# Favorite Way to Make Poutine?



## CWS4322 (May 21, 2011)

I don't make poutine often--about twice a year and usually in the summer. Well, since I had leftover turkey giblet gravy (some of the best gravy I've ever made--could've been because I glazed the turkey with maple syrup), and since turkey gravy is my favorite gravy for poutine...I added chopped up chunks of turkey to the gravy, and dressed the fries (skin on) with the gravy, fresh cheese curds, fresh ground pepper, and sliced jalepeno peppers. The addition of the jalepenos was really nice. I've never thought of adding jalepenos as a poutine topping...

Terrible for one's health, but every now and again, I crave poutine...or maybe it was the turkey gravy...

How do you make poutine (if you make poutine)?


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## pacanis (May 21, 2011)

Fries, gravy, curds... I'm a minimalist 

The one store that used to carry vacuum sealed curds stopped though, so no poutine for me anymore


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## MyCrummyApartment (May 28, 2011)

Got me thinking about poutine again. Thanks for your creation it sounds good. 

It's almost like poutine has turned the gourmet corner now and anything goes. I like the simple way too but just rarely get around to having curds in my fridge so I usually just use shredded mozzarella. I recently did a video for stuffed green peppers and since I made them for my daughter, I added a poutine on the side but used the tomato sauce rather than a gravy. She really liked it, although I suppose it was a far stretch from real poutine.

Oddly, last summer I was in Quebec City and stopped by a poutine restaurant and was quite disappointed actually. KFC makes a better poutine than the one I had there!!!


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## CWS4322 (May 28, 2011)

Riviere du Loup is the home of poutine. I've been to the place that invented it--they had about 15 different ways of dressing the fries--chili and cheese curds, spaghetti sauce and curds, I can't remember them all. Its been years since I've been to Riviere du Loup. The secret is the gravy. And how fresh the curds are. The place where you ate in QC probably used canned gravy and not homemade. I prefer mine with turkey giblet gravy...don't find that at chip wagons. And, that's why I can only make poutine after I've made a turkey and gravy (we roast a turkey about 8-9x a year, but I don't always make gravy). A friend of mine from Quebec put ketchup on top of his poutine...


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## CWS4322 (May 28, 2011)

pacanis said:


> Fries, gravy, curds... I'm a minimalist
> 
> The one store that used to carry vacuum sealed curds stopped though, so no poutine for me anymore


 
You can mailorder curds from Yancey's in NY.

Yancey's Fancy


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## 4meandthem (May 28, 2011)

My wife's family is from northern Maine and poutine can be had at breakfast lunch or dinner.I must admit I have tried it at all three meals.

The best ever was served by a girl with green hair in a trailer restaurant outside of quebec in the country. I had a 8 percent "Blue Dry" beer with it. Yummo!


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## CWS4322 (Jun 2, 2011)

4meandthem--you just gave me an idea! Instead of curds, chunks of bleu cheese!


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## CWS4322 (Jun 14, 2011)

I picked up some blue cheese today, found a container of turkey gravy in the freezer, have potatoes. Poutine with turkey gravy and chunks of blue cheese is what I'm making for lunch tomorrow (which might qualify as breakfast for many of you since it will be around 8:30-9:00 a.m. EDT). I "might" add some St. Albert's cheese curds...........

Tonight I had "zucchini" poutine. I am trying to empty the freezer, found some oven-fried breaded zucchini sticks. Crisped those in the oven, added homemade salsa I heated in the microwave, topped with some St. Albert's cheese curds. I can hardly wait for the zucchini and eggplant to be ready in the garden. When I do this with eggplant, I'll probably make a tomato sauce with oregano and use feta instead of cheese curds...

I'll let you know what I think of the bleu cheese instead of curds. I debated making a garlicky white sauce instead of using gravy, but thought I'd just swap out the curds for blue cheese chunks. Next time I might swap the gravy for a white sauce.


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## buckytom (Jun 15, 2011)

i saw poutine on a cooking show recently, and finally realized that they are known here in joisey as disco fries.

altough, many greek diners here sub mild feta for curds.

i'm not sure which name is better or worse.


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## CWS4322 (Jun 15, 2011)

I blanched the potatoes (in the oil), drained them, brought the fryer up to high and finished the fries. Cut the bleu cheese in cubes, heated the gravy. Assembled everything and just finished eating poutine en bleu (which, btw, is Quebec slang for being in a mood).  I'd use bleu cheese again in poutine. Now I'm full!


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## Bella99 (Jun 18, 2011)

I like to try different chip truck's poutines and seeing what I like from them and to add it to my own,  so far i've noted I like medium sized fries rather then large or small. I like semi-spicy gravy (like a pepper taste, not hot sauce spicy) and a lot of it.  Also, curds.  I know some people use cuped cheese, but it definitely isn't the same


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## pacanis (Jun 18, 2011)

I just picked up some cheese curds yesterday for some poutine. The town store started carrying the cryovac ones again. They are "zesty" and look to be pretty heavily seasoned.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 8, 2011)

Gjetost-lingonberry gravy, french fries, white cheddar curds, and grated gjetost on top, with some dried lingonberries...why haven't the Norwegians introduced this--0h--I still have gravy left, just need more potatoes...and, I need to plug in my camera to charge its ability to take pics...So frigging good (if you are s/one who likes poutine or, more accurately, if you like gjetost and lignonberries).


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## babetoo (Jul 8, 2011)

i'm sorry i think a poutine is over kill. sounds disgusting to me. cheese and fries, yes. fries and gravy , yes. all to gather is just not right.


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## CWS4322 (Jul 9, 2011)

TE=babetoo;1021236]i'm sorry i think a poutine is over kill. sounds disgusting to me. cheese and fries, yes. fries and gravy , yes. all to gather is just not right.[/QUOTE]Fine--you don't like the idea. You don't have to be negative about it, just don't respond to the post. I personally would never cook kidneys (cooked them once, that was enough for me. I didn't respond to the request for help on cooking kidneys). Obviously, you have not had poutine. Yes, it sounds disgusting--and unhealthy (which it is), but it is very good. If you eat pasta with sauce and cheese, well, french fries with sauce and cheese is not that much of a stretch. I contend that poutine is part of the four basic food groups. Not your cup of tea, fine. Your opinion you could've kept to yourself. But for those who like poutine, this is a variation that is very tasty. (Correction--heavenly if you like gjetost and lingonberries and make gjetost-lingonberry gravy when you make roast beef/reindeer/venison).


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## babetoo (Jul 10, 2011)

wow!!! i am entitled to my opinion. you are over reacting i think.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2012)

Not to brag, but I think I've perfected how to keep the fries crispy. I am using really delish potatoes (from the garden), but here's what I do:

1. Scrub the potatoes (I like to leave the skins on since I know the quality of our soil).
2. Slice.
3. Hold in ice water for about 20-30 minutes, drain, pat dry.
4. Mix 1/4 c (or less) of corn starch in a bowl and add paprika, garlic powder, ground pepper. 
5. Toss the drained potatoes in the corn starch mixture.
6. In a deep-fat fryer that is 160 degrees (I use veggie oil and a couple of T of crisco), fry potatoes for 7-8 minutes. Drain.
7. Bring the temp of the fat up to 180 degrees. Fry the potatoes for about 7-8 minutes or until crisp.
8. Put some cheese curds and gravy in the bottom of a dish, add about 1/2 of the potatoes, another layer of cheese curds and gravy, more potatoes and more curds and gravy. 

I've done this several times this summer--the potatoes stay crisp to the bottom.

I'm ready to do a poutine throw-down.


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## Siegal (Sep 28, 2012)

I have never tried it but it's on my food bucket list. It's french Canadian? Or French? Or both.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2012)

Poutine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## PhilinYuma (Sep 28, 2012)

Thanks CWS, for a timely idea. My next big cook-up will be with The Kid at Thanksgiving, and I've been giving some thought about what to do with the leftovers. I'd thought of poutine as a way to use up some of the turkey gravy, but getting curds is always an issue. There are plenty of sources on Amazon, but the shipping usually costs more than the curds, and God knows how long they have been sitting in those plastic bags! I think that I'll do a trial run with the blue cheese, which i know that The Kid and the rest of the family like, and see how it goes.


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## taxlady (Sep 28, 2012)

I had poutine near Riviere-du-Loup or possibly in Riviere-du-Loup for the first time in about 1980. It hadn't really gotten to Montreal yet. They had regular poutine and "Poutine Italienne" - with "sauce spaghetti".


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2012)

PhilinYuma said:


> Thanks CWS, for a timely idea. My next big cook-up will be with The Kid at Thanksgiving, and I've been giving some thought about what to do with the leftovers. I'd thought of poutine as a way to use up some of the turkey gravy, but getting curds is always an issue. There are plenty of sources on Amazon, but the shipping usually costs more than the curds, and God knows how long they have been sitting in those plastic bags! I think that I'll do a trial run with the blue cheese, which i know that The Kid and the rest of the family like, and see how it goes.


Fresh mozz. can be used as well (some places grate it). True poutine uses curds, but I've used other kinds of cheeses.


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## 4meandthem (Sep 28, 2012)

What kind of potato are you all using. I know they aren't using russets in NE Canada. Mainestays were what we had locally in Maine. Kinds in between a Yukon and Russet if i remember.


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## CWS4322 (Sep 28, 2012)

I used Norlands (which are a red potato) this time. I also use Kennebecs. The ones I use are from the garden and are so much better than the potatoes one buys at the store. I haven't dug and dried the potatoes yet--I just dig up a few potatoes every time I go to the farm. We'll dig the rest of the potatoes over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and let them cure for a week or so before we put them into storage. Just ask TL what she thought of the potatoes from the garden that I shared with her!


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## taxlady (Sep 28, 2012)

CWS4322 said:


> I used Norlands (which are a red potato) this time. I also use Kennebecs. The ones I use are from the garden and are so much better than the potatoes one buys at the store. I haven't dug and dried the potatoes yet--I just dig up a few potatoes every time I go to the farm. We'll dig the rest of the potatoes over the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and let them cure for a week or so before we put them into storage. Just ask TL what she thought of the potatoes from the garden that I shared with her!


Fabulous.


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## Rocklobster (Sep 29, 2012)

I used mozzarella at my restaurant to keep the price down. If you freeze the mozzarella, once thawed, it will break up into curd like pieces. Try it.
I like raw, chopped Spanish  onion on my poutine. And, take the top off of the pepper shaker and let 'er rip!


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## CWS4322 (Sep 29, 2012)

Rocklobster said:


> I used mozzarella at my restaurant to keep the price down. If you freeze the mozzarella, once thawed, it will break up into curd like pieces. Try it.
> I like raw, chopped Spanish  onion on my poutine. And, take the top off of the pepper shaker and let 'er rip!


+1 I add chopped jalepeno (fresh) pepper as well and a splash of apple cider vinegar 1/2 way up.


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## Saphellae (Oct 4, 2012)

I absolutely love poutine, as a once in a while treat.  I have had really amazing poutine in Quebec and Ontario. There are a couple of shops that just opened up, one called "How Do You Like Your Poutine" and while some of their selections are too salty, they do have MANY MANY selections for toppings of your poutine including pulled pork, taco stuff, different gravies, etc.  My favorite is a pure tomato meat sauce (not spaghetti sauce, that stuff has other things added) with lots of cheesy curds and home cut fries.

When I have poutine with gravy and curd, I ADD KETCHUP.. tons of it.

Here is the menu for a "poutinerie" with tons of ideas to make your own at home! Navigate on the left hand side.
http://smokespoutinerie.com/Menu.aspx


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