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This really IS one of the best potato salad recipes ever!
This recipe for Jack’s Potato Salad is one of the reasons we started blogging. We originally started A Family Feast as a fun way to share our most-requested recipes with family and friends – and Jack’s potato salad is one of those recipes that we get asked for anytime Jack makes it! It’s so good…in fact, I’ve often told Jack that we should go into business selling this potato salad!
Jack’s potato salad is a mixture of tender-cooked new red potatoes and hard-boiled eggs that are combined with a wonderful dressing made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, onion, white and cider vinegar, sugar and other seasonings. It’s the perfect marriage of flavors – creaminess from the mayonnaise, a little bit of zestiness from the mustard and vinegar, and a touch of sweetness from the sugar.
At our barbeques, you’ll most often find me with just a big plateful of Jack’s fabulous potato salad to eat and a big, satisfied smile on my face!
There are two secrets to this perfect potato salad. The first is to oil the hot potatoes as you cut them. This seals out the liquid and stops them from getting too soggy. The second secret is to mix the mayonnaise mixture separate from the potatoes and add it to the hot oiled potatoes. Next, the warm mixture is quickly chilled on a flat pan so that it cools faster, then it’s transferred to a bowl once chilled.
You can actually adjust the ingredients you put in the potato salad (eggs or no eggs, onion or no onion, etc.) based on your own tastes and preferences. Just be sure to follow Jack’s general technique to ensure that the potatoes stay perfectly moist and tender without getting too mushy.
Enjoy!
You may like these other summertime salads:
- Macaroni Salad
- BLT Panzanella (Bread Salad)
- Coleslaw
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad
- Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Sweet and Sour Bacon Dressing
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Jack’s Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 pounds new red potatoes, skin left on
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 6 room-temperature uncooked eggs
- 3 tablespoons white vinegar, divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 cup finely minced sweet onion
- 2 teaspoons celery salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 cups mayonnaise (we recommend Hellmann’s or homemade)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup canola oil
Instructions
- Place washed unpeeled potatoes in a large pot and cover with water to about 6 inches above potatoes. Add one tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Reduce to a medium boil and boil for 30 to 40 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. Prick with a fork to tell when they are done.
- While potatoes are cooking, bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add the 1 ½ tablespoons of white vinegar, and gently add the whole eggs in with a slotted spoon being careful not to crack the shells. Boil rapidly for five minutes. Turn off heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 15 minutes.
- Drain the eggs and shake the pan back and forth to crack the shells. Under running water remove the shells. Roughly chop the eggs in large pieces and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the other 1 ½ tablespoons of white vinegar, cider vinegar, onions, celery salt, pepper, poppy seeds, sugar, mustard and mayonnaise. Set aside and refrigerate.
- Mix both oils together in a measuring cup or other small container.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, leave them in the hot water and remove one at a time with a slotted spoon to your cutting board. Cut potatoes into chunks and place in large bowl.
- Once you are a quarter of the way through cutting the hot potatoes, pour one quarter of the mixed oil over the cut potatoes and gently combine. Continue with cutting and oiling until all of the oil and potatoes are in the large bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise mixture to the hot oiled potatoes and gently mix. Add the cooked eggs and gently mix.
- Now pour the entire contents out onto a sheet pan spreading evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled to below 40 degrees. Once cool enough remove potato salad to your serving container and enjoy.
- If serving this outside, try to keep shaded and, as an added precaution, place a bowl of ice (larger than the bowl you are using) under the bowl of potato salad to keep it chilled while serving. Place leftovers in the refrigerator as soon as you have finished serving.
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I used to buy the fantastic Jack’s Potato Salad at Kroger’s in Dublin and in Hilliard OHIO, For some reason Kroger’s has stopped carrying the product. Why? Employees at the store don’t know why. Employees said that the Kroger’s store sold a ton of it . Where can I buy it locally? Please help.
Hi Brian – We have nothing to do with Kroger’s potato salad…this recipe is my husband Jack’s potato salad recipe. Sorry – you’ll want to reach out to Kroger for information.
Hi Martha,
I want to know if I could use the olive oil on the potatoes when they are cooled. This recipe looks (and by the reviews) it is a great recipe. I have never heard of oil being used in potato salad before. It sounds wonderful though!! This is the first time reading your blog and so far looks great!!
Thank you!!😊
Oiling the cut potatoes while they are hot seals the potato and prevents them from getting soggy because they absorb a bit of the oil. You could oil them cold but I think the potato salad itself would be oily and the potatoes a bit soggy.
Thank you for visiting,
Jack
Your recipe looks wonderful. Unfortunately I need 4 serving recipes.
If this is of any help, I divided the recipe by 6 which would yield about 3-4 portions.
¾ pound of potatoes, skin-on (new reds or other thin-skinned varieties)
1 egg
Olive (or other) oil to coat potatoes
¾ teaspoon white vinegar
¾ cup mayonnaise (we prefer Hellman’s)
¼ cup, Spanish onion, finely chopped
Pinch white pepper
1/3 teaspoon salt
Pinch teaspoon poppy seeds
¾ teaspoon white vinegar
¾ teaspoon cider vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar depending on your taste
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
This was very delicious & easy to make. A hit with the family. Also great with cut up bacon pieces added to it. For those who said the mayo mixture was soupy or thin, you can easily thicken it by sprinkling in dried potato flakes (used for making instant mashed potatoes) just don’t add too much because over time they will continue to absorb moisture.
★★★★★
Great idea Suzanne!
Couldn’t you just chill the potatoes and boiled eggs before mixing everything so that you don’t have to spread the whole thing out on a baking sheet in the fridge?
Hi, this is Jack. You could do as you suggest and I have tried it that way however it just doesn’t come out as good. Having the mixture warm, and then chilled already mixed, really makes a difference in the final consistency and overall texture and taste. Chilling the potatoes first and mixing after, to me, tastes like cooked potatoes with a mayonnaise dressing on them. Thanks for asking.
I take back my original post. When I first made this and tasted it, I was not fond of it. However, once it sat over night it took on different flavors and it then tasted very good. I guess it is something you have to let sit over night.
Hi Heather – My apologies for the delay in responding to both of your emails – we just turned from a family vacation last night. We appreciate receiving reader feedback (even if it isn’t the most positive!) – food and recipes are very subjective and (as long as a comment isn’t overly offensive) everyone is welcome to share their opinions because it helps other readers decided if this recipe is right for them. Anyway – I’m glad you were happy with the potato salad in the end and it didn’t go to waste. Thank you for writing back.
Sorry, I did not like this recipe. The dressing taste like miracle whip by the time you are done with it. I do not care for miracle whip and therefore I thought it was a waste of 5lbs of potatoes and all other ingredients. If you want a dressing that taste like this save yourself some money and go out and buy miracle whip instead of mayonnaise with all the added ingredients.
Love it
Thanks Suzanne!
Only a teaspoon of mustard? Seems like you wouldn’t be able to taste it.
We hope you’ll give the recipe a try Lisa! And feel free to add more mustard if you’d like.
Yum! sounds delish. You could also shred a bbq chicken and add to it to make a main meals..
Great idea Kerry!