes will retain more starch while cooking, compared to peeled, cut potatoes.
- A whole potato cooks less evenly throughout.
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The Rest Of The Ingredients
Now we have perfectly cooked and seasoned potatoes and a creamy dressing, its time to add some extra ingredients.
Potato salad is a personal process, and there are lots of opinions out there as to what makes it perfect or the best. The recipe below is our version it includes everything we love, but remember that its your potato salad, so add what you like!
Celery and Pickles The celery adds a lovely crunch and our house isnt stable without dill pickles in the refrigerator so adding them is a no-brainer for us. If you dont like pickles in potato salad leave them out .
Red Onion I love the sweetness and crunch of red onion in this. To make sure that the onion doesnt overpower the salad with raw onion flavor, I deflame the onions. Its a simple process, simply add cool water to chopped onion and set aside for 10 minutes. The time in the water takes the raw edge off the onion.
Hard-Boiled Eggs Maybe its how we were brought up or what were used to but, potato salad without eggs is missing something. Hard-boiled eggs add texture and extra creaminess.
Fresh Herbs The most common herbs are parsley and chives, but dill, cilantro, and tarragon all work well. In our recipe below, we use both dill and parsley. Experiment for yourself to see what you love. Add a tablespoon at a time then taste. Also, remember dill and tarragon are a little stronger than other herbs so add accordingly.
I Hate Peeling Potatoes And Dont Do It Very Well So Even If I Lose Some Quality Or Time How Can I Cook Them First And Then Peel Them
I get it totally and have been there. So, with proper planning, there is a way to do it and enjoy great, fresh recipes like our best egg potato salad in a timely manner. Rinse off the whole potatoes . Then, boil them to be thoroughly cooked . Dump them in a colander to drain .
Then, transfer the hot potatoes to be fully immersed into a large bowl of ice water . Be very careful of the HOT Potatoes. Then, believe it or not, after about 10-20 seconds in the ice water, you can begin the process of peeling. Still use precautions in case theyre too hot for you. The way you do this is to take a potato and grip it fully as if youre wringing a wet towel. Both of your hands should fully wrap around and grip the outer part of the potato using an attempt to rip off the skin by wringing it. You want to be careful and not squeeze the potato to crush it. Remember youre wringing the skin off, not wringing the water out of a potato. Youll want to continue to immediately move through to process all the potatoes right away.
If you dont want to use the ice-bath method, you can also just wait for the potatoes to cool down a bit and peel them normally, which tends to be a bit easier.
Regardless of the method you used, after each potato is peeled, youll want to rinse them and set aside. When all are done, you can either store them in the fridge, peeled and whole or cut them first. Either way, theyre ready for usage or storage. I hope this helps.
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Do You Rinse Potatoes Before Or After Boiling For Potato Salad
Rinsing potatoes just before boiling will help to remove some of the bulk starch plus it will also help remove any final contaminants from handling. Some people choose to soak the potatoes for a short while to further reduce the starch and then a final pre-cook rinsing. Rinsing after the potatoes are boiled is a minor effect on any starch reduction but its mainly performed to aid in quickly cooling them down.