No-Peel Buttermilk Potato Salad

A recipe for potato salad with cool and creamy buttermilk and fresh herbs with pops of flavor and texture from stone-ground mustard and finely diced red onion.

JUMP TO RECIPE

So, I was wasting my life away looking at Pinterest one night and came across a potato salad recipe from Ina Garten that really appealed to me.

Two things jumped out at me – one, she used tender little baby potatoes and didn’t peel them and two, she used buttermilk in the recipe.

I wish I could tell you I was one of those super cool people who boil the whole potatoes before peeling them when making mashed potatoes and potato salad but I just never quite mastered that skill. Or I should say, I never had the patience for it.

The idea behind leaving the peel on potatoes while boiling them is that it makes the finished dish tastes better because:

1. The potatoes absorb less water therefor leaving more room for them to soak up the flavors of the other ingredients in your recipe.
2. The peel gives the potatoes a ton of their flavor (some even make the argument that if you must peel them before boiling, add the peels to the water in a cheesecloth pouch while the potatoes cook).
3. Less water helps to avoid gluey, watery, sticky potatoes because the peels preserve the structure of the starch.

The peel on baby potatoes is much thinner and more tender than full-size potatoes which makes them perfect for a no-peel recipe! By using the tiny little potatoes in this potato salad, I don’t have to peel them (before or after cooking) so I get all the benefits of the three points above.

Girl, yasss!

Using the buttermilk jumped out at me because it gave me a way to make potato salad in a similar way as my favorite macaroni salad. The secret to my macaroni salad is to “marinate” the noodles in seasonings, residual water and a little dijon mustard before adding the mayo. The pasta soaks up all those flavors like a sponge and the macaroni tastes divine!

So I thought I could mix up buttermilk and all the potato salad seasonings and let the warm potatoes “marinate” in it and soak up all those delicious flavors!

I also got excited about the buttermilk because I’ve recently discovered something called “gourmet” buttermilk which is a whole, full-fat buttermilk that is thick and creamy and glorious and I’ve been using it in everything.

You think my chocolate sheet cake is good? Try it with whole buttermilk and I guarantee you’ll slap somebody. I’ve been getting Marburger Farm Dairy Gourmet Buttermilk from Wal-Mart but any cultured whole buttermilk will work.

I’ve been doing some research and see whole buttermilk might be hard to find outside of the South ‘cause we love us some buttermilk, we have a lot to choose from, y’all. Which lead me to an article about making your own thick, creamy, luxurious buttermilk.

All you need to do is mix 1/4 cup regular ol’ store-bought cultured buttermilk with a quart of milk in a super clean mason jar, screw the lid on tight, let it set out overnight then voila! you’ve got yourself some gourmet buttermilk! 

OK, now I feel like I must tell you this… until I made this potato salad, I didn’t like any kind other than plain and simple Southern-style potato salad with boiled eggs, Duke’s mayonnaise, and the teeniniest hint of sweet relish.

But this potato salad is something special! The whole mustard grains pop with little bursts of flavor, the potatoes themselves are already truly delicious because they’ve soaked up that glorious buttermilk and yummy seasonings and the onions give it a little crunch and a tiny bite!

This is now the potato salad I make when we're having something other than a traditional Southern supper or Sunday dinner (ya know, because there are some meals that just require your traditional, favorite potato salad).

This goes perfectly with anything off the grill – especially brats and sausages because of the stone ground mustard! And feel free to add your favorite ingredients. If you love celery or another ingredient in your potato salad – go for it!

Recipe for No-Peel Buttermilk Potato Salad

No-Peel Buttermilk Potato Salad

Yield: 10-12 Servings

Author: Mandy Rivers | South Your Mouth

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 20 M

A recipe for potato salad with cool and creamy buttermilk and fresh herbs with pops of flavor and texture from stone-ground mustard and finely diced red onion.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds baby potatoes
• Water and salt for boiling potatoes
• 1/2 cup whole buttermilk (see notes)
• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced

Instructions

1. Rinse potatoes well then add to a large pot. Cover with 8 cups of water then add 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, cook potatoes for 10 minutes or until the largest potatoes are fork-tender.
2. While potatoes are cooking combine buttermilk, mustard, thyme, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and pepper then mix well.
3. Drain potatoes then rinse with cold water. We want to cool the potatoes enough to stop the cooking process and so that we can handle them but we still want them to be quite warm. Drain well.
4. Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces (because the potatoes vary in size, you will cut some more than others – you just want all the pieces to be uniform in size) then add to a large mixing bowl.
5. Pour buttermilk mixture over warm potatoes then fold to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
6. Once the warm potatoes have “marinated” in the buttermilk mixture, add mayonnaise and diced onions then stir to combine. Taste for seasoning then add more salt and pepper if needed. Add more mayo if desired. I tend to like my salads with less mayo than some prefer and you might need a little more if you're using something other than the thick and creamy buttermilk I recommended.
7. Cover and refrigerate to store.

Notes

• I use something called “gourmet” buttermilk which is a whole, full-fat buttermilk. If you can’t find anything like that (8g of fat per cup) use the recipe link above for Homemade Cultured Buttermilk or make a whole buttermilk substitute using whole milk (which, ta-da! also has 8g of fat per cup): Add 1½ teaspoons white vinegar to a plastic or glass measuring pitcher then add enough whole milk to measure 1/2 cup, stir then then let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
• I used Baby Dutch Yellow potatoes in this batch but you can use any “tiny” or “baby” potatoes available in your market including red, yellow or blue. You can also use fingerling potatoes. If you can’t find any of these just use the smallest yellow or red potatoes you can find – cook them a little longer since they’ll be bigger then cut into bite-sized pieces.
• You can use dried thyme instead of fresh if needed – use about 2 teaspoons or to your preference.Feel free to use rosemary or dill instead of thyme (or a combination of your favorite herbs).

https://www.southyourmouth.com/2019/04/no-peel-buttermilk-potato-salad.html

potato, salad, buttermilk, no peel, ina garten, stone ground mustard, gourmet, recipe, easy, how to, marinate, baby potatoes, tiny, fingerling, red, new

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