Potato Salad Fights
If you ever want to start a fight with someone, I have found the one sure-fire way to do so…potato salad. I have never seen more arguments than the ones based on the various ways to make potato salad.
The first contentious point is the most fundamental: creamy vs. chunky. I prefer my potato salad whipped to a nice, creamy consistency. Almost like mashed potatoes. I was shocked to learn that some people like to leave their potatoes sliced and/or diced. Unfortunately, this is one of those things you tend to learn after-the-fact. It’s less “I like my salad full of chunks,” and more “What are you doing?!” kind of comments.
The next big sticking point is the eggs. Some people like them (and swear they are an essential ingredient to a proper potato salad), while others refuse to touch any concoction with the slightest whiff of egg.
The rest of the arguments are relatively petty. They seem to focus on the endless permutations of add-ins…Celery, relish, onions (either raw or cooked), etc. I’ve even heard some people try to argue that you don’t need mustard in it, which seems completely ludicrous to me.
It might be minor, but it seems no two people can agree on the exact same recipe for potato salad. Oh, they’ll eat it if you put it in front of them, but they won’t enjoy it.
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Having said all that, here’s my recipe. It’s fairly simple, but with four “secret” ingredients that make it taste awesome.
I call it a 4-3-2-1 recipe (because I’m an idiot, and it’s easy to remember.) 4 medium-sized potatoes, 3 boiled eggs, 2 scoops of mayonnaise, and 1 scoop of Zataran’s creole mustard (which is secret ingredient #1.) For secret ingredient #2, I boil the potatoes in chicken stock. It gives the potatoes that extra little bit of flavor. Plus, depending on your tastes, using chicken stock means you won’t have to salt the water (I still do, but that’s b/c I want to taste the salt in my food.)
Once they’re done boiling, I mash the potatoes to about half the creamy consistency I want. That’s when I stir in the diced boiled-eggs, mayo, and creole mustard to get the consistency the rest of the way. It’s at this point that I add the final two secret ingredients: A dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of juice from an olive jar. I know it sounds icky, but it adds a little kick to the flavor that will make people go “I wonder what that is,” as opposed to “What is that?”
The first contentious point is the most fundamental: creamy vs. chunky. I prefer my potato salad whipped to a nice, creamy consistency. Almost like mashed potatoes. I was shocked to learn that some people like to leave their potatoes sliced and/or diced. Unfortunately, this is one of those things you tend to learn after-the-fact. It’s less “I like my salad full of chunks,” and more “What are you doing?!” kind of comments.
The next big sticking point is the eggs. Some people like them (and swear they are an essential ingredient to a proper potato salad), while others refuse to touch any concoction with the slightest whiff of egg.
The rest of the arguments are relatively petty. They seem to focus on the endless permutations of add-ins…Celery, relish, onions (either raw or cooked), etc. I’ve even heard some people try to argue that you don’t need mustard in it, which seems completely ludicrous to me.
It might be minor, but it seems no two people can agree on the exact same recipe for potato salad. Oh, they’ll eat it if you put it in front of them, but they won’t enjoy it.
***************************
Having said all that, here’s my recipe. It’s fairly simple, but with four “secret” ingredients that make it taste awesome.
I call it a 4-3-2-1 recipe (because I’m an idiot, and it’s easy to remember.) 4 medium-sized potatoes, 3 boiled eggs, 2 scoops of mayonnaise, and 1 scoop of Zataran’s creole mustard (which is secret ingredient #1.) For secret ingredient #2, I boil the potatoes in chicken stock. It gives the potatoes that extra little bit of flavor. Plus, depending on your tastes, using chicken stock means you won’t have to salt the water (I still do, but that’s b/c I want to taste the salt in my food.)
Once they’re done boiling, I mash the potatoes to about half the creamy consistency I want. That’s when I stir in the diced boiled-eggs, mayo, and creole mustard to get the consistency the rest of the way. It’s at this point that I add the final two secret ingredients: A dash of Worcestershire sauce, and a dash of juice from an olive jar. I know it sounds icky, but it adds a little kick to the flavor that will make people go “I wonder what that is,” as opposed to “What is that?”