Potato Salad Made Easy

Do you avoid making potato salad because you assume it’s a long, time-consuming task?

Surprise!

With the right recipe, tools, and tricks, making potato salad is downright easy.

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My Story

Decades ago, I needed to come up with a dish to take to a church get-together. It needed to be a dish that was easy to make, but not expensive.

I settled on a recipe for potato salad that I found in an age old cookbook I had in my cabinet.

I had never made potato salad, and it wasn’t one of my favorite dishes, but since I could make a lot of it, without incurring much expense, I decided it was worth a shot.

My first go round was labor intensive, but the end product was a hit.

Over the years, I have tweaked the recipe until it’s uniquely mine and learned many tricks to shorten the process.

Potato salad is now my go to for any gathering, and I claim making it as my one and only superpower.

I can easily make ten pounds of potato salad in less than an hour.

So, I’m not kidding when I say, with the right recipe, tools and tricks, making potato salad is downright easy.

Start with the Right Tools

I only get to claim making potato salad as a super power due to two tools; a potato peeler, and a potato dicer.

Without these two tools, the process is much more labor intensive.

Potato Peeler

A good potato peeler is the first time saver.

Of course, peeling with a knife works, it just makes the process more labor-intensive.

A fancy peeler isn’t required; a basic model will do.

I currently use a basic Faberware Pro 2 Vegetable Peeler and it works perfectly.

Potato Dicer

This is the tool about which I am much pickier, and I have a definite preference.

My potato dicer of choice is a Prep Works 3-Blade Slice and Dice Chopper.

I am on my second dicer, having used the first one for at least a decade before it bit the dust.

Using a potato dicer ensures evenly sized pieces, allowing the potatoes to all cook at the same rate.

Plus, when the potato salad is served, the uniform size makes for a pretty impressive dish.

The beauty of this tool is that it does so much more than dice potatoes.

The Tricks

Pick Your Potato

The kind of potato you use makes a difference.

My preference is Russet potatoes.

The trick to keep them from getting mushy is to not overcook (see below)

Peel Before Boiling

Peel and dice the potatoes before boiling them.

However, do not add them to the hot or boiling water as you peel.

Instead, put them in a bowl of cold water until all the potatoes are peeled and ready to transfer to the boiling water.

Boiling the Potatoes

Before adding the potatoes to the water, bring the water to a full boil.

Once the water boils, drain the cold water off the potatoes, and add the potatoes to the boiling water all at once. (Stand back far enough to keep from getting splashed with boiling water.)

Timing is Crucial

Leave the potatoes in the water until they are barely fork tender.

Small diced potatoes take approximately eleven minutes to reach this point.

Note: Once the potatoes are added, the water will no longer be boiling. It doesn’t matter, start the timer.

Weigh on the side of less done, rather than more done. Otherwise, you will end up with mashed potato salad.

Drain and Cool

Once the potatoes are done, drain and place them, single layer, on a cookie sheet to cool.

Mayonnaise Matters

I’m not always a brand snob, but in this instance I am.

My preferred brand of mayo is Kraft.

Funny Story: My mom and sister had a show down on this particular point. My sister won, and Kraft prevailed. (It’s only funny to me, not them, which makes it even funnier!)