TL/DR – Sauerkraut Potato Salad. Highly underrated sauerkraut, along with fresh dill, turn ordinary potato salad into a very tasty side for bratwurst or any main dish. –
Sauerkraut is one of those things that is often forgotten. The fact that it is cabbage can feel a little off-putting. For me, sauerkraut is like pickled onions. I would so much rather eat a crunchy pickled onion than a raw or even a plain old cooked onion. Same with cabbage–the crisp, salty, tart and tangy flavor that sauerkraut provides is a thousand times better than plain cabbage.
When craving grilled bratwurst recently, I wondered what would happen if I added sauerkraut to potato salad. The result is amazing. It’s not rocket science adding one delicious thing to another delicious thing, but still, this somehow feels like I won a prize.
Start with 2 pounds of small red potatoes, cut into about 1 inch pieces. Boil salted water and add the cut potatoes and cook them until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Meanwhile, dice a red onion and soak the pieces in cold water for a few minutes. This step mitigates that overpowering raw onion taste.
Dice some celery, a ton of fresh dill and drain about a cup of sauerkraut, (no need to rinse it, just squeeze the moisture out through a sieve or strainer.) Add these to a large bowl along with mayonnaise and the well-drained onions.
Drain the boiled potatoes and rinse them in cool water, then add them into the bowl and mix well. Taste it before adding more salt. Sauerkraut is salty and the potatoes are also cooked in salted water, so err on the side of caution. I find that I typically need to add about 1/2 t kosher salt and a good amount of freshly ground black pepper.
Serve this with grilled bratwurst and additional sauerkraut, of course. For other delicious summertime potato sides, try Buttermilk Packet Potatoes or Roasted Potatoes with Creamy Herb Sauce, both of which can be made on the grill.
Sauerkraut Potato Salad
Highly underrated sauerkraut, along with fresh dill, turn ordinary potato salad into a very tasty side for bratwurst or any main dish.
Ingredients
- 2 lb small red potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 T plus 1 t kosher salt, divided
- 1 c sauerkraut, drained well and moisture squeezed out
- 3/4 c red onion, diced, from one small red onion
- 3/4 c celery, diced, from about 2 or 3 stalks
- 3 T fresh dill, minced
- 1 c mayonnaise
- freshly ground pepper, to taste
Directions
- Step 1 In a medium saucepan, bring 6 to 8 cups of water to a boil with 1 T kosher salt in the water. Place the cut potato pieces into the boiling water and cook them until fork tender, about 12 to 15 minutes.
- Step 2 While the potatoes cook, dice the onion and place the pieces into a bowl of cold water to soak for 5 minutes. This mellows the raw onion flavor.
- Step 3 Dice the celery, mince the dill, squeeze the moisture from the sauerkraut and place everything in a large bowl along with the mayonnaise. Drain the onions well and add them to the bowl.
- Step 4 Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain them, rinse them in cool water for a minute or so, then drain them well and add them to the bowl. Stir everything together until the potato salad is well incorporated.
- Step 5 Taste it at this point, then add up to 1 t of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving, preferably longer.
