The great potato salad debate

Potato salad: It’s a must as any backyard barbecue. It’s also one of the most controversial dishes on the table, seeing as everyone has an opinion as to how it should be made.

Did you deviate from grandma’s family recipe? What kind of potatoes do you use? Is there mayo in this?! No mayo?! Do I taste dill?!?

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But instead of trying to please everyone at the cookout (a near impossibility), it’s simply smarter to make sure you’re getting the most out of your ingredients, flavor-wise.

Staci Mergnethal, the recipe blogger behind Random Sweets, visited Nexstar’s KELO to share her tips and tricks for pairing potatoes with flavors that complement each other.

“You may have your family recipe, but even if you do, and you want to try something different, I want you to think mix-and-match,” Mergenthal said.

Mergenthal’s favorite recipes include those that are dressed using mayo or sour cream, or those dressed with an oil and an acid — the latter of which might include lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or even pickle juice. After that, she said, you can play around and experiment with textures and flavors, adding ingredients like eggs, cucumber or crumbled bacon.

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Ready to try it for yourself? Check out two of Mergnethal’s recipes below, then watch the video above for more potato-salad pointers.

Grandma Mergenthal’s potato salad

Yield: 12–15 servings

Ingredients

5 pounds small red potatoes
2 teaspoons salt
6-8 hard boiled eggs, chopped
6-8 large radishes, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 small cucumber unpeeled, diced
1 medium white onion, diced
1 bunch green onions, diced (for color and garnish)
2-3 Tablespoons sugar
Salt and pepper (fresh cracked black pepper if you have it)
8 ounces sour cream
15 ounces Hellman’s mayonnaise
1–2 Tablespoons French’s mustard, to suit your taste

Instructions

In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and add 2 teaspoons of salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and continue cooking just until potatoes are starting to become tender, but still firm (about 10 to 15 minutes, depending on size). Drain and allow to cool.
Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the eggs, radishes, celery, cucumber and white onion. Throw in all but a handful of diced green onion. Sprinkle with sugar, salt and pepper.
In a separate bowl, whip together sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard.
Toss the dressing with the vegetables, stirring to coat evenly. If not creamy enough, mix up additional dressing. Refrigerate overnight for best flavor.
When ready to serve, garnish with reserved green onion.

Bacon and red wine vinaigrette potato salad

Yield: 6–8 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds small new potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup green bell pepper, diced
½ cup green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ cup cooked and crumbled bacon

Instructions

In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and add 1 tsp of salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high and continue cooking just until potatoes are fork-tender. Do not overcook. (anywhere from 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes) Drain.
Cut potatoes in halves or quarters (depending on potato size). Place in a large bowl. Add the parsley, green pepper, and green onion.
In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.
Toss the dressing into the vegetables while the potatoes are still warm. Let sit at room temperature for one hour. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered up, to 1 day. Before serving, let sit at room temperature for one hour.
Top with crumbled bacon before serving.