Grandma Flos German Potato Salad Recipes

CLASSIC GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Boil potatoes 10-15 minutes. Drain while making sauce.
• Fry bacon until crisp, drain and crumble. Set aside.
• Fry onion until slightly done in bacon grease.
• Add water, vinegar, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and add 1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in a small amount of water.(this will thicken the sauce -- a must!).
• Add the butter and stir until melted.
• Peel and slice warm potatoes and add to sauce.
• Stir in bacon. Salt and pepper to taste.

GRANDMA FLO'S GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Cook potatoes until tender but not mushy.
• Peel and dice into a large bowl.
• Add the onion, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.
• Mix together and set aside for one hour.
• Brown the bacon until crisp, pour off half the grease.
• Add the half & half, DO NOT STIR THIS, LET IF BOIL UNTIL ALL FOAMY.
• When the bacon and half & half is all foamy pour over potato mixture and stir.
• Serve this at room temperature or just a slight bit warm.
• DO NOT HEAT TO THE BOILING POINT, YOU WILL BOIL THE VINEGAR OUT OF THE RECIPE.

TRADITIONAL GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Peel potatoes, and place in a large pot with enough water to cover by several inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, add 1 tablespoon salt, and reduce to a gentle boil. Cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes.
• While the potatoes cook, combine the vinegar, sugar, and remaining 2 teaspoons salt in a small saucepan, and place over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
• Drain potatoes into a colander. Using gloves or paper towels to protect your hands, slice the hot potatoes into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Drizzle with hot vinegar mixture, gently stirring until all potatoes are coated. Set aside.
• Saute bacon in a large skillet placed over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until browned and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon; transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. Drain excess fat from skillet, leaving a thin coating in bottom. Add onions; saute until translucent but not browned.
• Add beef broth; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Pour over the reserved warm potato mixture, and sprinkle with the reserved bacon and chopped parsley. Gently stir to combine, and serve immediately.

GRANDMA VERA'S GERMAN POTATO SALAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Boil potatoes and drain, set aside to cool.
• Fry bacon, reserve 4 Tbsp of the drippings.
• Fry diced onion in drippings until soft.
• Stir into the dripping the flour and stir well until brown.
• Add to browned mixture your water, vinegar and sugar.
• Stir fast so it does not lump up on you. It should get bubbly and thicken up.
• Pour hot mixture over potatoes. Add crumbled cooled bacon. stir in celery seed and salt and pepper.
• You can add sliced up green onions on top if you would like.
• The sauce is easily doubled if you like it saucier.
• * I use splenda instead of sugar and it works great.

GRANDMA GARSTANG'S GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and cut into half-dollar size slices 1/4" thick or so. If the potato is large, cut it in two lengthwise then slice. Place the slices into a large bowl filled with cold water, keeping the potatoes submerged to prevent browning.
• Cook bacon, saving all of the drippings. Crumble or chop bacon and place into a bowl, covering bacon and drippings and set aside. Yes, I said save the drippings. All will be revealed to those who are patient and/or hungry. Tip: Use the Alton Brown method of oven-baking the bacon. It's less messy, the bacon cooks more evenly and it conserves more of the drippings for later. Don't know what the Alton Brown method is? Google it.
• While bacon is cooking, boil eggs until very hard, 15-20 minutes after the water reaches a boil. Shell and chop coarsely. Cover and set aside.
• While eggs are boiling, chop onion into medium pieces. Place in a colander and rinse under hot water for a minute or so to remove the bitter compounds.
• Put a large stock pot (12 quart at least) half-filled with water on to boil. (Tip: fill pot with hot tap water - it will cut the boil time considerably) When it reaches a full rolling boil, drain the potato slices and *slowly* dump them into the pot. Cook until just done - soft-ish but still firm enough they won't fall apart when stirred. Al dente, if you will, were such a term applicable to potatoes. Drain.
• Keep in mind the potatoes will continue too cook in the retained heat for several minutes after taken off the boil. Try to coordinate the other steps to all be ready as sson as the potatoes are done.
• While potatoes are boiling, quickly combine the bacon crumbles, onion and eggs in a large bowl. In a 4 quart saucepan, heat the reserved bacon drippings (there should be about one cup) on low and when warm add the flour until smooth and all the lumps are gone. Add the sugar and whisk in the vinegar. Heat over medium slowly, gradually increasing the temperature to medium high, until the sauce has thickened to thin mayonnaise consistency. Remove from heat and cover.
• After the potatoes are drained, put them back into the stock pot (you'll need the room). Add the bacon-egg-onion mix and stir gently until reasonably well combined. Pour the sauce over and stir gently until well-combined, taking care not to damage the potato slices too much. The egg yolk will emulsify into the sauce and create a mayonnaise right in the pot.
• Making sure your cardiologist is standing by, serve warm aside with any German food - Bratwurst, knockwurst, schnitzel, sauerbraten, with good strong beer. My wife says this potato salad is a meal in its own right. I believe her.