Tip for making potato salad
 

Cut peeled potatoes into bite-sized pieces, barely cover with salted water, and cook until tender. Then drain the water off.

Add dressing to the potatoes while potatoes are still hot - the flavor seems to get absorbed better.

I used to cook the potatoes with their skins on and then peel them and then cut them up. It seems so much easier to do the peeling and cutting up before cooking them now.

Hmm, may try it that way next time....parboiling whole potatoes can sometimes be tricky....center may be a bit harder than should be, chunks would cook more evenly....thanks

heres a warning........last year I was peeling my celery..I really hate the strings, used to just pull them of, but dd suggested peeling. So I did, made potato salad...good the first day, left overs the next day were soupy....never happened before....made another small batch, using Hellman mayo...instead of cheaper, thinking that was the culprit...same results...potato salad soup! Then the light went on....did not peel nor string celery....perfect.....even leftovers...so never too old to learn!

This is how I do it now. It was so much easier to cool down smaller pieces than it was to wait for the whole potato. And you're right the potatoes get flavored so much better. I often just use a salad dressing instead of mixing the customary mayo and mustard. Honey mustard dressing works great or ranch for a not so sweet potato salad.

And I guess if you over cook the potatoes a bit, you've got the makings for mashed! That would be my only worry--that the pieces were too soft or broke apart while mixing. Will have to give it a try tho.

That's what I do for my sicilian potato/green bean/tomato salad with olive oil dressing. I'll have to try it for the mayo kind now too.

Another tip for salad If you put boiled egg in it. Put a couple inches of water in a jar that has a cover, add boiled egg and shake...shells fall right off!

I just tried making potatoes for salad like that and I guess I cooked them too long. I ended up making mashed potatoes. How long did you cook the potatoes? How big did you cut the potatoes? Did you leave them in big chunks?
Help. I think that is a great idea, if I can only perfect the boiling part.
Thanks in advance.

I peel potatoes, cut up boil as for mashed potatoes, drain off water. I mash them a bit (I don't like biting into cold chunk of potatoes). I add chopped onion, boiled eggs and dill pickles, add about 1 tsp. dry mustard, tsp of celery seeds, a bit of salt & pepper. Mix all together add real mayonnaise and some dill pickle juice, stir all together. I always have to have a bowl right then, I enjoy it most when it is still a bit warm. If heaven had a taste this would be it.
All my family love this.

I cut them 1/2 to 3/4 inch chunks/cubes. I do keep an eye on them so they don't overcook.

Also, some varieties of potatoes hold their shape better than others. I think we traditionally used red potatoes for potato salad because they did not mash/mush up as quickly as the brown skinned ones did.

That is how I cook the potatoes, peeled and cubed. My husband's family has always had what I call "mashed potato salad". This is how his mother made hers and not the way I grew up using the cold cooked potatoes and cubing them. So i changed my way, and now I make the famous mashed potato salad. Once in a while I get a request to make a bowl of potato salad just like husband's mother made it. You actually almost mash the potatoes with a pastry blender. Cut them up fine when still a tad warm. Then you need to add a bit of dill pickle "juice" to the salad dressing, mustard, seasonings, half and half. I have gotten used to this way. His mother was full-blooded Irish and his father was full-blooded German, so I don't know if this is from the Irish side or the German side. Or maybe it was a combination of ways as three generations lived on the home place.

I never use Russet potatoes - they don't stay firm for potato salad. Red or Yukon Gold are my choice. I also stir in about 2 Tblsp. sugar (white or brown) into dressing. "Wakes" it up, I think. DD cubes potatoes before boiling as described here. She's got 2 sons who play athletics and eat when convenient so she makes lots of potato and macaroni salad. In fact, she makes 10 pounds of potato salad at a time.

Type of potato is important. I usually use red because they hold their shape/firmness.

Been making potato salad this way for years. My German MIL taught me to add Italian dressing (Use Seven Seas from dry mix as directed along with a tablespoon of sugar and shake well in the dressing crucible that you buy with the mix) Mix in some bacon bits and some chopped chives and toss. It's pretty fast and easy and tastes like German Potato salad.

Mine is very different since the Mr and I don't love a potato salad drippy with mayo. I use unpeeled red or Yukon gold potatoes. Use hard boiled egg, finely sliced green onion and a dressing made of a little real mayo thinned with vinegar - sometimes white wine vinegar if I have it and salt and pepper to taste. No celery and no pickles or relish. And just enough dressing to put it together. Sometimes I sprinkle dill weed on it. We love it this way.

Cut redskin potatoes to wanted size, roast them in oven with rosemary and olive oil, leave skins on. Cool and make your salad.

I use the waterless cooking method. Any heavy kettle will do this for you, but if you don't have specific cookware for waterless cooking, add a few tablespoons of water. You need a tight fitting cover. Start at medium heat, and when the steam starts to escape, reduce heat to low. You have almost no water to drain off, and the vitamins are still in the potatoes, not down the drain with all that water.

Recipe, please

Oh,übe quilting, sounds good

my MIL made her own dressing
1 egg
1 scant cup sugar
pinch mustard
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Pour 1/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
over above mixture after bringing to boil
return to kettle and boil till thick

our whole family loves this

This made me smile- we used to always do this in the South, then more modern cooks convinced us the potatoes should be cooked unpeeled. The old saying is true- everything old is new again!

I make mine this way, but then do a cold water bath after draining off the hot water. Seems to keep the chunks firmer. Also add a pretty good dollop of mustard as my family likes mustard potato salad.

Just made potato salad over the weekend. You way sounds easier than the way I did it. May have to try it...

My cousin has a huge family. She makes the potato salad. She gets a 10# bag of potatoes and bakes them the day before. While that's going on she gets her celery, shredded carrots (large bag) and she puts in shredded cheese. Her family also prepares similarly. You'd think it was a restaurant. She adds red pepper flakes and it is good.

I use "new/baby" reds cut into bite size pieces & boil until tender
(but not mushy).

Since I make my "egg" potato salad I cook my eggs a day earlier
and let them cool in a bowl of ice water in the fridge (I TRY to use
7-10 day old eggs as they peel much easier for me).

For me I use Miracle Whip Salad Dressing (not mayo), and standard
yellow mustard, along with red onion.

My ex MIL passed away many many years ago, I still use this recipe to this day. She had such a lovely soul I still miss her.
I use my ex MIL's recipe for potato salad. The main ingredients are as little or as much as you need for just the family or a huge crowd.


Red potatoes
boiled eggs whites chopped up and yolks added to dressing
tomato diced
sliced olives
green onions sliced thin
sweet pickles chopped

Miracle whip
mustard yellow or dijon
garlic powder
creole seasoning
pepper
kosher salt
onion powder
The dressing has no fixed measurements it's all to taste.

Thanks for the tip. I did use Russet's and someone else said that they don't hold their shape. Will try this today, as all of this talk about potato salad has made me very hungry.

My mom always said to make the salad with warm potatoes for better flavor.

I always cut my potatoes in small chunks when making potato salad too. I find it so much easier & they cook quick. I also do it for mashed potatoes. I got into the habit years ago to save energy.

I only use red skinned potatoes for potato salad....much better taste and they hold together since not as starchy...the fresher the potato the better the salad...I cut them in half to boil and use a uniform medium size...use mayo but always add a little Dijon or Honey mustard to spice up the taste..also use at least 3 eggs for a salad for 6...

When the potatoes are done and while still hot I put all the solid salad ingredients [ potatoes veggies eggs ]and half the seasonings together and pour about half a cup of Italian dressing or ranch or French over hot mixture then stir gently. Taste and re-season if necessary. That way there are no unseasoned chunks in the mixture.You will prably need less seasoning this way. Diane C.

Our family likes the potatoes grated. A little more time than cutting in chunks, but it is tasty. So I cook my potatoes until they're tender all the way through, let them cool and then grate them. I'll probably make some this week for a picnic at the lake.

When I go through a potluck - I try to take a tiny bit of each potato salad available. I am always surprised at the variations!

In my house, Russets are for mashing only.

Mom added a good amount of real cream to her dressing and made it really runny. That's how Dad liked it. It looked like it had gone bad or something, but it really tasted good. Miss her (and her potato salad no matter how she made it !)