In episode 73, host Taryn Solie shares a delicious recipe for red skin potato salad that works for holiday cookouts, summer camping trips, or just an average weeknight. Taryn provides step-by-step instructions and helpful tips, as well as gives several great grilling options to pair it with. Don’t miss out on this episode for a flavorful side dish recipe that your family and friends are sure to love!
Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, TuneIn, or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.
RECIPES MENTIONED
These are some of the recipes mentioned in the episode, all of which are on Hot Pan Kitchen.
- Red skin potato salad
- Traeger bacon
- Gluten free burgers
- Purple cabbage slaw
- Grilled marinated chicken thighs
- Grilled dry rubbed flank steak
- Smoked pork chops
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Some of the following are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- USDA recommendation for green potatoes
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Salt conversion chart from Epicurious
- Kitchen tongs
- Oven glove
TRANSCRIPT
Taryn Solie: Hello grillers, and thank you for tuning in today! I am your host, Taryn Solie, and I am here to talk with you about all things grilling and outdoor cooking, including delicious recipes and handy tips and tricks, all to give you some grilling inspiration.
Today we’re switching things up a bit and talking about a side dish recipe that goes with just about any grilled food. I’m recording this episode just before Memorial Day and I honestly can’t think of a side more appropriate for a Memorial Day cookout than potato salad.
But not just any potato salad! This is a red skin potato salad that has bits of cooked bacon in it, making it extra delicious. Plus it has some chopped celery and dill pickle for crunch.
So let’s get into it! First up, here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- 32 oz of small red potatoes,
- 12 ounces of raw smoked bacon,
- 2 celery stalks,
- 2 oz of dill pickle,
- ½ cup of mayonnaise,
- ½ tablespoon of yellow mustard,
- 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, and
- 2 tbsp + ⅛ tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (with a little extra if you want to add more salt at the end).
Now a couple of quick notes before we get started:
First, let’s talk about the potatoes. This recipe is specifically for red potatoes with the skin on. While it means you don’t have to go through the step of peeling your potatoes, you also need to make sure your potatoes aren’t turning green. While you can eat potatoes that have turned green, the USDA recommends peeling the green parts off. So for this recipe you want potatoes that have been stored properly and aren’t green.
The second note is about the type of salt. This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal kosher salt. This type of salt is less salty by volume than other kosher salts. If you have a different type of salt, I’ll link to an article on the show notes page that will help you figure out how much salt to use.
Okay, let’s get to the recipe!
First you’re going to boil the potatoes. Go ahead and fill a large pot two-thirds of the way full with water, making sure it will be enough to cover the potatoes, but not so much that the water will spill over once it’s boiling with the potatoes in it. Add 2 tablespoons of the kosher salt into the water, then place a lid on the pot and set it on the stovetop over high heat to boil.
While you’re waiting for the water to boil, prep the potatoes by washing any dirt off of them with water, scrubbing them if necessary. If your potatoes are on the larger side consider cutting them into halves or thirds using a sharp knife and a cutting board – ideally, you want each potato or piece of potato to be between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide. You may have some smaller potatoes and that’s okay, they’ll just be done faster than the rest of the potatoes.
At this point the water probably isn’t boiled yet, so set aside the potatoes and start cooking the bacon. Now, you can either cook the bacon on a Traeger grill or in the oven. I have directions for how to cook bacon on a Traeger that I’ll link to on the show notes page, and you can check it out if you want to go that route. For now, I’m going to go over how to make bacon in an oven.
Start by lining a rimmed sheet pan with foil. Remove the bacon from the packaging and lay the strips out in a single layer on top of the foil. Place the sheet pan in a cold oven, close the oven door, then turn the oven on to 400 degrees F. Cook the bacon until it’s reached your desired crispness. This is generally in the range between 17 and 22 minutes, depending on how thick your bacon is and how long your oven takes to warm up.
By the time the bacon is in the oven, the pot of salted water should be boiling. Use a pair of tongs to carefully place the potatoes in the pot and cook them for 5 minutes to start. If your potatoes are on the smaller side they may only need 5 minutes to cook, but the larger ones could take up to 20 minutes. After the first 5 minutes are up, take a sharp knife and poke the smaller potatoes to test them for doneness. If the knife goes in to the center of the potato with minimal resistance, you can remove it from the pot using a pair of tongs and set it on a large plate to cool. Keep boiling all of the potatoes until they are soft but not mushy.
The bacon should be done around the same time as the last of the potatoes. When the bacon is done cooking, remove the pan from the oven, making sure to use a hot pad or oven glove since the pan will be hot! Grab a plate and line it with paper towels, then use a pair of tongs to remove the bacon and set it on the plate to soak up the grease.
Let it rest for a couple of minutes to cool, then use the knife and cutting board to chop the bacon strips into small pieces. I like to make mine extra small as it helps me get a little bacon in every bite of the potato salad. How I typically do this is by stacking several strips of bacon on top of each other and cutting them into small strips, then chopping those strips into smaller pieces. You can repeat those steps until all the bacon is cut, placing the cut bacon into a large mixing bowl.
Once the potatoes are cool enough to touch, cut them into bite-sized chunks (around half an inch thick) and place those chunks into the mixing bowl with the bacon.
Prep the rest of the potato salad by dicing both the celery and the pickle using the knife and cutting board and adding both into the mixing bowl.
Next, you want to make the dressing. Measure out the mayo, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, and ⅛ of a teaspoon of the kosher salt into a small bowl, then stir with a whisk to combine thoroughly. Scoop the mayo mixture into the mixing bowl with the bacon and veggies and gently stir with a large spoon to coat all of the ingredients with the dressing. Taste the potato salad and if you think it needs a little more kosher salt go ahead and add it now, then stir it up again to make sure it’s incorporated.
And that’s it! You can serve the potato salad immediately when it’s slightly warm, or let it cool down then cover it and place it in the fridge to serve later.
This salad gets rave reviews from my family and friends and I just know you’ll love it too. We’ve served it before with the classic burgers and hot dogs, coleslaw, and some cut fruit, but other options include grilled chicken thighs, grilled steak, or smoked pork chops if you really want to lean into the pork.
I’ll include a link to the full printable recipe for this potato salad, as well as the other recipes and resources I’ve mentioned, on the show notes page. To get to it you can either go to my main website at Hot Pan Kitchen dot com and click on podcast in the main menu, or you can click on the link provided in whatever podcast app you’re listening on.
If you enjoyed this recipe, consider subscribing to the show on your favorite podcast platform so you don’t miss out on future episodes! I’ve got so many more great grilling and smoking recipes you’re going to love.
That’s it for today, thank you so much for listening, and until next time, keep grilling like a mother.
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