Authentic Southern German Potato Salad
An authentic version of Southern (Swabian) German potato salad. Waxy potatoes are marinated in beef broth, onion, and vinegar, then tossed with oil and served warm.
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- ¾ cup beef broth, or stock
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar, or white distilled or apple cider
- 2 teaspoons German mustard, or Dijon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, or white pepper
- ¼ cup neutral oil
- 1 bunch chives for garnish, chopped
Directions
- Starting with the potatoes, add 2 ½ pounds of whole, unpeeled potatoes to a pot and cover with at least an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork or paring knife can easily pierce them without resistance, about 15-20 minutes or so. Drain and set aside to cool enough to handle.
- While the potatoes cool, add ¾ cup beef broth, 1 diced onion, 2 teaspoons German mustard, ¼ cup white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower to a bare simmer.
- Peel the potatoes and slice about ¼” thick. Place the sliced potatoes into a large heat-resistant, but not metal bowl.
- Pour the hot marinade over the potatoes, give them a gentle stir and then cover for about an hour.
- After the potatoes have soaked for an hour, uncover and stir in ¼ cup neutral oil and some of the chopped chives. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Can be served now while warm and topped with more chives.
- For the best flavor, allow to come to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. The potatoes will continue to soak up more flavor doing this. Before serving, remove it from the refrigerator and let the potato salad sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.
- If there’s still a good amount of liquid at the bottom of the bowl, use a slotted spoon to serve.
Notes
1) Beef Broth – Homemade beef stock is perfect here, but if you don’t have that, I’d recommend a beef base like Better than Bouillon. Instead of 1 teaspoon for 1 cup of water, use about 1 ½ teaspoons for the ¾ cup called for.
2) Marinate Warm – For the best results, be sure to add the hot broth marinade to the still warm potatoes and cover. When both ingredients are still warm to hot, the marinade absorbs better. Adding the oil after the potatoes have had time to marinate also keeps the proper, glistening texture.
3) Potatoes – Use a waxier potato here like Yukon golds, yellow potatoes, or even red potatoes. Don’t use russets as they’re too starchy and more likely to fall apart in the marinade.
To make peeling easy, allow them to cool just enough to handle them. Place a chef’s knife in the middle of the potato, with just enough pressure to pierce the skin and rotate the potato underneath until you’ve cut the skin all the way around. You should now be able to simply slide the skin off both sides of the potato with ease.
4) Soupy Potatoes – Not all potatoes are created equal, and after soaking up the marinade, you may have a lot of liquid left in the bottom of the bowl. I like to keep the liquid when I store them, but you can use a slotted spoon to serve the potatoes so that portions aren’t as soupy.
5) Mustard – Optional, but just a bit of mustard adds flavor and additional tang. Use a mild German mustard if you can find it or look for one labeled Dusseldorf style. If you can’t find any locally, Dijon makes a decent substitute.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 bowlCalories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 4gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 530mgPotassium: 849mgFiber: 5gSugar: 2gCalcium: 32mgIron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
