For Next-Level Potato Salad, Add In A Dollop Of This Tangy Store-Bought Ingredient

A creamy dressing has always been part of the classic potato salad. You can't seem to have one without the other, or so it seems. Some of the absolute best ingredients to elevate potato salads actually start with the dressing itself, because let's be real here, that's where most of the flavors come from. The game-changing ingredient can come from anywhere, possibly even a bottle of barbecue sauce. No matter how good your potato salad already is, it can always get better with an extra dollop of this cookout staple.

A spoonful of barbecue sauce stirred into the dressing, and your potato salad goes from one-dimensional to layered and complex. Cutting right through the mayo or sour cream's plain richness is a savory sharpness you often find coating smoked ribs and chicken wings. A smoky tang lingers in the undertone, some sweetness flickers at the end of a creamy bite, while a vinegary acidity leaves you intrigued enough to come back for more.

Those flavors only get better when boosted by the extra lustrous texture of the dressing. We all know mayonnaise is plenty rich already, but mixed with barbecue sauce, its creaminess clings even more decadently to the potatoes. Suddenly, the potato salad isn't so boring or forgettable anymore. That same old familiarity is replaced by an intensity that matches all that hearty grilled meat on the table.

Different types of barbecue sauce and how you use them can result in different potato salads. The common variety, mixed with eggs, mayo, and spices like paprika and garlic powder, is deliciously creamy and tangy, possibly with a subtle heat laced underneath. Hailing from Alabama, a white barbecue sauce is one of the most suitable choices for a classic Southern potato salad, especially for accentuating the tanginess and adding a slight peppery, horseradish-ish bite. 

It's also worth mentioning that alternating popular barbecue sauce brands will also allow you to experiment with more flavors. This is your chance to sample through different cuisines' version of barbecue sauce. For example, a Texas-style barbecue sauce might give you utter tangy boldness with a touch of heat, while the Korean bulgogi variety is the perfect mix of sweet and savory. Straight from Japanese grill cuisine, teriyaki sauce is a perfect companion for your barbecue sauce. A teriyaki-laced barbecue sauce is exactly the answer for those looking to add an unexpected umami depth to their potato salads.

With barbecue sauce in the dressing, supporting the flavor base with its ample intensity, you can be a bit more ambitious and use more than just potatoes for the salad. Tomatoes, whether sun-dried, smoked, or fresh cherry, all bring distinctive sparks of tanginess to match the sauce's own vibrancy. Grilled corn, an absolute barbecue staple, is another great pick if you want some pops of sweetness in between the starchy potato cubes. It would also be remiss not to consider bacon. Those tiny chopped pieces not only bring their signature salty, smoky goodness to the dish, but also add a little crisp to each bite.