Potato Salad
also called deli potato salad · american potato salad · creamy potato salad · mustard potato salad · tater salad
- Deli
- Meat and Three
- serves 8
- about 2 hr 50 min
- Salads
Three ways to read this recipe
The table
| 3 lb(1.35 kg, skin on, in even pieces)yellow potatoes | boil the potatoes 20 min | cut warm, splash with vinegar, rest 10 min | fold in the crunch and the egg | chill 2 hr |
| 4 qt(3.8 L)water | ||||
| 2 Tbskosher salt | ||||
| 2 Tbscider vinegar | ||||
| 1 cup(240 mL)mayonnaise | whisk the dressing | |||
| 2 Tbsyellow mustard | ||||
| 1/2 tspcelery seed | ||||
| 1 tspkosher salt | ||||
| 1/2 tspblack pepper | ||||
| 2 ribs(diced small)celery | ||||
| 1/2 small(diced fine)yellow onion | ||||
| 1/4 cup(chopped)dill pickle | ||||
| 3(chopped)hard-boiled eggs | ||||
What to lay out
Everything the recipe asks for, sitting under the step that eats it. Tick each one as you measure it.13 things to get out.
1boil the potatoes 20 min
2whisk the dressing
3cut warm, splash with vinegar, rest 10 min
goes in with what step 1 made
4fold in the crunch and the egg
goes in with what steps 2 and 3 made
Cooking it
Tap a step when it is done; the next one lights up.
The clock
- Start to finish
- at least 2 hr 30 mintwo waits that overlap count once
- Needs you
- none givenof the steps that give a time
2 of the 5 steps never say how long they take, so both numbers are floors. The recipe itself says 2 hr 50 min.
boil the potatoes 20 min
20 minwalk awayfrom the start
whisk the dressing
not timedfrom the start
cut warm, splash with vinegar, rest 10 min
10 minwalk away20 min in
fold in the crunch and the egg
not timed30 min in
chill 2 hr
2 hrwalk away30 min in
- you can walk away
- never timed
Drawn to scale, so a long wait really does take up the room it takes. The shortest stretches keep a sliver so they stay visible; their times are printed beside them.
Goes with
See how it is written
>> title: Potato Salad
>> category: Salads
>> tags: potato, mayonnaise, eggs, side, make-ahead
>> counters: Deli, Meat and Three
>> aka: deli potato salad, american potato salad, creamy potato salad, mustard potato salad, tater salad
>> pairs-with: mayonnaise, coleslaw, sour-dill-pickles
>> servings: 8
>> time: 2 hr 50 min
>> step.1: boil the potatoes 20 min
>> step.2: cut warm, splash with vinegar, rest 10 min
>> step.3: whisk the dressing
>> step.4: fold in the crunch and the egg
>> step.5: chill 2 hr
Boil @yellow potatoes{3%lb}(1.35 kg, skin on, in even pieces) in @water{4%qt}(3.8 L) with @kosher salt{2%Tbs} and ~boil{20%min} from cold, until a knife goes into the middle without the outside falling apart. Waxy potatoes, not russets: a baking potato dissolves into the dressing and turns the whole tub to paste.
Cut @&(~1)drained potatoes{} into rough inch pieces while they are still too hot to hold comfortably, splash @cider vinegar{2%Tbs} over them and ~rest{10%min}. A warm potato drinks vinegar and a cold one wears it — this one step is the difference between potato salad that tastes seasoned through and potato salad that tastes like mayonnaise.
Whisk @mayonnaise{1%cup}(240 mL), @yellow mustard{2%Tbs}, @celery seed{1/2%tsp}, @kosher salt{1%tsp} and @black pepper{1/2%tsp} smooth.
Fold @&(~1)dressing{} into @&(~2)dressed potatoes{} with @celery{2%ribs}(diced small), @yellow onion{1/2%small}(diced fine), @dill pickle{1/4%cup}(chopped) and @hard-boiled eggs{3}(chopped), keeping the spoon under and over rather than stirring, so the potatoes stay in pieces.
Chill @&(~1)potato salad{} ~chill{2%hr} before serving, and taste it again cold — cold dulls salt, so it will want a little more than it did in the bowl. Dust the top with paprika, which is what the case does, and eat it within three days.