Poutine
Several weeks ago, I was tagged by Cherry at Diet-Meals-Recipes to write about my favorite food. It took me a while because frankly, you just can't go around whipping up an order of Poutine everyday. I also, don't know if I need to point out the irony of a blog dedicated to healthy eating and dieting encouraging me to prepare and consume one of the most unhealthy (blissfully unhealthy) foods on the planet. But I would like to thank Cherry for helping me to rationalize eating this meal!
Poutine is my all-time favorite food. No joke, if I had to pick my "last meal" this would be it. It is the perfect food to eat at a chip wagon at 3:00 in the morning, it is the perfect hangover cure, and it is the perfect food to satisfy pregnancy cravings (warning: eating Poutine 3 times a week while pregnant may cause excessive weight gain - and that little nugget was provided from a position of great authority on the topic).
Poutine, for those who don't know, basically consists of french fries, fresh cheese curds and gravy. The best Poutine will be made with thick, fresh cut french fries, real cheese curds (not grated mozzarella) and a beef veloute sauce. If you have never had Poutine, my advice is DO NOT make this recipe. Once you get a taste of this, you will be hooked like me.
Poutine
makes 4 side servings or 2 main servings
4 large russet potatoes
oil for deep frying
salt
2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups cheese curds
1. Peel and slice the potatoes into thick fries (at least 1 cm thick).
2. Soak the potatoes in ice water for about 30 minutes. Remove and drain well.
3. Heat oil for frying to about 325F and deep fry potatoes for about 8 minutes.
4. Remove from oil and set on paper towel. Turn the oil up to 375F.
5. In a saucepan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Add the beef broth and stir over medium-high heat until thickened. Reduce heat and keep hot. (I use a tiny bit of gravy browning to get that nice dark colour).
6. Return the french fries to the oil and continue frying until golden and crispy. This should take about 5 more minutes. Remove fries to drain on paper towel and salt to taste.
7. Assemble the poutine quick while everything is still HOT. (Poutine is best made in a bowl or other container which will contain the heat and help melt the curds. Also, the curds should be at room temperature before assembling the Poutine). Start with a layer of fries. Put some cheese curds in the middle. Add more fries and top with more cheese curds.
8. Ladle gravy over the fries and cheese curds.
24 comments:
That sounds so dangerously good I want to cry. Too bad it's going to be close to 100 today in Minneapolis or else...
I'm glad you posted this recipe Janet. As you know poutine is one of my all time favourites!!! Chip trucks are illegal here (talk about kill joys) so, we have just one in the entire valley Jeffrey's Fryze. Worth the 1-1/2 hour drive to Penticton!!!I bet it tastes as good as it looks!!!
Janet, you need to come to Montreal and have poutine here...
I had never had poutine until a roommate made it a few years ago. Although I don't think hers was the same as yours, it was delicious. And I know I don't need the recipe, but I'm gonna save it to make this up sometime when I am craving something really unhealthy!!
I have never heard of this in my entire life, Janet, and I will have to try it!! Soon!!!
The *drool* that started coming out of my mouth reading this, I can' even *tell* you...
this looks really good, in a gross way. and that is a good thing! ooey gooey!
Atta' girl...homemade gravy. Your poutine look good and from the ingredients, ARE great!
Janet:
I subscribe your feed and was reading it on Bloglines.
Do you know how big your pictures are? That's huge and really crispy!
I almost hit my nose on my monitor. I can smell it! ;-)
Keep up the good works! Great foods!
Thanks for completing this tag. Seriously your Poutine way looks better than the lousy one at wikipedia.
I can see why this causes excessive weight gain, cheese curd, french fries and gravy. All deep fried :D
But hey maybe this can comforts me better than a hug. And since the ingredients are easy to get here, I will try this very soon :D. You can't be wrong with cheese and fries. Thanks again!
I've often said the only time I regret giving up eating fries was when I walked by a chip wagon during one of its rushes (omg the smell!) This would be a second reason for me to miss eating fries! Your poutine looks great and thanks for not having smell-a-vision so I would have to endure the enticing smells of it as well as the picture! It would probably push me to give up on giving up on fries!
Your poutine looks really good. It has been a while since I have had poutine but now I have a craving for it. This recipe looks simple enough to do at home as well.
I lived in Ottawa for a little while and ate WAY too much of this. Divine!
Wow! I've never had anything like this... I must either seek this out or try it out at home!
Three Words:
E S D
Nuf said.
never heard of this but it sounds like the best hangover cure known to humans!
ps- cheese curds? need help with that one...
Ah, poutine ... when I lived in Ottawa, it was my lunch staple. My 14-yr.-old son got hooked on it when he was little. When we moved to Saskatchewan, he insisted that I make it. Try finding fresh cheese curds here! So, we make due with mild white cheddar or mozz. I liked making my own gravy, but have stopped since my son prefers Swiss Chalet gravy ... ugh!
Thanks for this post. It brought back good memories of working near the corner of Metcalfe & Laurier.
So. Wow.
Being born in Wisconsin I know a think or two about cheese curds, but this elevates them even more.
Wow! I have never heard of this but want a bowl right now. Being from the North East of England where it's considered normal to have gravy on chips this very much appeals.
I am never EVER making that but dang does it sound good! Darn it, Janet, I would have never known about it if it wasn't for you ;-)
I'm wiping drool from my keyboard now. Poutine never sounded appealing until I read this post!
My husband and I, from way down south in Wisconsin, took a meandering auto trip to Canada for our 25th anniversary last month and soon realized that Poutine is the Canadian national dish. We had no idea, never heard of it here. But wow.
Talk about your comfort food...
mary
I lived awhile in Vancouver BC, and discovered poutine then. It's unbelievabley good, and I have often wondered why someone doesn't introduce it in the United States. In Canada, they even have it at lots of fast food places (I am partial to KFC's version.)
Yum.
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