Potato salad is a staple at any cookout, barbeque, and even many family dinners. While there are regional variations and styles, the classic potato salad itself has not evolved much over the years, until now! Today's recipe, Jalapeno Popper Potato Salad, combines the standard traditional mayonnaise-based potato salad with one of our favorite spicy appetizer snacks, the jalapeno popper! Served warm it resembles the ultimate loaded baked potato, but it takes on more of that classic potato salad feel with updated flavors when enjoyed cold from the refrigerator. Get ready to wow everyone with this modern-day potato salad at your next get together....Let's Get Cooking!
This recipe requires a few extra ingredients that need preparation ahead of time, so we will begin with those so there are no last-minute surprises to deal with later. First and foremost is the bacon, which needs to be chopped into small pieces and cooked or use leftover bacon from breakfast and break it down into crumbles. Either one gets the job done so just be sure to have some cooked bacon at the ready. Secondly, this recipe requires boiled eggs. I'm not going to tell you how to boil eggs, but they are equally important to the flavor and texture of this recipe so prep them ahead and have them peeled and chopped. Finally, pickled jalapenos are the star of this recipe. Be sure to have a jar on hand because we need both the jalapenos themselves diced up as well as some of the brine. Since pickled jalapenos are not very hot, I will also suggest dicing up a couple raw fresh jalapenos as well for my spice heads out there. After all, the mayonnaise and creamy potatoes, etc. will help cool things down so if you really want that jalapeno popper flavor I highly suggest adding in some fresh pepper. Otherwise, thinly slice some green onions for a bit of flavor and color and we are ready to start cooking this delicious Jalapeno Popper Potato Salad!
The potatoes for this recipe can be boiled whole and chopped afterwards or diced then boiled. It is up to you, but I find that dicing them prior to cooking speeds up the process and you have better overall control of how soft or hard your final potato bite is in terms of mouthfeel. Ultimately, that is key to this potato salad so if you prefer more creamy, almost mashed potato salad then be sure to cook your potatoes a bit longer. That being said, I will discuss my personal preference on this one being a potato that is mostly soft but retains shape and some bite. I would call it 1/2 to 3/4 cooked through compared with standard mashed potatoes. Either way, adjust your cook time according to your personal preference, but begin by dicing the potatoes into equally sized cubes and covering them in a large pot with 1 inch of water. Heavily season the water with some salt and bring it up to a boil. Once boiling, cook the potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes if you prefer more texture, 11 to 13 minutes for a softer bite, and around 15 minutes if you want to convert this into a mashed potato recipe. Use a fork or knife and pierce the potato pieces as they cook to make a judgment call. Remember, you can always go back and cook them a bit more if they are undercooked, but once they get too soft you are stuck with what you have! Once you are happy with the potatoes, drain the excess water and return them to the same pot to save dishes or transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
As you can see below, my potatoes were still mostly intact with shape and form after boiling, but the very outer edges were just beginning to enter that soft, mashed potato feel.
Once your potatoes have slightly cooled, simply combine with the remaining ingredients we prepped earlier. Add 3/4 of the cooked bacon crumbles, 3/4 of the green onion, the chopped boiled eggs, shredded cheese, mayonnaise, pickled jalapenos and brine, and yellow mustard. Additionally, add any fresh jalapeno at this point if you wish to kick up the heat. Carefully fold the ingredients together so you don't overly smash your potatoes, unless you want them that way of course. As always, season with a touch of salt and pepper!
That pretty much wraps up this delicious Jalapeno Popper Potato Salad! You can serve it immediately while it's still warm or refrigerate and let all those flavors have some time to really incorporate themselves into the dish. Be sure to top your final Jalapeno Popper Potato Salad with the bacon and green onion we reserved earlier to add that extra delicious look that no one, and I mean NO ONE will be able to resist! What do you think? Will this updated potato salad be making an appearance at your next get together with the gang? It's simple, relatively quick, and uses basic ingredients you likely have on hand so whether you make it extra spicy or keep it mild, get in the kitchen and give it a try...Just Keep Cooking!
JALAPENO POPPER POTATO SALAD
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