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Mrs. McDaniel's Potato Salad is simply the best!
Here's an all-American side dish for July 4th! Potato salad isn’t cheap to buy from the deli, and after you taste this version, you’ll never even think of purchasing it again – at any price! When I tasted this potato salad for the first time nearly two decades ago, I thought it was perhaps the best on the planet.
When my husband first took a bite, this is what he said: “Usually when you eat potato salad, well, you’re just eating potato salad. This elevates potato salad to a whole new dimension.”
The recipe comes from a seriously fine Southern cook, Janice McDaniel of Fayetteville, N.C. (That's me with Mrs. McDaniel in her kitchen a couple of summers ago.) She uses watermelon rind pickles when she has them, so feel free to chop some up if you have them!
Another really great thing about this recipe is that you don't have to peel the potatoes, so it's much quicker to make than you might guess. The main secret to success with this salad is to mix the dressing with the potatoes while they’re still warm (but not hot), then don’t taste to correct the seasonings until the salad cools. Once cool, the entire dish mellows.
This salad just isn’t the same without real mayonnaise, and it’s definitely worth the calories in this particular case. This recipe may be doubled if you’re serving a crowd.
What's your favorite way to make potato salad?
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Mrs. McDaniel's Southern Potato Salad
When I first tasted this potato salad two decades ago, I thought it was the best on the planet. My husband said: “This elevates potato salad to a whole new dimension.”
Read full recipe.
Next post: Old-Fashioned Snickerdoodles are great for any celebration!
Comments
From Gigi, via Facebook:
This is almost exactly like the recipe I use, which everyone loves. Why anyone would ever eat potato salad (or chicken or tuna salad) in which none of the ingredients are readily discernible to the naked eye, much less the taste buds, is beyond me.
I had read this recipe and I am so impressed with this. I think it is the most easy and delicious recipe. I can’t wait to make it up to 4th July. Surely gonna make this today and hope my children like this.
OK, so that’s not potato salad she is whipping up in the picture…what chocolate yummy is she making?
It’s Old-Fashioned Fudge Frosting!
From Paul of Miami, via Facebook:
Made this for 4th of July and it was great!
Our family tradition has always been to make red potato salad, with the skin on, of course and a little dill added. When I started eating potato salad the rest of the world made it just wasn’t the same. All creamy and a little mushy.
I glad that the southern style is finally making it’s way out into the rest of world.
I just made a batch of this for dinner tonight, and my red potatoes turned out not to be as fresh as I would have liked. So—you don’t peel the potatoes, but you should cut out any large eyes or any blemishes or dark spots!