Blue Ribbon Potato Salad
By Kevin Callaghan of Acme
“It’s so nice to have dynamite potato salad in the refrigerator, especially in the spring and summer. It makes dinner so easy and so good. Add a quickly grilled pork chop, some sliced tomatoes and chilled, sliced cucumber and onions in vinegar, and you are set. Simple and delicious.”
- 1 sweet Vidalia onion, minced
- 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tsp., divided
- 1 3/4 cup Duke’s mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 2/3 cup sweet or dill relish, drained (I like dill relish with hamburgers and sweet relish with fish)
- 1 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
- 8 hard-boiled eggs
- 5 lb. farmers market potatoes (Yukon Gold potatoes will do)
- Salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste
- Optional: Paprika or hot, chopped bacon
All best if made ahead.
DRESSING
Place minced Vidalia onion into a shallow, nonreactive bowl. Add vinegar and 2 teaspoons sugar and mix well. Set aside for 15 minutes.
In a glass bowl, mix Duke’s, mustards, relish, and sugar. Set aside.
Stir together onion-vinegar mixture with celery and rest of dressing.
EGGS
Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook eggs for 12 minutes. Remove from water and place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Once cool, peel and chop eggs using an egg slicer. Cover and refrigerate.
POTATOES
Heat oven to 300 F.
Cut potatoes into uniformly sized cubes. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season liberally with salt (the water should taste like the sea). This is crucial. Then add potatoes all at once and cook until done. This should take about 15-20 minutes (size of cubes will determine cook time). But checking occasionally is smart as overcooked potatoes are the downfall of most potato salads. When ready, remove from water and drain in a colander.
Then spread potatoes evenly on a sheet pan and place in oven for 10-15 minutes. The point is to dry the potatoes and give them better texture in the salad. Check at 10 minutes to see if the potatoes are ready. Remove potatoes from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
ASSEMBLY
In a large bowl, fold potatoes, dressing and chopped eggs together. Do not overmix and tragically mash the potatoes. You want good bites of potato in the salad. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste. Refrigerate covered for several hours or until cool. Garnish with paprika or hot, chopped bacon.
