German Potato Salad

Have you ever had German potato salad?  Most people haven't.  Most people are accustomed to the mayonnaise laden variety that I just cannot stand!  I have never been a fan of mayo and often people will put hard boiled egg in it - BARF!  (I have a difficult relationship with cooked eggs of most varieties.)

So when my husband and I got married, he would often talk about his great-grandmother's recipe for German Potato Salad.  I think that maybe I'd had it before because I had a memory of the tangy, vinegar based flavor, but I'd never actually made it myself.

This was back in the early 2000's and so I did a web search and found a few recipes online - probably allrecipes.com which was really the ONLY decent recipe search back in those days.  I made it, the husband tasted it and he said it was okay but it wasn't his great-grandmother's.

Not long after we visited my in-laws and my mother-in-law dug out an old recipe book and lo and behold there was the recipe.  I made it soon after and the husband loved it.  Even my mother in law who isn't a huge fan of this variety of potato salad said it tasted just like her grandmother's.  I took it as a compliment!  I personally loved vinegar flavored dishes and love that this can be served warm or cold.  It gets better the longer it sits and because there is no mayo in it, you don't have to worry about it spoiling at a picnic.  I also love how easy it is to prep - no potato peeling because the peels are part of the dish.

I've since made it many more times and I've edited it some to our liking.  When I make it for others that haven't had it before (or I'm not sure of their taste preferences) I will make it with less vinegar.  So without further adieu, here is my edited version.

German Potato Salad

• 3 lbs of red potatoes - cut into large chunks, unpeeled
• 6-8 slices of bacon (turkey or regular) - if you use turkey, I highly recommend adding a few teaspoons of oil to your pan since it will not generate the oil you need like regular bacon does.  I use olive oil.
• 1 larged diced onion - I like to use a mix of red and yellow onion
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar (to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1/2 -1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• black pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add potatoes and cook until tender (but not falling apart).  Drain and cool.
2. In a large skillet, fry bacon until crispy.  (I like to cut bacon into small pieces before cooking.)
3. Add onion and saute until soft.
4. Add flour and then slowly add water and vinegar stirring until thickened.
5. Add sugar, celery seed, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly.
6. Pour mixture over potatoes and stir until potatoes are partially mashed but there are still chunks of potato throughout.