Best Grandma Charlottes German Potato Salad Recipes

GRANDMA'S GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Put whole potatoes with the skin on in large pan and boil until just tender through (I check with a wooden skewer). You don't want them "mushy." Drain and cover with cold water and set aside. While potatoes are cooking, you can start making the "sauce." Cut bacon into 3/4-inch pieces. Cut green pepper and onions into small pieces (like on pizza) and mince the garlic. Add bacon, onions, and green pepper to frying pan and sauté until tender; add garlic towards the end so it doesn't burn. When these ingredients are tender, do not drain bacon grease. Add vinegar to the pan until it is about 1 inch deep in the pan. Bring to a simmer and start adding sugar until mixture becomes a sweet/sour flavor. Be careful - the vinegar "fumes" can "choke" you, so stand back from the pan as you pour the vinegar. Simmer this mixture for about 10-12 minutes until the flavors blend. Watch closely while simmering; you don't want the mixture to burn. Peel the potatoes and cut into bite-size pieces. Put the potatoes back in the bowl. Pour cooked mixture over potatoes and mix thoroughly and gently with two large spoons. Place mixture in metal pan and put in warm oven or gently cook in frying pan. Mix each serving to get full favors. Serve warm and enjoy! Yummy!

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.

GRANDMA CHARLOTTE'S GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Boil potatoes in its skin until they are "al dente", not too soft. Leave them to cool, peel and cut in slices. Chop onion and the meat (or bacon) and fry in some oil. Do not discard the fried oil. Chop Cornichons. Mix potatoes, Cornichons, onions and meat/bacon together with some of the fried oil (1 tablespoon). Add 1 tablespoon of mustard, some salt and pepper as well as the Creme Fraiche. Stir. In order to keep the salad moist and from drying out, add some of the Cornichon juice (Grandma says a shot of Cornichon water, never managed to give a more detailed info). Leave in a cool place over night. Another variety of the salad was without Creme Fraiche (as my uncle Tom doesn't like it), simply omit the Creme Fraiche and add a bit more oil. Most excellent with warm Wiener (our traditional Christmas dinner)

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.