Bourdain's Potato Salad

 Bourdain's potato salad recipe called for thick-cut bacon, and it made all the difference.

I cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces before boiling. Kaila Yu for Insider

I started by boiling diced potatoes for 10 minutes and frying the bacon until it was crispy. 

Even though store-bought mayonnaise would work, I decided to make Bourdain's homemade recipe, which was the most time-consuming and difficult part of this dish. 

First I combined egg yolks, white wine vinegar, salt, dry mustard, grapeseed oil, and lemon juice.

The trick is to slowly add the oil while whisking constantly. I was paranoid about breaking the emulsion, so I took my time with this step, spending about 30 minutes beating in the oil. Then I seasoned it to taste with salt and vinegar. 

I added red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, red onion, celery, and cornichons to the mayo along with the cooked potatoes, and it was ready to serve.