Hot German Potato Salad
Last year we went to Michigan to visit Rob’s mother, and during that trip, I began to look through one of her recipe boxes and found some wonderful recipes from “back in the day.” She disclosed that the box I was thumbing through was her mother’s box, and I knew I had a treasure. I got a kick out of seeing old words for staples like “Oleo” instead of margarine or older techniques of “degassing baking soda.” I had begun to photograph the cards so I could have the time to go through them. I captured about 100 cards when she turned to me and said “Why don’t you take the box home with you?’ After some back and forth, promising to take care of it and return it during Rob’s next trip which was scheduled a month away. She then, simply, gifted the box to me.
It was a hard time as I knew that I probably would not see her in person again, as she had terminal breast cancer, and the letting go of treasured possessions signals the start of the finality of the end of life. With that, her treasure became mine. Over the months since, I have been going through all the recipes. This includes a second box that was her box and I took note of what recipes I wanted to try first, as well as organizing them. My goal is to upload all of the recipes so I can put together a family cookbook to give to all of the grandchildren. Many of these grandchildren are now adults setting up their own lives. I’ll admit, it is slow going as life gets in the way, but also preserving the recipes to make sure they are readable is important to me. However, along the way my intent is to make and post my favorites and in some cases such as this Hot German Potato Salad, tweaking it along the way.
There were many “German” recipes in the box that I can not wait to make, but the Hot German Potato Salad won out as the first. Growing up on Long Island, my idea of “German Potato Salad” was a type found at countless delis across the Island. It was a cold salad with sliced peeled potatoes, white vinegar, onions, and possibly some sugar from what I remember. It was very sharp with the smack of vinegar but also had a sweetness to it. It was something I loved growing up, but as I experienced different recipes, I came to find and prefer recipes that had a bunch more to them. There were two eating experiences that I hold as my personal standard for a “great German potato salad,” that I have discovered in the last 10 years.
One was from an acquaintance that made “their” potato salad, for a cast party for a high school musical production that I directed. I loved it so much that she sent me home with a large pan of it which I ate for many days after. I recently asked for the recipe and was surprised at how basic it was! It was even more basic than my mother-in-law’s version. The other was one that I had had on a trip to Michigan the first year I was dating my now-husband. My Father and Mother-in-law took us to Frankenmuth, Michigan. Frankenmuth, MI is known as “ Michigan’s Little Bavaria.” It was such a magical place and something I have never seen in the U.S. before. We only had the day, but we experienced so much. The two places that stuck out were a trip to Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, the “World’s Largest Christmas Store,” where we explored for 2 hours the thousands of ornaments and other Christmas decorating items for sale. It is truly an otherwordly place that exhibits, amongst innumerable other things, Christmas decorations from all over the world. It was where we bought our first family Christmas Ornament together and where we have gotten an ornament from every year since.
The second was a place called the Bavarian Inn & Lodge. There is much to the establishment, but we just went to the restaurant. It was one of the best dining experiences I have had in my life and that includes some fantastic fine dining experiences. It was cozy with incredible comfort food served family-style. One dish that stood out was the Potato Salad. While I knew I wasn’t going to be getting the recipe out of them, I did ask about what one particular ingredient was due to my allergy concerns. It was an ingredient that stood out and I just couldn’t place it. It turned out to be celery seed. So simple!
Despite the taste evoking fabulous memories, it has been long enough where I just can’t “taste” it in my brain to a point where I could try to recreate it. So, I did as I typically do and tweaked the recipe, adding flavors I knew I wanted and voilá, my take on it was created. I’ll mention that while it is called “hot” potato salad, it can be eaten at any temperature that you enjoy with yummy results! Whether you try my mother-in-law’s or my version, if you have never had the tangy, bacony delights of German Potato Salad, give it a try!
Recipe Card
Note: I highly suggest having a digital scale in your kitchen. It takes the guesswork out and makes baking recipes a lot more successful. All of my recipes are written in metric weights. If you do not have a scale and need to convert a recipe or ingredient to volume, you can use the buttons to the right and copy /paste the recipe into the handy recipe conversion tool or the single ingredient conversion.
Hot German Potato Salad
Ingredients
Method
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- Boil prepared potatoes for 16-20 minutes, depending on their size until you can pierce them easily with a fork.
- Cook bacon pieces in a hot skillet for 2-3 minutes to start rendering the fat.
- Add the chopped onion to the pan and continue to cook, allowing the bacon to crisp and the onions to start to caramelize, about another 4-5 minutes.
- While the bacon and potatoes are cooking, mix the vinegar (apple cider and white), mustard, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and celery seed in a small bowl.
- When the bacon and onions are cooked, remove them from the pan and set them aside. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan.
- Sprinkle flour over the fat and mix to combine and cook the flour for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the bowl of liquids to the pan and whisk to combine and cook for another minute to allow it to thicken.
- Drain potatoes and allow them to dry a bit*
- Add the cooked potatoes to the pan of liquids and gently toss to coat. Take care not to break up the potatoes,
- Add back the bacon and onion as well as the parsley and some salt and pepper to taste.
- Toss gently to fully combine and serve.
* Notes (if you see an * please check here):
- You can prep the potatoes however you wish. Peeled or unpeeled, medium diced or big chunks. It doesn't matter what you choose as long as they are uniform in size.
- To dry potatoes, drain them and put a cover on the pot to retain heat. Let it sit for a minute or two while the potatoes dry. This allows the vinegar mixture to more easily penetrate the potatoes.