Mmm, mmm, mmm, potato salad. Potato salad is the classic barbecue side dish, isn’t it? It’s also a classic side for lobster suppers and lobster rolls. Not that we’re doing much barbecuing around here lately – it’s been raining and chilly for days now, and we’re looking forward to much of the same for a few more days yet. Maybe I should have revived the casserole series for this week – it seems much more like casserole weather than potato salad weather.
Nevertheless… potato salad.
I remember coming home from school on warm June days to Mom announcing that I shouldn’t ruin my dinner by snacking because she’d made potato salad for supper and Dad would be home soon to barbecue pork chops to go with it. Those were some of the only times I didn’t mind not snacking after school. Had to save enough room for that potato salad! Mom would always put it in a nice serving bowl, sprinkle some paprika on it, and chill it in the fridge. The colder, the better.
I’m planning on posting a few potato salad recipes in the summer salad series, so I thought I’d start with the basic potato egg variety that I’m sure most people are used to.
This classic potato salad recipe has just 3 ingredients – just 3 ingredients! It’s important to note that this ratio of these 3 ingredients is tried and tested. Add in whatever you’d like, be it onion, celery, or whatever else, but keep this ratio of potatoes, eggs, and salad dressing. This recipe makes A LOT of potato salad (about 16 cups or 32 servings), enough for a pot luck, large barbecue, or a church lobster supper. The recipe scales down nicely and easily in case you aren’t looking to feed a large crowd.
[Recipe] Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 lbs potatoes
- 1 dozen eggs boiled
- 2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
Instructions
- Boil potatoes for 12-15 minutes, until tender and mashable. Mash the potatoes in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Boil eggs until well cooked. Peel boiled eggs.
- Cut the boiled eggs into large pieces and add them to the mashed potatoes.
- Mash the eggs and potatoes well.
- Add the salad dressing. Mix well.
- Chill for about 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Boil potatoes for 12-15 minutes, until tender and mashable. Mash the potatoes in a large bowl. Set aside.
Boil eggs until well cooked. To make perfect well-done boiled eggs, put the eggs in the water as soon as you turn on the burner. Once the water boils, set a timer for 6 minutes. Take the eggs off the stove after the 6 minutes and add cold water to the pot to cool the eggs.
Once the eggs are cool, peel them. Eggs will peel easily if they’ve been cooled quickly after boiling. If you try to peel them warm, you’ll run into issues. To peel eggs, I smash them on my counter and roll them under my hand, creating cracks all over the egg. The shell will come right off.
The perfect well done boiled egg (no grey edges around the yolk):
Cut the boiled eggs into large pieces and add them to the mashed potatoes.
Mash the eggs and potatoes well.
Add the salad dressing. Add any other ingredient you may desire: chopped onion, celery, herbs – whatever you like. Mix well.
Chill for about 2 hours before serving.
