Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Storing potatoes in the refrigerator allows enzymes to convert starches to sugars, giving the potatoes a hint of sweetness and a creamier texture.
  • Peeling and slicing the potatoes before cooking helps them cook more evenly, while boiling them along with their skins adds back some of the skins' earthy flavor.
  • Adding vinegar to the potatoes immediately after cooking allows the vinegar to penetrate more deeply.
  • Chicken broth adds savory depth to the dressing.

Imagine if someone described their favorite movie to you like this: There's, like, this nerdy farm kid who enjoys shooting animals on the weekend, and he unwittingly gets involved in some major political conflicts that he barely understands, makes out with his sister, and then uses a combination of magic and a poorly designed HVAC system to commit genocide against thousands of construction workers, technicians, and support staff, most of whom probably have families. (Oh, and spoiler alert, Darth Vader is really his father.)

Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (1)

And now, imagine that it's your job to go make that movie. You may well end up with a great movie of your own, but chances are, it's not gonna be too much like the original Star Wars.

That's what it's like when you're tasked with coming up with a recipe for a dish you've never tasted, from a country you've visited only once, when you were a young teenager.

We're all familiar with American and German potato salads, but less so with their Austrian counterpart, a lighter, brighter version of the dish that's simultaneously more refreshing (there's no mayonnaise in it, and relatively little fat overall) and deeper in flavor, thanks to the incorporation of chicken broth and the savoriness it brings. It's flavored with onions, vinegar, and mustard (sometimes with a bit of chopped gherkin), and bound together in a light sauce that gains its creaminess solely from the natural starch found in the potatoes.

The Austrian-style potato salad recipe I developed for Cook's Illustrated in 2008 (paywall) was certainly delicious, I can tell you that, and I'd done enough research on how Austrians make their erdäpfelsalat* to know that I'd gotten the basics right—sliced yellow potatoes, onions, and a splash of chicken broth—but it was still an interpretation based on hearsay.

*I love the literal translation of this word: "earth-apple salad."

That was then, and this is now. After returning from a long trip around Europe that included dragging my wife and infant daughter all across Austria, eating all the schnitzel, wurst, and erdäpfelsalat I could find, I had the idea that I'd use this "research" to help develop recipes for Wursthall, a restaurant in San Mateo. Really nailing the potato salad was one of the first things on my agenda.

Sweet Potatoes

The first hurdle I had to tackle was the potatoes. There are three major commercial varieties: starchy russets; waxy, creamy reds; and Yukon Golds, which bridge the gap in between. The potatoes I tasted in Austria were unvaryingly of the yellow variety, but they tasted fundamentally different from the ones I get back home. While ours tend to have an earthy starchiness to them, the potatoes in Austria were sweeter and creamier.

I tried adding just a touch of sugar to the water in which I boiled them, in the hopes of adding some sweetness, but the flavor ended up cloying and one-dimensional compared to the more complex natural sugars found in the Austrian potatoes.

Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (2)

Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (3)

Many recipes call for cooking mid-sized potatoes in boiling water until they're completely tender; this leaves their skins easy to rub off under cool running water. I compared this method side by side with potatoes that I peeled before cooking, as well as potatoes that I peeled and sliced before cooking. There was no question that cooking them with the skins on produced potatoes with more flavor than cooking them peeled. But cooking potatoes whole produced a different problem:

Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (4)

Even when I started them in cold water, it was hard to get them to cook evenly. By the time the very centers were tender, the exteriors were overly soft, disintegrating into the salad. A bit of soft potato thickens up the dressing and gives the salad creaminess, but too much turns it into cold, chunky mashed potatoes.

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So how to get the nice, evenly cooked texture of sliced potatoes, but the flavor of potatoes cooked with their skins on? Easy. Just add those skins to the cooking water as the potatoes simmer.

I placed my sliced potatoes in a pot, covered them with salted water (it's essential to salt the water when boiling potatoes if you want them to come out flavorful), placed a fine-mesh strainer on top, and set the potato skins in the strainer, with the idea that their flavor would infuse the water like a tea.

It worked out great. You wind up with perfectly cooked potato slices that have all the flavor of potatoes boiled whole.

Building Flavor

As I found out when working on the classic American potato salad recipe for my first book, the other key for building great flavor into the potatoes is to sprinkle them with vinegar (I used white wine vinegar) while they're still hot.

The easiest way to do this is to drain them, then spread them out on a rimmed baking sheet. As hot potatoes sit, they continue to release trapped moisture in the form of steam. As that water escapes, it leaves behind gaps in the potato's structure that get filled with whatever happens to be around. In things like French fries or hash, for instance, oil will move into those spaces. In this case, the vinegar ends up getting absorbed. This only happens if you add the vinegar while the potatoes are still busy losing moisture through steam.

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Dressing the Salad

For the dressing, I went with a pretty classic mix: a dollop of mustard for sharpness, a touch of sugar, some olive oil, some minced red onion (you can also use Vidalias or other sweet onions), a sprinkling of chives (parsley would also be tasty), some more vinegar, and some chicken broth. (In this case, store-bought low-sodium broth works just fine.)

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I folded everything together, working some of the starch from the potatoes into the dressing. The salad should be far looser than a typical American potato salad. Think of it more like sliced potatoes in a vinaigrette, as opposed to a scoopable mixture. As I quickly learned, it thickens up a little as it sits and more starch gets absorbed into the dressing, so when you first construct it, it should seem almost soupy.

Back to the Sweet Potatoes

But hang on a minute. I still hadn't addressed the issue of the sweetness in those Austrian potatoes. Sometimes finding the solution to problems like this requires hard work and critical thinking. In this case, all it required was a bit of laziness and some post facto research. While testing, I'd bought a big ol' 25-pound bag of potatoes to work with, many pounds of which ended up accidentally left in the bottom drawer of my fridge for several weeks before I finally rediscovered them.

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Imagine my surprise when, after boiling them, I found that they were noticeably sweeter and creamier in texture than the exact same potatoes pre-storage!

It shouldn't have surprised me too much. Some years back, when I was doing research for my French fry recipe, I'd learned that one of the banes of the French fry industry is an effect known as cold-induced sweetening (CIS). This is the accumulation of reducing sugars in potatoes as they sit at fridge temperatures, and it's caused by enzymatic breakdown of starch molecules. It's a bad thing in French fries or roast potatoes, which can come out unpalatably dark, but in the case of this potato salad, it was exactly what I needed to give those potatoes the right level of natural sweetness.

What I'm saying is that if you want the ideal Austrian-style potato salad, you're gonna have to do a bit of advance planning and let your potatoes just sit in the fridge for a couple weeks before cooking them.

July 2017

Recipe Details

Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad)

Prep15 mins

Cook20 mins

Active25 mins

Resting Time30 mins

Total65 mins

Serves6 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds (1kg) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices, peels reserved separately (see note)

  • Kosher salt

  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) white wine vinegar, divided, plus more to taste

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) Dijon mustard

  • 3/4 cup (90g) minced red onion, from about 1 small onion

  • 2 tablespoons (6g) minced fresh chives

  • 1/2 cup (120ml)homemadeor store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

  • 2 teaspoons (about 10g) sugar

  • Freshly ground white or black pepper

Directions

  1. Place sliced potatoes in a large saucier or Dutch oven and cover with water. Season generously with salt. Place potato skins in a fine-mesh strainer and place on top of pot. Add just enough water to submerge potato skins. Bring to a boil over high heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

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  2. Discard potato skins, drain potatoes, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (30ml) vinegar and set aside to cool. When they are cool enough to handle, transfer potatoes to a large bowl.

    Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (10)

  3. Add remaining vinegar, olive oil, mustard, red onion, chives, chicken stock, and sugar. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, roughly stir and fold mixture so that potatoes release some starch and liquid begins to thicken a little. Season to taste with more salt and white or black pepper. Set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes and up to overnight. (If resting longer than 4 hours, cover bowl and transfer to refrigerator.) Stir again vigorously to thicken dressing; it should have a loose but not soupy consistency. If it's too thick, thin it out with a little extra water or chicken stock and re-season. Serve cold or at room temperature.

    Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (11)

Special Equipment

Large saucier or Dutch oven, fine-mesh strainer, half-sheet pan

Notes

For the best flavor, store your potatoes in a bag in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks before using them in this recipe, in order to allow natural sugars to build up.

  • Western European
  • Austrian
  • Yukon Gold Potatoes
  • Vegetable Sides
  • Easter Side Dishes
Erdäpfelsalat (Austrian-Style Potato Salad) Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What if I put too much apple cider vinegar in my potato salad? ›

Sugar can also counteract the taste of vinegar

In doing so, the potatoes will absorb the vinegar, and you'll be able to pour out the excess that collects at the bottom of the bowl. After this, you'll want to gradually add sugar by the teaspoon, mixing and tasting as you go.

Why don't you peel potatoes for potato salad? ›

There's no reason at all, so my advice is to leave the skins on. The skin on a potato adds a nice texture and flavor to the potato salad and it's also the healthiest part.

What is the history of German potato salad? ›

American style “German Potato Salad” originated from German immigrants based upon the German Kartoffelsalat. But the true origin of this recipe may be southern Poland. Cuisine doesn't recognize countries borders so who knows for sure.

How to keep potatoes from falling apart when making potato salad? ›

Don't Undercook (or Overcook) the Potatoes

Poke them with a fork after the water has boiled for 5 minutes (or, if steaming, after 15 minutes). Don't wait until they fall apart when pierced with a fork.

What does apple cider vinegar do to potatoes? ›

Vinegar causes the potatoes to form a thin crust that further helps in retaining their shape. Vinegar increases the acid pH levels of water which further helps the potato just like when you add a little salt to the water while boiling eggs.

What if I add too much apple cider vinegar to my recipe? ›

If you have added too much vinegar to a recipe, you can try adding a bit of sugar or honey to help balance the acidity. You could also try diluting the vinegar by adding more of the other ingredients in the recipe.

Should I cut potatoes before boiling for potato salad? ›

Drop a whole russet into the pot and by the time the outside has cooked through, the inside will still be raw. Larger potatoes should be cubed to ensure they cook evenly (peeled first if desired). Smaller potatoes tend to have thin skins and can be boiled whole, no peeling required.

What kind of potatoes are best for potato salad? ›

Waxy potatoes are generally considered the best for classic potato salad because they retain their shape, you don't have to peel them, and they have a smooth texture.

Is it better to peel potatoes before boiling for potato salad? ›

Unpeeled potatoes.

The thin skins are usually tender after cooking and add color to the potato salad. Dice unpeeled potatoes into uniformly-sized pieces. Place in cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer until tender.

What is the difference between American and German potato salad? ›

There are two main differences between American and German Potato salads. American potato salad is usually tossed in a mayonnaise-based dressing and served cold. German potato salad is tossed in a vinegar-based dressing and is traditionally served warm (but you can totally serve it cold too! It's still delicious!).

What's the difference between American and German potato salad? ›

The differences between American and German potato salad lie in their ingredients and how they're served. Traditional American potato salads use mayo as a base, whereas German potato salads use vinegar and bacon drippings. Because American potato salads use mayo, they are usually served cold.

How do Germans eat potatoes? ›

Here are some general guidelines:
  • Boiled potatoes: Boiled potatoes are a common side dish in Germany. ...
  • Mashed potatoes: Mashed potatoes are often served as a side dish with meat and gravy or with sausages. ...
  • Roast potatoes: Roast potatoes are a popular side dish in Germany, particularly during the colder months.
Feb 13, 2023

Is it better to steam or boil potatoes for potato salad? ›

Boiling potatoes for potato salad is time-consuming and often waterlogs the potatoes. Here's a simple way to cook your potatoes for a better texture — no pot of boiling water required!

Should you salt the water when boiling potatoes for potato salad? ›

Potatoes without seasoning are bland and flavorless, and salt adds delicious flavor. Potatoes are dense and require time to absorb some of the salt during cooking. That is why the salted water must be concentrated, claims Bon Appétit.

Why does my potato salad taste bland? ›

Forgetting To Salt The Water

Just as you would with pasta, seasoning the water is the only way to flavor the potatoes themselves. The vegetable absorbs the water it's cooked in, so if you just boil them in unseasoned water, you'll end up with tasteless taters that no amount of mayo, herbs, or bacon bits can help.

How do you fix vinegar taste in potato salad? ›

The addition of a sweet element, like sugar or any sweetener, should also be enough to neutralize the extra vinegar, but if the flavor is still off, use a pinch of baking soda. If all else fails, adding more potatoes is an option.

How do you neutralize apple cider vinegar in a recipe? ›

Combining apple cider vinegar with an alkaline compound, such as baking soda, may help neutralize some of its acidity.

How do you reduce the taste of vinegar in salad? ›

You need to dilute it with something else. These options could include mustard, oil, water, yoghurt, or, to reduce the acidity, some sugar or honey. Go easy: you can always add more of something if it needs it, but you can't remove it if you add too mich.

References

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