Potato Salad w/ Vinegar & Bacon

I am not going to call this "German" potato salad, because it isn't the traditional "German" recipe. Most German potato salads use a lot of bacon grease and they are almost always served warm.

Since it's been so hot out, I didn't want to bring a mayo based potato salad (my favorite) to a party, knowing that it would be a breeding ground for salmonella (you know Sal Minella, I went to high school with him and he stars in Jersey Shore?).

This version, using cider vinegar and bacon for plenty of flavor, kept well for a few hours at room temperature, and so far, no one has called with food poisoning.

It is a little time consuming, but everyone raved. It was a nice change.

I still prefer air conditioned parties.

Potato Salad w/ Vinegar & Bacon:

1 1/2 lbs. small potatoes (I used red new potatoes and left the skins on)
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 bunch of scallions
1 bunch of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 lb. of bacon, fried crisp and drained
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup of canola or olive oil
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp sugar
salt & pepper
fresh dill and chives for garnish (optional)
2 hard boiled eggs, sliced for the top

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water for about 23 minutes until fork tender.
Drain and if you have iron hands like I do, slice them while they are hot and transfer to a large bowl.

In a skillet, fry up your bacon slices until crisp. Drain on paper towels and crumble. Set aside, saving 1 tbsp of the bacon fat in the skillet.

In the same skillet you fried the bacon in, cook the chopped onion and celery for about 4 minutes until softened.

Add the cider vinegar, mustard seeds, sugar and oil and simmer for another 2 minutes with the celery and onions. Add the bacon to the skillet and mix together.
This will be your warm dressing.

Pour the hot dressing with the onion mixture over your potatoes in the bowl and gently toss to coat the potatoes.

Add the scallions, dill (if using) and fresh parsley. Season to taste with salt & pepper and garnish the top with egg slices.



You can eat this warm or at room temperature. It was delicious.

Enjoy!

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