Picture this: You’re getting together for a picnic in the Spa State Park with your extended family for the first time since COVID. Everyone is supposed to bring a dish…but what to make? Aunt Tina’s bringing the sandwiches, Cousin Timmy’s on watermelon duty, and grandma’s all over the drinks. Then—“Aha!”—you realize what’s missing from this family reunion: potato salad. Creamy, eggy, mayonnaise-y potatoes, masquerading as a salad? It doesn’t get any better than that.
In our latest edition of Capital Region Cook-off, Dizzy Chicken Owner/Chef Justin Bartlett steps into the ring with The Mansion Inn’s Executive Chef Rick Bieber to see whose potato salad recipe goes the distance. Who lands the knockout blow? Well, you’ll just have to try your hand at both of these savory recipes and decide for yourself.
Dizzy Chicken
Owner/Chef Justin Bartlett’s Potato Salad
Ingredients
5lbs red potatoes
8hard boiled eggs, diced
4 tsp whole grain mustard
7¼oz (.9 cup) sour cream
11½oz (1.4 cup) mayonnaise
¼ cup cornichon pickles, diced
1 small bunch fresh dill
2 tsp Frank’s RedHot
salt
pepper
1 cup chopped parsley
Directions
• Dice the red potatoes and rinse in a pot with cold water. Add ½ cup of salt per 2 gallons of cold water (this will help to season the potatoes) and cook until tender. Allow to cool.
• To make the dressing: In a bowl, mix the mustard, sour cream, mayonnaise, diced pickles, chopped dill and Frank’s RedHot.
• When the potatoes are cool, add the chopped parsley and eggs and half of the dressing. Keep adding dressing until the potato salad is the consistency that you desire. You may wind up with extra dressing, depending on how much you prefer to mix in.
• Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve.
The Mansion Inn
Executive Chef Rick Bieber’s Famous Potato Salad
Ingredients
2 lbs clean, scrubbed new red potatoes
1 lb bacon
1 cup Spanish onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
2½ cups mayonnaise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
Directions
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15-20 minutes. Drain and set in the refrigerator to cool.
• Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
• Place mayonnaise, onion, celery, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix.
• Remove potatoes from the refrigerator and cut into bite-size pieces (mashing a few completely) and place in a large bowl.
• Stir in dressing and mix. Place in a serving bowl, cover and let sit in the fridge for about an hour before serving.