Old fashion potato salad is the perfect dish for a summer picnic or barbecue. A favorite side that is equally at home with fried chicken as BBQ ribs like these brown paper bag ribs. Plan on making salad extra since this dish is even better the next day.
Best Potatoes for Old Fashion Potato Salad
Since you want the dressing to meld with the potatoes, the variety of tubers you choose goes a long way to make a superb dish. Russet potatoes are classic for a reason, their starchy nature incorporates well with the mayonnaise and mustard, but they can break down too much after boiling. See my post for fluffy mashed potatoes for a little primer on the different types of potatoes. Yukon Gold potatoes give the best of starchiness, like the russets while holding up when cooking.
Tip: make sure you cut and blend the potatoes with the other ingredients while they are still warm since this will help the potatoes soak up the flavors and the dressing rather than becoming soupy.
Food Safety With Mayonnaise
Old fashion potato salad should be served cold. The salad contains ingredients that can spoil quickly. Make sure you keep the salad out of the food danger zone (40°F – 140°F). Any food that is left in that temperature range for more than two hours should be discarded. This rule isn’t just for mayonnaise-based foods. All food can become unsafe when unrefrigerated for longer than 2 hours. Remember that bacteria can double in as little as 20 minutes in foods stored within the food danger zone of above 40°F but below 140°F.
Tip for Serving Potato Salad at a Potluck
As long as you are mindful of how and how long you serve potato salad, it should be just fine to enjoy at home, or at a potluck. You can ease food safety concerns by placing ice in a shallow bowl and nestling the serving bowl of potato salad in the ice-filled shallow bowl.
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Old Fashion Potato Salad
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6–8 servings 1x
- Category: salad
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic old fashion potato salad is the perfect dish for a summer picnic or barbecue.
Ingredients
- 10–12 Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 2–1/2 pounds), washed
- 1 medium onion, diced, about 1 cup
- 1/4 cup dill pickles, diced, (1–2 pickles)
- 2 eggs, hard boiled, (optional)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2–3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1–2 tablespoons dill pickle juice, to taste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, add the washed unpeeled potatoes and bring the water to a low boil for 15-20 minutes, until a skewer easily pierces the potato all the way through.
- Remove the cooked potatoes from the pan and let cool for 10 minutes until cool enough to touch.
- Remove the potato peel with a paring knife. Then cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- While the potatoes are cooking, peel and cut the onions into small dice, set aside.
- Cut the pickles into small dice.
- If using hard-boiled eggs, cooked, peel and dice the eggs and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, pickle juice, kosher salt and pepper and mix well.
- Add the diced potatoes, onion, and pickle to the large bowl.
- Gently stir to combine all the ingredients well, being careful to not break the potatoes as you mix the ingredients together.
- Taste and add more mayonnaise if the salad is dry. Add more mustard or pickle juice if the potato salad tastes bland.
- Add the hard boiled eggs if using.
- Transfer the salad to the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.
- Taste and add more kosher salt and pepper as needed.
- Garnish with paprika.
Barbeque Menu
If you are planning a classic barbecue or picnic, potato salad is a natural dish. Here are a few other dishes that would make a wonderful barbecue menu:
And of course, you will want to make a large pitcher of lemonade with your meal like this recipe for Fresh Squeezed Lemonade.
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