Try this Best Ever Potato Salad recipe, or contribute your own.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 stalk celery finely diced
- 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes cut into small cubes (about 4 cups)
- 12 ounce package bacon cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3/4 cup mayonnaisq
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 4 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced
- 1/2 medium green pepper finely diced
- Carbohydrate 17.4226124160991 g
- Cholesterol 121.676785712751 mg
- Fat 3.49049443678254 g
- Fiber 2.13153892732001 g
- Protein 5.76980356291461 g
- Saturated Fat 1.10156586639024 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (202g)
- Sodium 71.633949566031 mg
- Sugar 15.2910734887791 g
- Trans Fat 0.608857527601455 g
- Calories 122 calories
Step-by-step
- Boil potatoes until they are fork tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the skillet and remove the pan from heat.
- Add the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and salt to the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet and whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, onion and green pepper. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and gently stir before serving. Leftovers can be stored, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Swapping red potatoes for russets fundamentally alters the final dish. Waxy red cultivars hold their shape under pressure because they contain less starch than mealy baking potatoes. They absorb dressings evenly without crumbling into mush. Cooled starches retrograde during refrigeration, which firms the cellular walls of the potato. This chemical shift makes day-old batches structurally superior to freshly tossed ones.
Kitchen Sequencing and Temperature Management
Boil the diced tubers in salted water until a paring knife slides into the center with zero resistance. Drain them thoroughly in a colander to prevent excess moisture from diluting the dressing. Render the bacon over medium-low heat to extract maximum fat without scorching the protein solids. Whisking mayonnaise directly into warm bacon drippings emulsifies the fats instantly. Pour this warm mixture over the vegetables while the potatoes are still receptive to absorption. Chill the bowl for at least two hours before serving to let the flavors coalesce.
- If the dressing breaks, whisk in a single teaspoon of warm water to rebind the emulsion.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container for a maximum of four days.
- Keep the internal refrigerator temperature at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit to maintain egg and mayonnaise safety.
