Red Potato Salad with Bacon
Submitted by JANETDZIC
Red potato salad with bacon dresses skin-on baby reds in a vinegar-spiked mayo with crisp bacon, yellow onion, scallions, and hard-boiled eggs. The picnic side dish that disappears first.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
160 minThis is potato salad with a backbone. The trick that sets it apart is the peeled “belt” technique: a half-inch ring of skin pared off around each potato before boiling. The exposed flesh absorbs salt and dressing while the remaining skin keeps the potato structurally intact, giving you flavored interior without a mushy salad.
Red-skinned potatoes are the right choice. Their waxy flesh holds shape after boiling where russets would crumble. Small ones (under two inches) cook evenly without needing to be cut in half.
Dress the potatoes while still slightly warm, not piping hot. Warm potatoes drink in the vinegar-mayo dressing the way cold ones never will. Hot potatoes break apart when tossed.
The dry mustard is doing real work in the dressing. Half a teaspoon is enough to add a sharp, mustard-forward bite without taking over. Skip it and the salad tastes flat.
Fold the eggs in last. Stirring them in too early shreds them into a yellow mash, which looks unappetizing and ruins the textural contrast.
Pro Tips
- Cook the bacon almost crisp, not all the way. The residual heat continues cooking, and bacon in salad goes from chewy to leathery fast.
- Chill at least two hours before serving for the flavors to marry. Overnight is better.
- Reserve a couple of egg slices and bacon pieces for garnish on top.
- Use a light olive oil or neutral oil in the dressing. Extra virgin can overpower the potatoes.
Variations
- Add a tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the dressing for sharper bite.
- Stir in a quarter cup of chopped dill pickles or a tablespoon of capers for tang.
- Top with a sprinkle of smoked paprika and chopped chives for color.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash the potatoes and drain.
Using a paring knife, trim a band of the peel about ½ inch wide (depending on the size of the potatoes) around the circumference of each potato.
This will form an attractive “belt".
Boil the trimmed potatoes gently in ample, lightly salted water until just tender.
The potatoes are done as soon as they pierce easily with a sharp knife.
Carefully drain, spread on a tray, and allow to cool.
Cook the bacon in a medium sized frying pan until almost crip.
Add the onion and cook until limp.
Drain off any excess fat.
Place the cooled potatoes in a bolw along with the cooked bacon and onion, and the scallions.
In another bowl, blend together the mayonnaise, dry mustard, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper to taste add to the bowl of potatoes and toss together.
Fold in the hard-boiled eggs.
Cover and refrigerate.
Comments
