Potato salad is perfect picnic fare, but it is a good side dish any time of year, dressed and garnished in various styles to suit the season. Julia’s American-style potato salad is garnished with hard-boiled eggs and crisp bacon bits, chopped pickles, onions and celery, all given a light coating of homemade mayonnaise. Make this at least an hour ahead of time so the flavors have time to ripen, and serve it cool or at room temperature.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 27 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 12 min |
| Yield: | About 6 cups, serving 4 to 6 |
Ingredients
- 2 pounds large Yukon Gold potatoes, or other waxy, boiling potatoes
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup chicken stock or potato-cooking water
- 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 3 or 4 slices crisply cooked bacon, chopped or crumbled
- 2 to 3 Tbs finely chopped pickle, sweet or dill
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced thin
- 3 Tbs or so finely chopped fresh chives or scallions, including a bit of their tender green
- Salt and freshly ground white pepper
- 1 cup or so mayonnaise, homemade if possible
- Sour cream, optional
- Crisp whole red-leaf or other lettuce leaves
- Canned red pimiento, diced
- Sliced hard-boiled eggs
- Tomato quarters
- Parsley sprigs
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and slice each one lengthwise in half, or in quarters if very large; then cut crosswise into half-round or quarter-round slices, about 1/2 inch thick.
- Put the slices in a saucepan with water just to cover and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water. Heat to a simmer, and cook the potatoes for 5 to 6 minutes, or until just cooked through. It is essential that they be just cooked through. Bite into a slice or two to be very sure. Immediately remove from the heat and drain the potatoes into a colander, but save a cup of the cooking liquid for dressing the potatoes. Transfer bowl. Stir the cider vinegar with 1/3 cup of the potato water or chicken stock and drizzle this over the potato pieces, turning them gently to distribute it evenly. Let sit 10 minutes to absorb the liquid.
- Add the prepared onion, celery, bacon, pickle, hard-boiled eggs, and chives, and season carefully, to taste. Top with 2/3 cup of mayonnaise (or a mix of mayonnaise and a bit of sour cream) and, with a large rubber spatula, gently fold everything together until well blended. Taste the salad and add more salt, pepper, or mayonnaise as needed.
- Cover the salad and set aside in the refrigerator for at least an hour or so before serving. If it is refrigerated longer, let it come back to room temperature before serving. Taste and adjust the seasoning again.
- To serve, line a bowl or a platter with red-leaf lettuce or other greens, and mound the salad on top. Decorate at the last moment, if you wish, with any or all of the optional garnishes.
Reviews
This is my go to recipe but this time my boyfriend got yellow potatoes thinking they’re the same as Yukon gold ♀️ I cut em in half and boiled em for about 13 minutes with lots of beef better than bullion and then peeled after and cut those in half. I only had dried chives so I put those in when I added the water and vinegar so they could soften up a bit. I cut the potates up more in the bowl then used a metal masher on them just a bit after the fixins and stirring, before I added the mayo and this helped the texture a bit but I would’ve peeled em and cut em smaller before the boil. Added in some MSG (thanks uncle roger) and it was pretty good! May try adding capers next time! Love Miss Julia, all her shows are now on YouTube including this recipe!
Perfect potato salad. After fixing this recipe dozens of times I’ve only made two little changes.
I now use unpeeled redskin potatoes and don’t add any water or broth.
A little additional sour cream is all that is necessary to thin the recipe down a bit.
I now use unpeeled redskin potatoes and don’t add any water or broth.
A little additional sour cream is all that is necessary to thin the recipe down a bit.
My go to potato salad recipe. Love this one!
Overly, unnecessarily complicated
Excellent potatoe salad, I used the fingerling potatoes, and a local bacon that was apple smoked. Sooooo good!!!!
very good.
But, this is the best potato salad I have ever tasted! The bacon and egg add great flavor and texture, and the pickles add just a hint of yummy saltiness. So delicious!
This has to be the most heavenly potato salad ever. I tried it for my finicky in-laws and was extremely pleased with t he results. I used Duke’s mayo and added probably about 3 Tbsp of sour cream. It was gone before I had a chance to go back for seconds. Definitely a winner!!
Love potato salad at our house and having tried numerous ones this is rated at the top of the list by the family.
This is a great tasting potato salad. Please be careful peeling the Yukon Gold’s, I cut myself very badly, and my 18 y.o. tried it and did the exact same thing. So, be aware it’s not the same as peeling an Idaho.