I stole this recipe for Classic American Potato Salad from the June 2017 issue of Food Network Magazine. Potato salad is a summer staple at parties. This recipe is easy to follow and is best made the day before serving. Potatoes are peeled and cubed before being boiled. The cooked potatoes are tossed with salt and vinegar to flavor the potatoes while they cool. Mayonnaise is mixed with sour cream, mustard, sugar and brine from a pickle jar. Chopped pickles, celery, scallions and parsley are next added to the mayonnaise mixture. The cooled potatoes are added into the mayonnaise mixture. Hard boiled eggs are folded in last. After covering, this finished American potato salad is refrigerated several hours or overnight.
Did you know? The idea of using mayonnaise, hard boiled eggs, sweet gherkins, onions and whatever the palate craves is wholly unique to the American potato salad. In 1886 a cookbook published two versions of potato salad; this was the first publication to distinguish “American potato salad.”⁴ (see more trivia in the Trivia tab)
August 19th is National Potato Day and making Classic American Potato Salad is a great way to celebrate (to see more Food Holidays see the National Food Holidays category or look at the Food Holiday Calendar).
Put 3 large eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, and then remove from the heat and let sit, covered 10 minutes.
Drain the eggs and run under cold water until cool; peel, chop and set aside.
Put 2 lbs russet potatoes that have been peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes in a large saucepan; cover with cold water and season with 1 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar and ½ tsp salt; toss. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
Whisk 1 cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup sour cream, 2 tbsp pickle brine, 2 tbsp yellow mustard and ½ tsp sugar in a small bowl.
Stir in ⅓ cup chopped dill pickles, 3 chopped celery stalks, 4 thinly sliced scallions and ¼ cup chopped parsley.
Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the potatoes and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add the hard-boiled eggs and gently stir to combine.
Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with paprika just before serving.
Classic American Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 lbs russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ⅓ cup chopped dill pickles plus 2 tbsp brine
- 2 tbsp yellow mustard
- ½ tsp sugar
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- Freshly ground pepper
- Paprika for topping
Instructions
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Put the potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with cold water and season with 1 tsp salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the vinegar and ½ tsp salt; toss. Let cool slightly, about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, put the eggs in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil, and then remove from the heat and let sit, covered 10 minutes. Drain the eggs and run under cold water until cool; peel, chop and set aside.
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Whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, pickle brine, mustard and sugar in a small bowl. Stir in the pickles, celery, scallions and parsley. Spoon the mayonnaise mixture over the potatoes and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Add the hard-boiled eggs and gently stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Sprinkle with paprika just before serving.