German Potato Salad
Quick Overview
Did you know that potato salad originated in Germany? Potato salad was originally served warm and usually with tangy vinaigrette. It was then brought to America by the German and Eastern European immigrants, who over time, changed the recipe as it was passed down from generation to generation.
So what is the difference between a classic American potato salad and German potato salad? The main differences are the temperature and the dressing.
Traditional German potato salad is served hot or warm with a bold vinegar based dressing, while American potato salad is made with a creamy dressing and served either chilled or at room temperature. As much as I love creamy, cold potato salad, the tangy dressing in this recipe is show stopping! It’s made with vinegar, Dijon mustard, bacon (and bacon grease), and sweet shallots.
Best Way to Cook Potatoes For Potato Salad
- Although I’ve seen it made both ways, through the personal experience (and by what my mom taught me), I’ve learned that you only cut potatoes before boiling them when making mashed potatoes. For any potato salad, cook them whole!
- Cook the potatoes until they’re fork tender, but do cook them whole. When they are cooked quartered, they will take in a lot more water than needed and become quite mushy.
- At the end, if you cook them cut, you will end up with mashed potato salad. When cooked whole, they will stay together and won’t soak up water. You will be able to cut them, quarter them, chop, or dice them.
Storing Tips and Suggestions
Have any leftovers? Great! This potato salad will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Be sure to keep it stored in an airtight container to keep it from drying out, of course.
Remember that you can only leave this potato salad at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Do not leave German potato salad at room temperature overnight.
Reheating: I definitely recommend that you reheat leftover German potato salad, at least to a warm temperature, not necessarily fully hot. Because this potato salad is made with bacon and has some bacon grease, it will be much more pleasant to eat when warmed.
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German Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs red potatoes
- 1 tbsp canola oil for cooking
- 1/2 lb bacon
- 2 shallots
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
Instructions
Potatoes:
- Place potatoes into a pot and fill the pot with cold water until potatoes are completely covered. Bring water to low boil, add some salt, and cook until potatoes are fork-tender.
- Strain off all the water and let potatoes cool on the cutting board until you can handle them.
- While potatoes are cooking, prepare bacon, shallots and dressing.
Dressing:
- Dice bacon while it's still cold and slice the shallots.
- Preheat a cooking pan over medium heat and add oil. Add bacon and cook until bacon fat just to render.
- Add shallots and cook until bacon is completely done and all fat is rendered.
- Mix in broth, vinegar, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Simmer for just about a minute and take off heat.
Potato salad:
- When potatoes are cooled enough to handle, cut them into about 1/2-inch pieces and add to a mixing bowl.
- Pour in the dressing mixture from the pan over the potatoes, add parsley, and gently mix to combine.
- Serve right warm.
Storing:
- Store German potato salad in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. It should be good for 3-4 days. I do recommend that you reheat it until it's warm when needed. Since there is bacon and some bacon grease from cooking in the salad, it will be much more pleasant to eat warm.
Video
Notes
- Cooking for a crowd? Feel free to double this recipe when cooking for a bigger event!
- Cook potatoes whole! You only cut potatoes before boiling them when making mashed potatoes. For any potato salad, cook them whole! When they are cooked quartered, they will take in a lot more water than needed and become quite mushy.
- Serve German Potato Salad warm!
Nutrition
More Potato Salad Recipes to Make
Roasted Garlic Asiago Potato Salad
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Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
This recipe is really good