Southern German Potato Salad
Bacon, potato and onion... what's not to love?
by Erin Henderson
My mother (Mutti, if you will) taught me to make the German potato salad her mother (my Oma) taught her. And my Oma learned it from her mother (my Uroma.)
Our family recipe has a base of mayonnaise blended with mustard, and contains hard boiled eggs, pickle, onion, and in my Oma's case, tart green apples (but my mother eventually did away with the apples, and they've never been brought back.)
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While this creamy Kartoffelsalat is the standard in northern Germany (my mum was born in Lüneburg), in the south, they make their potato salads with a vinaigrette and add in bacon and onion. This, of course, is the one most people think of when they think of German potato salad.
My sister has threatened me with tar and feathering should I give away my family's potato salad recipe (which is really, really good), and I believe she would, so clearly, that recipe goes with me to my grave.
Instead, I'll share the neighbours' recipe, because they seem way more chill.
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Southern German Potato Salad
While adding pickles isn't really done in the south, my northern roots can't help themselves. Capers would also smash, if you're feeling fancy. I also added some green onion for freshness, whereas most southern recipes call for fresh parsley, but I like the zip of an onion.
Makes: 4-5 cups
Chef level: easy
Ingredients:
- 3 cups baby or fingerling potatoes
- 4 slices smoky bacon
- ¼ cup green onion, thinly sliced
- 4 Tbsp dill pickles, drained and diced
- 1 cup red onion, diced
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp white sugar, or more to taste
- 2-4 Tbsp grainy mustard (depending on strength and preference... I use 4)
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
How to Make It:
- Place potatoes in a large pot and add water to cover by 2 inches; bring to a boil. Once boiling, salt the water.
- Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a knife, about 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, slice the larger potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- Rinse out the pot and return to the burner. Add the bacon and cook until crisp, about 10 minutes, flipping half way through. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving bacon fat in the pan.
- Keeping the pot on medium, carefully add red onion to the fat, cooking until browned, but not crispy, about 5 minutes.
- Pour in vinegar, sugar, and water and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add potatoes back to the pot, reduce the heat to low and cook for about about another five minutes. Add in the mustard, and stir well to evenly combine.
- When the bacon has cooled, crumble it into a serving bowl and add in the green onion and pickles.
- Gently pour the potato mixture to the bowl with the bacon. Mix together and serve warm or at room temperature.
Wine Pairing
Onions, bacon and potato are a classic pairing for Riesling, especially one with just the tiniest hint of risidual sugar. The wine's sweet note will play off the salty elements in the salad, and the wine's bright acidity will liven up the bacon fat.
