German Potato Salad

[medpedspouse]

Oktoberfest, next weekend: You guys will have to bring the German potato salad (puhlease, no sweat crap in it!) and a baguette.

Just got this email from a friend. This is the friend whose I wife I was with at the hospital because she had cancer. She was an amazing cook and always made a big to do about Oktoberfest. He is German. So, the pressure is on.

Got any awesome German Potato Salad recipes? BTW, I think he meant to say sweet not sweat. Still, don't know what he means by sweet crap in potato salad.

[diggitydot]

Bwaahaahaaaa! My mom mixes up sweet/sweat all. the. time.

[ides]

I think she means sweet relish. It's put in potato salad a lot. I like it like that, though. I think german potato salad is a different beast. I'm no expert however.

You may want to PM Kris, Alison or Sandy for an "authentic" recipe. I've always been curious if German Potato Salad IS a real German thing, but if it is, they'll be your go-to girls.

[alison]

I don't know what it is, sorry. Can you describe it a bit more?

[poky]

We don't eat potato salad, but I've sent an email to my MIL asking if she has a recipe she likes. Will post it here if she sends me one.

[Tenacious_D]

Isn't it with bacon and no mayo...if i remember correctly it's a little lighter than the standard southern style.

[Michele]

Here's Bobby Flay's version.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/b...ipe/index.html

And here's an allrecipes.com search sorted by rating. There are three with 4.5 stars and 200ish ratings. I'd start there.
http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes...ion=Descending

I've never heard of it nor had it so....

Isn't it with bacon and no mayo...if i remember correctly it's a little lighter than the standard southern style.

That's what I was thinking. I made Cook's Illustrated's "German Potato Salad" recently-- much to the disappointment of my family who heard potato salad and expected mayonnaise. The recipe I used had a mustard and vinegar based sauce, and bacon, and was served warm.

I'd go with Cook's Illustrated.

Kris - is it something Thomas is familiar with? With Alison's answer, I'm assuming it's not really a German thing (like how curry powder isn't an Indian thing).

[medpedspouse]

Well, heck then. Why is the dude asking for German potato salad if it is not a German thing.

Kind of gets me off the hook then - ya know? I can just make a yummy one and not worry about authenticity. LOL

Maybe it's regional? As long as you do the no mayo/no relish version, you're probably on the right track.

[alison]

Maybe it's a potato salad that he's never been able to find over here. The potato salads that I've had in Germany are much lighter and I think have a more vinegar-y base for its dressing.

Bacon (the way we know it here) doesn't really exist in Germany. It's "speck," and it's more like Italian bacon, pancetta.

[HouseofWool]

In Wisconsin, German Potato Salad is sliced boiled potatos in a vinegar sauce served warm. I can't stand it, but it is really popular regionally. I can try to find a recipe if you still need it, what is the deadline?

[medpedspouse]

I meant to update sooner. I made it yesterday. As my friend said, "very good but not German." I combined a couple of German PS recipes from Allrecipes.com and as all of you said it had vinegar instead of mayo. Turns out the one his mom made has mayo, boiled eggs, dill relish like stuff....WTH? I said, that sounds like American PS!