southern-style potato salad

People take their potato salad very seriously here in the south, I learned that quickly. I was never a fan of potato salad in my youth but after living in south Louisiana for nine years, I now love it. And boy, was I craving some potato salad this week! I made a lighter fresher tasting version of potato salad for the blog last summer but today, I wanted the real stuff. Heavy, creamy, tangy, no holds barred southern style potato salad. I used light mayo so I wouldn't feel so guilty but feel free to use regular if you'd like (regular is usually much less expensive too). Many recipes for southern-style potato salad use celery salt, which I didn't have, so sprinkle some on if you've got it!




Total Recipe cost: $3.63
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Cost per serving: $0.61
Prep time: 15 min. Cook time: 15 min. Total: 30 min.

INGREDIENTS		COST
3 lbs.	yukon gold potatoes	$1.88
1 tsp.	salt	$0.05
2 large	hard boiled eggs (see step #2)	$0.24
3/4 cup	light mayonnaise	$1.00
2 sliced	green onions	$0.15
1 stalk	celery	$0.11
1 Tbsp	sweet relish	$0.06
1 Tbsp	mustard	$0.05
1 Tbsp	red wine vinegar	$0.04
to taste	fresh black pepper	$0.05
to taste	tony caschere's (or seasoning salt)	$0.05
TOTAL		$3.63

STEP 1: Peel, wash and cut your potatoes into one inch cubes. Place them in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add 1 tsp of salt to the water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Boil the potatoes until they are tender (about ten minutes) then drain in a colander and let them cool. It is crucial that the potatoes are fully cooked otherwise your salad will be ruined. To test the potatoes, pull out the largest piece you can find and test the softness with a fork.

STEP 2: While the potatoes are cooking, begin to cook your hard boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a small pot and cover them with cold water. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. If your eggs were cold (just out of the fridge), let them boil for one minute. If they were room temperature, turn the heat off just after it reaches a rolling boil. After the one minute of boiling (for cold eggs), turn the heat off and cover with a lid. Let the eggs sit for exactly 15 minutes (use a timer) then place the pot in the sink and run cold water over them for one minute to stop the cooking process. This should yield the perfect hard boiled egg.

STEP 3: While the potatoes and eggs are boiling away, rinse and finely dice the celery and green onions.

STEP 4: While the potatoes and eggs are cooling, mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, relish and red wine vinegar in a bowl. Sprinkle on a little Tony's or seasoning salt, mix and taste test for more. Once you have the dressing to your liking, mix in the chopped celery and onion. Remember, you want your dressing to be a little on the strong side because once it mixes with the starchy potatoes it will mellow out.

STEP 5: Peel and dice the hard boiled eggs. Mix the potatoes and eggs into the dressing. Taste the mixture to test for any additional seasoning needed. Refrigerate until cold then serve! YUM.


Step By Step Photos


Peel and cube 3 lbs. of potatoes. I had four softball-sized potatoes which was just under 3 lbs. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Meanwhile, boil your eggs (no pics, sorry).


While the potatoes and eggs cook, clean and dice your celery and green onions. The easiest way to finely dice celery is to cut the stalk in half to make a manageable length then slice each piece into long, thin strips. Next, cut the thin strips crosswise to yield a very small dice.


In a large bowl combine the mayonnaise, mustard, relish, red wine vinegar and pepper. Add the Tony's or seasoning salt to taste.


Stir the chopped onions and celery into the dressing.


Finally, stir in the chopped hard boiled eggs and cooked potatoes. Chill the salad until you are ready to serve!



NOTE: Check out this potato primer for other varieties that would be good to use in place of the yukon gold.

If you want a simplified potato salad, you could just knock the ingredient list down to these few things: potatoes, mayo, mustard, relish and salt, tony's or seasoning salt. Of course, it wouldn't be as mind-blowing as the recipe above but it might do in a pinch!