Potato salad without the pickles?

Unless there are people who will be attending that absolutely NEED pickles in their potato salad, I say make it anyway.

My mom makes the best potato salad and she has never used a pickle in it, in her life.

Loose ingredients and method.

boiled potatoes, tossed in a bit of white vinegar while hot.
When cool add some onion (green is nice for colour) some celery, some sliced radishes, a bunch of minced dill, season with salt and pepper and dressing which is a Miracle Whip type thinned with some more vinegar and a big dollup of yellow mustard (hot dog type). Slice some hard boiled eggs on top.

I've never had potato salad with pickles. I just cut the potatoes into chunks and steam them until still slightly firm. Then sprinkle a bit of chopped parsley and cover with a homemade mayonaise - especially one made with hot English mustard. Salad dressing will do. Some people add chopped hard-boiled eggs and/or finely chopped shallots.

I'm wondering where it is you live that you have to drive to another town to find pickles . . .


Anyway, I agree with those above who said make it without the pickles. Not all potato salad recipes call for pickles. You wouldn't happen to have any tartar sauce in the fridge, would you? That might work in a pinch if you just needed a bit of pickle relish to add to the potato salad.

alleycat said:

I'm wondering where it is you live that you have to drive to another town to find pickles . . .

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i was thinking the same thing,...


anyway, yes. make it without! around these parts you can't find a pickle in the potato salad.

mumut and kikazaru's recipes both sound pretty nice!

That's what is neat about it being a 'salad'.
You can put what ever you want in it.
I even put cherry tomatoes cut in half in mine for color and it is great.

I had no idea some people put pickles in potato salad. :/

I've never heard of pickles in potato salad. I don't think I've found them in the store-bought stuff, either.

I'm with the crowd going "pickles??"

Mind you, my mom would put a peeled, diced apple in hers. Granny smith or some other tart, firm apple. Adds an interesting crunch and it's almost impossible for people to tell what it is. But other than that, yeah, taters, green onion, celery, dill, mayo, and boiled egg. I add radishes too because I like the extra colour.

There are as many variations on potato salad as there are people chopping it up. Do it without the pickles. Some will like it, some won't, but don't make yourself nuts.

MM
whose potato salad has both sweet and dill pickles, but never pickle relish

I'm another one who doesn't add pickles.

Small potatoes boiled in their skins, finely chopped green bell pepper, finely chopped green onions, hard boiled eggs, mayo, poppy seeds, and paprika.

Dang, now I want to go home and make some.

Pickles, IMHO, are typically in the recipes for the texture, the crunch and not the flavor. Ergo, diced sweet onion or celery will fulfill the same role.

However, if you have to drive to another town for pickles, you probably have to order sweet onions by mail. So, go with the celery.

I'm beginning to wonder if pickles in potato salad is a regional variation?

BenPanced said:

I'm beginning to wonder if pickles in potato salad is a regional variation?

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agreed.

i feel confident, however, that they (let's call them "the picklers") can be fixed. fixed? no,....let's say "cured."

yes. they can be cured.
re-education classes will begin in the spring.



please don't kill me.








*imagines he's about to be killed with pickles and potato salad*

Mitch: You know, um, something strange happened to me this morning...
Chris: Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?
Mitch: No...
Chris: Why am I the only one who has that dream?

Potato salad the way my Mom taught me to make it. I don't know where she learned. If it was from her Mom, then the pickles were an Okie thing.

5 pounds russet potatoes, boiled in the skin until almost fork tender
6 eggs, hard boiled
1 good sized onion chopped fairly fine
1 small jar chopped pimientos
1 small can chopped black olives
about 10 oz sweet pickles, chopped about half the size of a pea
about 10 oz dill pickles, chopped the same
enough mayo (not miracle whip or one of those kinds of things) to hold it all together

As soon as the potatoes are done enough immediately start cooling them down. If they are cooked too soft you end up with mashed potato salad. The potatoes peel much easier after they are cooked. After peeling, chop them in smallish (half inch by half inch) chunks.

Chop the eggs (after peeling )

Mix it all together. Taste for salt/pepper/more pickles/more onion etc. Best if well chilled, and even better if chilled overnight.


These days I use red skin potatoes and don't peel them. Everything else is the same.

MM

MaryMumsy said:

Chop the eggs (after peeling )

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Excellent tip. You must have been trained at the Cordon Bleu.

RickN said:

Pickles, IMHO, are typically in the recipes for the texture, the crunch and not the flavor. Ergo, diced sweet onion or celery will fulfill the same role.

However, if you have to drive to another town for pickles, you probably have to order sweet onions by mail. So, go with the celery.

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All three of these things go into my potato salad, plus other things. I've had the mayo-based potato salads that most people in the USA like. Yuck.

I'd say you could compensate for the absence of pickle by adding unripe olives, which I usually add anyway.

If you don't have pickles, I guess it would be insane of me to suggest maybe artichoke hearts?

Yeah. Thought so.

My own potato salad is fairly minimalist compared to some others here. Potatoes, chopped egg, chopped onion. The sauce is primarily mayonnaise, with dijon mustard (Maille brand -- the best I've ever had) added for a bit of tang.

Good Lord, where are you people from that you've never heard of pickles in potato salad?!

Obviously, you're not from the South as pickles are as much a necessity in potato salad as mustard, mayo, and eggs! I've gotta make some real Southern potato salad and bring it to each of your houses! You're really missing out.

I know this thread is old and you've likely already made and enjoyed your potato salad, but if you're ever in a "pickle" and don't have pickles, my suggestion as a substitute would be chopped celery, but be sure to add more mustard (to enhance the vinegar-acidity) and ensure that you have red onions in it.

I base mine on this- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/deviled-potato-salad-recipe/index.html Rachel Ray's Deviled Potato Salad

Only I leave out the hot sauce and add in crumbled bacon. Can't stand the mayo/white potato salad, my granny always made it Southern style with plenty of mustard. Came with every barbecue sandwich plate.

Opty said:

Good Lord, where are you people from that you've never heard of pickles in potato salad?!

Obviously, you're not from the South as pickles are as much a necessity in potato salad as mustard, mayo, and eggs!

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Obviously? I don't think so. Georgia born and raised for the past 46 years, so I'll put my southern credentials up against anybody's. My standard potato salad recipe has no pickles in it.

I'll add them sometimes, but I've also played around with shallots, celery, and other crunchy things.