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This recipe for German Potato Salad was taught to me by my Bavarian “Mutti”, who was taught by her “Mutti” who was taught… well, this is an heirloom recipe handed down a few generations! She’d make this potato salad every day, at her Bavarian Delicatessen shop, and it was sold out by noon! When my mom passed away, it was my turn to continue making this family favorite recipe.
I have finally made the decision to “sell out” and go against my brothers, niece and son’s desire to keep this recipe a secret– and share my Heirloom Recipe for Bavarian Style German Potato Salad! Trust me, this was something my family said I shouldn’t do. But, you know–all of you readers of my little ole’ blog are my friends. We’re “family”, don’t you think, by now?
I’ve seen versions of “hot potato salad” that has sugar in it. Maybe that’s a regional thing, but my Mutti was from Bavaria. I’m being sincere, when I say that my Mutti’s potato salad is the best I’ve ever tasted. Her customers, from her delicatessen, would buy it freshly made– and it always sold out by lunch time. Are you ready to make real German potato salad?
DISCLAIMER AND TIPS:
I have always made this recipe from memory, without measuring. This time, I did my best to measure what ingredients I put into this potato salad recipe. I still have to tell you, that you need to adjust seasonings to fit your needs. There are a few important things I need to tell you, though–
- Yukon Golds are perfect for this salad. Russet potatoes don’t work for this.
- Unlike other German potatoes salad recipes I’ve seen, this is never served hot! My mother would faint at that thought! I think it’s best served at room temperature.
- Plus, this salad is not meant to have a lot of sugar in it. It is meant to taste savory, with just a slight tartness of vinegar (red wine vinegar works best for me), with a subtle taste of dill– seriously, just a little dill, because it can be overpowering.
- You want the taste of red onion, but again, it shouldn’t dominate the flavor.
- Bacon is essential, but don’t go crazy with it.
- It’s all about “balance” … well, let me show you!
Begin with the prep of your ingredients:
One small red onion, diced (about 1 cup) and 1/2 pound of bacon, sliced thin (lardons). This bacon was sliced, frozen. It’s much easier and it will thaw as it cooks.
Cook the bacon until crispy, drain on a paper towel and reserve about 2 Tablespoons of the bacon fat. Finely chop the bacon and set aside.
Boil five pounds of Yukon Golds and try to choose them even in size. Drain and allow to cool just enough to where…
… I will show you a cool way to peel potatoes, very fast! Hold a potato in one hand, inside a clean tea towel. With the other hand, grab the end of the towel and rub the peel away– just like that!
There they are– naked and cooked. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes to mush, okay?
In a big bowl, I cut the potato in half, then into fairly thin slices– about 1/4 “. The potatoes are still warm…that’s good!
I add kosher salt (never table salt), fresh cracked pepper and evenly pour the vinegar over the warm potatoes. This will help to absorb all that flavor!
Add your ingredients you’ve prepped– onion, bacon an dill…
Add the bacon fat and a little chicken stock… (I had run out of my homemade chicken stock, but “boxed” is fine)
Now, here’s a little secret ingredient my mother added– about 1/4 cup of Japanese Rice Vinegar. Yep! This is definitely NOT an authentic German ingredient, but it really works! (You don’t have to do this, but I’ve grown to like her adaptation.) Add some oil (olive oil doesn’t work well, for some reason….but try it, if you prefer). Start with about 1/2 cup vegetable oil. I add about 1 teaspoon of sugar. Now, gently mix– don’t crush the potatoes. Gentle!
You’re almost there. The trickiest part is getting the oil and vinegar ratio down. I add a little oil at a time– no more than 1 cup. I want to see a sheen on the potatoes, but I don’t want them swimming in oil and soupy. Make sense? Taste, taste and taste some more! I like just a gentle bite of vinegar, and I add a little salt at a time until it tastes right. I like to make this at least an hour before serving.
My mother made this every single morning, when she owned her Delicatessen in downtown Monterey, California. Her regular customers would snatch it up, and it would sell out in one hour! For real!
This is how I love to eat this potato salad– with German Wiener Wurstl. In “American” that would be veal sausages. These are so darn good! This is part of what I served at my annual Oktoberfest Party, but I could eat it any time of the year.
You would honor my mother’s memory if you make this salad and serve it at room temperature. It’s good cold, but room temperature is best. I am going to have to make Mutti’s Pork Roast with au jus gravy that is poured over this. Oh my! It’s been too many years since I’ve made that.
Well, my beloved family– forgive me for sharing Mutti’s secret recipe. I think the whole world should enjoy this. It’s my mother’s signature dish that she passed down to me. Well, Austrian Goulash is also our signature dish.
German Potato Salad Heirloom Recipe
Unlike a Northern German version of Hot Potato salad, with lots of sugar– this Bavarian version is more savory, with a subtle taste of bacon and just a little bit of sugar. There is an unconventional "secret ingredient" my Mutti started to use, and it works! She made pounds of this every day at her Bavarian Delicatessen and it always sold out every single day.
Prep Time45 minutes mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: German
Keyword: German Potato Salad
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 215kcal
Author: Debby – www.AFeastfortheEyes.net
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 small red onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 pound bacon strips
- 1 tablespoon dill optional, but we like it
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoons fresh cracked pepper approx
- 3/4 cup red wine vinegar white vinegar is okay, too
- 1/4 cup Japanese rice vinegar non-traditional, optional secret ingredient
- 1 cup vegetable oil
Instructions
Boil the potatoes, skin on, until fork tender (approximately 20 to 30 minutes) in water. Drain and allow to cool so that they can be picked up, and held into a clean tea towel.
TIP: I tested the theory of cutting along the middle of each potato, before boiling or steaming. It works! The peel slips off more evenly. Hold a potato in a tea towel and grip with one hand. Rub the peel off with the towel, and the other hand, and the peels should come right off!
Once all of the potatoes are peeled, cut each potato in half and then into fairly thin slices (about 1/4″)into a large bowl.
Pour the vinegar, salt & pepper, to the warm potatoes and wait for a few minutes, so that it absorbs.
Cut the bacon into "lardons" (thin strips) and cook until crispy. Reserve about 2 Tbsp of the bacon fat.
Add the bacon, onion, salt and pepper, and dill (if using). Add the reserved bacon fat, and chicken stock.
Gently stir with a large spatula, being careful not to press the potatoes too much.
Add about 3/4 cups of the vegetable oil (you can always add more). Gently combine.
Add 1 teaspoon of white sugar, not too much!
Taste the salad. Adjust the salt, if necessary. Add a little more vinegar, so that it has a mild tartness to it.
The potato salad should have a nice sheen to it, but not be too oily. Add a little oil at a time, until you see a very light sheen.
I like to add the fresh parsley, last.
It’s best served at room temperature. We love this with German Wiener Wurstl (veal sausages). It’s delicious cold, but ideally, you want to serve it room temp– never hot! That’s Bavarian “blasphemy”!
Notes
NOTE: You want all of your ingredients to be prepped, because once you peel and slice the potatoes, you want to add the “dressing” so that it better absorbs into the potatoes.
