Memorial Day means barbecue. Which to first appearance means I don’t have to do any work, because Himself does the grilling. Seriously. I don’t even know how to light the grill.
But appearances are wrong, because barbecue also means side dishes. Lots of side dishes. (Yum!) And lots of dirty dishes. (Boo!) And lots of leftovers. (Yay!) And lots of indigestion. (Argh.)
For years, my barbecue menu has lacked potato salad. I hate mayonnaise, and it’s usually a critical ingredient in potato salad. So no potato salad for me and mine, thankyouverymuch. Then I discovered German potato salad, which has infinitely less mayonnaise and infinitely more bacon. Both pluses in my book.
German Potato Salad
- 5 pounds red potatoes: cleaned, boiled, and peeled
- 6 oz. bacon, diced fine
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 4 Tbsp stone ground mustard
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- chopped Italian parsley, to taste
Clean and boil your red potatoes in salted water until they’re cooked. Drain. When they’re cool enough to handle or about 30 minutes before serving, rub off the skins, and slice. As you stir in the dressing, they will crumble to a large dice. Don’t do this too early, the potatoes retain their heat better in their skins. After your potatoes are sliced, start making the dressing.
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, cook the bacon until it is golden brown and crisp. Throw in the diced onion and cook it with the bacon until it’s translucent. Stir the flour into the bacon and onion and let it cook for one minute, then whisk in the chicken broth, vinegar, sugar, and mustard. Taste it and adjust the salt – remember this will be flavoring the potatoes, and so the dressing should be salty. But not inedibly salty.
Bring the contents of the pan to a boil whisking constantly, when it thickens remove it from the heat. Dress the potatoes with the warm dressing, and add chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve warm or room temperature, but not cold.
Experimental Cookery 