Jul 07 2009
No-recipe Potato Salad
A number of the people in my life are amazing cooks, especially for events where they need to feed tons of people. Unfortunately they rarely follow recipes which makes it hard to share their culinary creations. They have, however, been quite generous in teaching me how to recreate some of their specialities. Below is a staple at any bar-b-que at our house: potato salad. So far, my hubby likes it better than any other potato salad he’s had (including at awesome bar-b-que restaurants) and in my book, that’s the best endorsement it can get. 
The secret is in not following the recipe. I’ve included estimates for quantities (for “small” and “normal” batches) but it turns out best when you experiment and adjust it to your own tastes. (Note: we make our version fairly sweet. Also, like so much food, it tends to taste better on the second day so feel free to make it ahead of time.)
- Skin and chop russett potatoes into ~1 inch pieces (for a “small” batch, which feeds 6 people with a moderate amount of leftovers, I will use about 2.5 lb. or about 5 good sized potatoes; for a “normal” batch, I’d use a full 5 lb. bag; I’ve been known to cook up to 10 lbs though.) Place in large stockpot.
- Add eggs (6 for a “small” batch, 12 for a “normal” batch) on top of potatoes. Cover potatoes and eggs with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and walk away. Come back after you shower or clean the house or something. (The potatoes should be easy to pierce with a fork.)
- Drain and let the potatoes and eggs cool off. If you’re in a hurry you can run cold water over them, but I prefer just to leave myself plenty of time.
- Shell eggs and either chop finely or use your hands and squish them into small pieces. Place them in a LARGE mixing bowl along with the potatoes.
- Add in sweet pickle relish to taste. (I use a 10 oz. jar for a “small” batch, almost a full 24 oz. jar for a “normal” batch.)
This is about the proportion of potatoes, eggs and relish that I go for:
- Finely chop 2 – 3 stalks of celery (for small batch, double for normal) and add to bowl.
- Stir until ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Grab a large soup spoon and a jar of mayonaise. (I’ve been trying to be healthier so have been experimenting. Going with Light Mayo is ok, going with fat free mayo or Miracle Whip is a sin.) Add a couple of scoops to the bowl (probably ends up working out to about a cup) and stir. Keep adding mayo a scoop at a time until it’s a consistency that you like (i.e., for chunky salad use less, for creamy use more).
- Add yellow mustard. Again, start with a small amount and add more until it reaches the color and flavor that you like. Mine is usually a light yellow. You could keep going until you reach a sunshine yellow if you so choose.
- Next grab a small handfull (maybe around 1/8 cup for a “small” batch?) of sugar and sprinkle it on top of the mixture. Stir. (Again, you can keep adding more if you like yours sweet.)
- Finally, grab some salt and add 1 – 2 tsp., adjusting for taste. Stir.
- Taste. Adjust ingredients as appropriate.
- If you like your potato salad room temperature, serve immediately. Otherwise, chill and serve.
Random side note, for some reason this stuff tastes great when you eat it side-by-side with baked beans. Put a little of each on your fork and enjoy. Just trust me on that one.
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I like “no recipe” recipes! ;D
I’ve never been big on sweet relish, though, so I may have to try this before committing to a whole batch! ;p
I used this as a guideline to make super-basic potato salad. Just potatoes, green & red onions, mayo, Gulden’s brown mustard, sugar and salt.
It was AMAZING. ;D