It’s been getting pretty warm here in NC and it’s time to bust out the summer recipes. One thing I’ve always been curious about is why potato salad ALWAYS has mayonnaise in it. I think mayonnaise is one of the most disgusting things in the world, basically a crime against food, so I don’t include it in any of my cooking. 🤢
Recently, thanks to a Facebook post that blew up, I learned that there was actually a Facebook group called “I HATE MAYONNAISE,” so naturally I joined ASAP to relate to my fellow mayonnaise-haters about why in the fuck so many people love such an absolutely disgusting condiment. I grew up in the Midwest where people think all foods should be heavily slathered in either mayonnaise or ranch dressing, both of which I find revolting. I thought there was something wrong with me, but, thanks to this Facebook group, I now know that I’m not alone.
The revelation that I am not alone in my loathing of mayonnaise made me wonder if I could find or create recipes for many popular mayo-centric dishes that exclude the hated ingredient. A quick Google search for potato salad recipes sans mayo brought me to this recipe: German Potato Salad!
I am a small part German on my dad’s side and my married name (Yonk) is definitely German, but I haven’t dabbled much in German food previously. This recipe was pretty simple; it took longer to chop the potatoes than anything else. I chose to leave the skin on the potatoes just like I do with mashed potatoes. I think the skin adds texture to the dish.
After cutting/boiling the potatoes and cooking/chopping the bacon, I mixed the chicken broth, oil, and vinegar in my large pot and brought it to a boil. I skipped the onions as usual because we hate onions. Then I just added the cooked potatoes and bacon to the pot, mixed it up, and let it set off the heat. I seasoned it with dried dill weed (Amazon Prime Now didn’t have fresh dill and I didn’t feel like going to the store; don’t judge me!) The final step was seasoning with salt and pepper and letting it chill in the fridge a bit before serving. That gave me plenty of time to make homemade burgers to go with it.
This potato salad is really good! You can eat it warm or cold, but I prefer it cold. You can adjust the level of chicken broth flavor and dill to your own preferences, and it’s overall just a very delicious version of a popular summer cookout food made friendly for those who don’t enjoy eating globs of nasty mayonnaise while baking in the hot sun.
This experiment has inspired me to spend the summer searching out other mayo-centric recipes that can be made without all the stinky white globby horror. Which one should I try next? Chicken salad or tuna salad? Egg salad? I don’t know yet, but stay tuned!
Do you like mayonnaise or do you also think it’s gross? Talk to me in the comments! Any fellow mayo-haters should join us in the Facebook group and enjoy the solidarity!
Musings of a Dog Mom 