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I'm trying to make a German potato salad that (my best friend's) Oma used to make. It had ham juice, cider vinegar, a little ham, dill pickle juice and dill pickles in it, hard boiled eggs and green onions.
I'm going to wing it this time, but does this recipe sound familiar to anyone?
I've googled, and don't see anything like it. I'm sure it's some regional variation. It was served cold, not hot, and the dressing was not creamy.
Ideas?
Danke schon (can't find an umlaut

wth is ham juice? LOL

Yeah really, do you put a ham in a blender or something?

Ham juice is the juice in the roasting pan after cooking a ham as most hams are water added. Mine use it but it is severed hot.

http://www.germany-insider-facts.com/ge ... ecipe.html

try this site--it might provide some guidance at least

waterguy wrote:Ham juice is the juice in the roasting pan after cooking a ham as most hams are water added. Mine use it but it is severed hot.

That is pretty much what I gathered but it just struck my funny. Ok, maybe not

Yep, a pretty unsophisticated word for it, I guess! I never thought of it as such!

Loria, thanks for that link! That reminds me of another step in Oma's process, that I forgot; letting the potatoes sit overnight.

My first try is cooling, and we'll see what comes of it!

I don't believe I've ever had cold German potato salad. Won't the ham juice (fats) get, shall we say "congealed" if they are chilled?

Let us know how this turns out!!

cold that's how you eat it the next day,
Your not talking about cooking bacon and then adding potato to pan that's my recipe.

I can't help you with a recipe but I remember cold, vinegar-based potato salad from my childhood. The last time I had it was at Hassner's in Baltimore.

Well, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't quite right, either! A friend gave me the phone number for one of Oma's other daughters, and I'll call her today. In researching on the net last evening, I read that the Southern German regions tended to use a vinegrette type dressing, rather than a creamy dressing. Now that I have a craving for a childhood food, I'm on a mission to recreate it, and I'll share a recipe when I get one.
Marcia, there was only a couple of tablespoons of ham drippings, along with cider vinegar and a little oil, so no, it never congealed. Oma froze her ham drippings/juice into little ice cubes for salad.

If anyone's interested, these are the directions from Oma's daughter. This recipe was from Eastern Germany near Berlin, and some of Oma's relatives were from Poland.
The directions are typically nonspecific, but here they are:
"You need enough dressing to coat however many potatoes you have, and have a layer in the bottom of the bowl."
"Boil your potatoes in their skins, in salt water to just tender, and cool overnight. Mix and warm equal parts ham juice, cider vinegar and oil in a sauce pan. Chop some green onions and put them in the pan with the warm dressing, to wilt. Remove from heat and add some chopped dill pickles, some ham, and a couple of chopped hard boiled eggs.
Cut your potatoes into bite sized pieces. Pour the dressing over them and toss lightly to coat, then refrigerate. After a couple of hours, taste and add vinegar to taste. She said typically, she'd need to add a little vinegar. Chill overnight and serve. You can add some chopped parsley if you have it."
It may be an acquired taste, but I loved this salad, and can't wait to taste it again Probably worth trying a small batch of it, the next time you have "ham juice."

Minde,
Thanks for sharing the recipe. Like many others I have made hot German potato salad for years but have never heard of it cold. I like the idea for summer.
AH

I checked my German cookbook for you and here is their recipe for cold potato salad:

6-8 boiling potatoes
Water to cover
Salt
1 medium onion, minced
1 ¼ cups beef stock
5-6 tbsp. white vinegar
4-5 tbsp. salad oil
Prepared mustard (optional)
White pepper
½ cup mayonnaise or sour cream (optional)

Cook unpeeled potatoes in boiling salted water to cover. Don’t overcook or they’ll fall apart. Peel while hot and slice thinly. Place in bowl with onion. Bring beef stock to a boil with a little salt and the vinegar. Pour over potatoes and marinate until the liquid is absorbed—about 30 minutes. Pour off excess liquid and stir in the oil. Mix in the mustard if using. Flavor with pepper. Cool. Fold in mayo or sour cream if using but note that these are typically not included.

Variations: all kinds of things flavor this salad in Germany. You may add more vinegar, or use white wine instead of the vinegar. Minced green herbs are often added—especially parsley and chives—and so are chopped cucumber, diced peeled apple or diced peeled cooked celery root. Leftover meats can be chopped or slivered and added, as can any kind of smoked ham, tounge, or wurst. Chopped anchovies or salt herring, or dill pickle, is also sometimes added.

Thanks, Liamsaunt Looks like the one I'm jonesing for is a variation of that. I'll try to make it next weekend. We still have to eat my failed attempt.