This Old-Fashioned Wisconsin German Potato Salad from RecipeLion takes this classic deli salad and adds a smoky, savory twist from a little bit of bacon. Take it to your next potluck, and it’ll be the talk of the buffet table.
Spring is right around the corner, and I don’t know about you guys, but I get spring fever early, which means spring cleaning, spring decorating, and most importantly, spring food! And in my family, spring means deli salads. And lots of them.
Personally, I love a good chicken salad (especially if it has grapes and pecans), but this charming Old-Fashioned Wisconsin German Potato Salad recipe is a real winner.
And the recipe really is simple. There are no fancy, complicated ingredients that you’ve never heard of. Instead, it’s the potatoes, onions, and smoky bacon that give this potato salad the flavor that really packs a punch. My family likes to eat their potato salad nice and cold, but in my opinion, the flavors of this particular recipe come out more when it’s served warm or at room temperature.
- 3 lbs. medium russet or red potatoes
- 5 strips bacon, chopped
- ½ cups coarsely chopped onion
- ½ cups coarsely chopped celery
- 2 tbsp. flour
- 3 tbsp. sugar
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- Peel and cut potatoes into ¼ inch slices. In a large pot, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil over high heat, lower heat to medium and cook about 20 minutes or until just fork-tender. Drain.
- While potatoes cook, place bacon into a large skillet and brown until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon pieces and set aside. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Over medium heat, cook onion and celery in the skillet for about 5 minutes or until they begin to turn translucent.
- Combine flour, sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix well. Pour over the onion/celery mixture and stir for 1 minute to cook the flour, then add the water and vinegar and continue stirring over medium low heat for about 2 minutes it will thicken and become syrupy.
- Add the drained potatoes to the pan and toss gently to coat with the dressing, then add the bacon (reserving some for garnish) and toss again very gently to keep the potato slices intact.
- Serve while warm or at room temperature, garnished with reserved bacon pieces and some celery leaves.
