In the 50s and 60s, every Southern country cook had her own variation of classic, homemade potato salad. If you didn’t have one, you got one. Miss Party’s Mom was no exception. These days not so much, it’s easier for everyone (including Mom) to order a quart at the deli to take to the barbecue.
Unfortunately, though, Miss Party almost always comes away disappointed with deli, store-bought and restaurant variations. If you do too or have never actually made your own, give this good, old, ‘tried and true’ potato salad recipe a try. This particular recipe has hung in there for half a century, it must be doin’ somethin’ right!
Note: Miss Party has updated the original recipe to make it a bit less time consuming to prepare and a bit healthier to enjoy.
*Hard-boil the eggs one day before preparing potato salad or earlier in the day and refrigerate them. Cold hard-boiled eggs will dice much better than warm eggs.
Serves 18-20
5 lb red potatoes, washed
1 large yellow onion, minced
1 cup celery, diced
8 large eggs, hard-boiled, cooled and diced
1 cup (8 oz.) organic sweet pickle relish or 1 cup organic sweet pickles, diced
2 Tbsp. sweet pickle juice
Kosher salt (1 tsp. Kosher salt for potato water + 1/2 tsp. for cooked potatoes + 1/4 tsp. for dressing)
Dressing:
1 cup (good quality) low-fat mayonnaise (Miss Party prefers Low-fat Hellmann’s Mayonnaise)
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1) Cover clean potatoes with water, add 1 tsp. salt. Bring water to a boil and continue boiling until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain (do not rinse) and set aside to cool.
2) While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the other vegetables and dice the eggs. (Everything can be placed in one medium mixing bowl until needed.)
3) In a small mixing bowl, prepare the dressing. Set aside.
4) When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, dice into medium-sized pieces. Place potatoes into a large mixing bowl and immediately sprinkle with a 1/2 tsp. Kosher salt. Add diced eggs and pickle juice; lightly toss.
5) To the potato mixture, add onion, celery, sweet pickle relish (or diced sweet pickles) and dressing. Fold ingredients at few times, then mix gently to keep from breaking up potato chunks, until combined.
Place in a sealed plastic container and refrigerate until ready to serve. Due to the eggs and mayonnaise do not leave unrefrigerated for more than 1 hour.
