German Potato Salad
This easy German Potato Salad recipe is a tangy mixture of tender potatoes and crispy chopped bacon in a zesty vinaigrette. Simple to make, this classic German-style potato salad will be a hit at your next picnic or BBQ.
Servings: 6
Calories: 400kcal
Ingredients
- 2 pounds petite red potatoes, cut into quarters (approximately 1 ½ inch in size)
- 8 ounces bacon, 6 to 7 slices thick cut, diced into ½ inch pieces
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons German style mustard, Boar’s Head brand (see tips)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup white vinegar
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided (2 tablespoons in potato salad and 1 tablespoon for garnish)
Instructions
- To a large (5 quart) stock pot add the red potatoes and cover with water. Be sure that you have about 1 to 2 inches of water over the top surface of the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water is boiling, allow the potatoes to cook for 8 to 10 minutes or just until fork tender. You do not want your potatoes to overcook as they will fall apart once mixed with the other ingredients.
- While the potatoes are boiling, start cooking the bacon. Add the bacon pieces to a medium skillet, on medium heat, and allow the bacon to crisp, and render its fat for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the crispy bacon from the skillet. Place it onto a paper towel lined plate to absorb any excess grease and set aside. Leave all the rendered bacon fat in the skillet.
- To the skillet of bacon fat, add the diced yellow onions, salt and black pepper. Cook the onion for 2 to 3 minutes or just until translucent and tender.
- Add the german style stone ground mustard, granulated sugar, and white vinegar. Whisk until all the bacon fat is fully blended with the other ingredients. Remove from the heat.
- Once the potatoes are cooked, drain the water from the stock pot leaving the potatoes in the pot.
- Pour the warm dressing over the potatoes then add the crispy bacon and 2 tablespoons of the chopped fresh parsley. Very gently stir together the ingredients of the german potato salad being careful not to break apart the potatoes too much as you are mixing.
- Transfer the german potato salad to a large serving bowl and garnish with the remaining 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- German style mustard is a stone ground mustard made using a white wine and horseradish to flavor it. Boar’s Head Brand is easily found in local grocery stores. A very similar mustard to use in this recipe would be stone ground, or spicy, Dijon mustard. The Dijon will not have the added horseradish in it for added flavor and spice. American style yellow mustard is not a good substitute in this recipe.
- Smaller, petite style, waxy potatoes like the red potatoes or a yukon gold potato are best for this recipe. Russet potatoes are a bit too starchy of a potato to use for this German potato salad.
- Dicing the thick sliced bacon before cooking helps give you nice uniform bacon pieces and I find that the bacon cooks more evenly in the skillet while crisping and rendering its fat.
- Apple cider vinegar can be substituted for the white vinegar however, I find the white vinegar to be the most traditional choice for German potato salad.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 737mg | Potassium: 827mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 241IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 2mg