Hot German Potato Salad

Posted on July 5, 2007. Filed under: german, potato, salad, sidedish |

I’m not a real big fan of mayonnaise, so I’m not a real big fan of traditional, creamy American-style potato salad, but Hot German Potato Salad, with sliced red-skinned potatoes, bacon, dill, onions and lots of vinegar is always a favorite. I often put more vinegar in than is called for because I love it so much.

Great with hamburgers or bratwurst, by itself, or for breakfast (according to my older brother…yeah, I don’t know either). This recipe is from the Betty Crocker Cookbook, circa 1976. My mother’s had her copy of this cookbook since the early days of her marriage, but mine came from a sale at the school she works at when they were selling off their Home Ec supplies (as did my first set of pots and pans, of similar vintage and in avocado green).

On to the food.

3 pounds potatoes

6 slices bacon

3/4 cup chopped onion

2 T flour

2 T sugar

2 t salt

1/2 t celery seed or dill weed

dash pepper

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

Wash and peel potatoes. Heat salted water to boiling. Add potatoes. Cover tightly and return to boiling, cooking for 30 to 35 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a large skillet fry bacon until crisp, remove and drain. Cook and stir onion in bacon drippings until tender and golden brown. Stir in flour, sugar, celery seed or dill weed, salt, and pepper. Cook over low head, stirring until bubbly. Remove from heat, add water and vinegar. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for one minute.

Thinly slice potatoes, and crumble bacon over them. Pour sauce over potatoes and stir to coat. (The recipe actually calls to add the potatoes to the skillet, but I personally feel pouring hot potatoes into a hot sauce is a horrible accident waiting to happen, and I prefer to reverse the directions and pour the sauce over the potatoes in the pot I’ve boiled them in)

The recipe doesn’t specify, but I almost always use red-skinned potatoes, and skip the peeling step. Yukon Golds would also work for this purpose, but I like the addition of the red color the skins bring to the salad.