Baby Red Bliss Potato Salad with Bacon, Eggs, Red Onion and Celery ~

Baby red bliss potato salad ~

I have been eating potato salad since I was little.  I am, afterall, half Irish.  The problem I find with potato salad, is there are a lot of mediocre recipes out there.  So, I set out on a mission a few years back to maKe really delicious potato salad.  And with this recipe and techniques, so can you.  My family and friends love my potato salad and it's requested whenever we have summer get togethers.  I can't think of a nicer compliment.

First, remember, potatoes need to be cooked slowly so they don't get too soggy.  Bring your water to a boil and turn it down to low.  Another tip, check the potatoes after 15 minutes, with a very thin blade of a knife.  Once the knife goes through the potato without any hesitation, your potatoes are cooked.  If you cook your potatoes correctly, you have won most of the battle with potato salad.

Secondly, dice your salad ingredients small, very small.  No one wants to bite into a big piece of onion, or a bland piece of potato.  So dice your potatoes about 1/2" cubes.

Also, putting less mayonaise in to start is an almost guarantee you'll do well.  You can always add more, but you can't remove it.  ;)

Here's the recipe:

5 pounds of baby red bliss potatoes. 6-8 eggs 5 large stalks of celery, finely chopped 1/2 large red onion, small diced 6 slices of bacon, slowly cooked and chopped 1& 1/4 cup of good mayonnaise 1/4 cup of Dijon mustard 1 T. kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper Place potatoes in bottom of a large dutch oven. Place the eggs on top of the potatoes, gently. Fill pan until the water covers everything by an inch. Bring water to a boil, and turn down to a low simmer immediately. Set timer on 15 minutes and remove eggs and set aside. Take a very thin paring knife and slide into the largest potato. It should slide through without any hesitation, to be completely done. Keep heat on low and check potatoes every few minutes. When a knife slides through the potatoes easily, drain and set aside to cool. Chop celery, onion, eggs and bacon and add to a large bowl. Finely dice the potatoes when they are cool enough to handle. Place potatoes in the bowl with the veggies, bacon and eggs. Add salt and pepper and stir. In a separate bowl, mix mayo and mustard. Pour over potato salad and gently fold everything in until it's incorporated. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight. After a few hours, check potato salad for too little mayo mix. If a little dry, then add a couple of tablespoons of mayo and a bit of mustard. Adjust salt and pepper also. Enjoy ~