Poutine Recipe I am a food blog – univers-japon-shop

One of the best things to eat in the world is poutine.

It has it all: deep, savory flavors, hearty carbs, mountains of cheese and sauce. It’s an absolute beast of a plate, in the best way. I have eaten so many poutines in my life and I do not regret any of them.

what is poutine

Poutine is a classic Canadian Quebec dish made with French fries, fresh cheese curds, and gravy. It is quite new, created in the 50’s; It doesn’t really have a clear inventor, but there are tons of places that claim to have invented it.

It is incredibly popular in Canada and is quite well known around the world as a classic Canadian snack. It’s definitely a favorite among Canadians – there are poutines that only sell poutines, high-end poutines at fancy restaurants, poutines at bars, and even poutines at McDonald’s and Costco.

poutine ingredients

• Chips: almost always medium thickness with smooth, creamy interiors, fried twice for crispness.
• Cheese curds: the fresh cheese curds are a must. The queso fresco curds are squeaky, chewy, and just melt a bit on the outside when dipped in sauce. They are sweet and a bit salty and taste amazing.
• Dip: also known as poutine sauce. This is where everyone gets a little inventive. The classic poutine sauce is a brown sauce made with butter and flour roux. People use a mixture of beef or chicken broth and spices. Vegetarian sauce is also very common, and many poutineries in Quebec exclusively serve vegetarian sauce. Poutine sauce is so popular that they even sell poutine sauce sachets at the grocery store.
• Coverage: The classic poutine is always just chips, cottage cheese, and gravy, but there are plenty of toppings you can add on top, including bacon, scallions, sausage, pulled pork, mushrooms, bell peppers, basically anything you can think of.

You probably didn’t eat poutine

If you haven’t visited Canada, you’ve probably never tried real poutine. To me, true poutine SHOULD have squeaky fresh cheese curds. They serve poutine in the US, but believe me when I tell you, it’s not the same. The worst contenders use shredded cheese that melts into the sauce, turning it into cheese sauce and chips. Which is delicious on its own, but a true poutine has to have 3 different ingredients/textures.

What makes a good poutine

IMHO, as a lifelong poutine eater, I love poutine that has crispy, golden fries with soft interiors, a thick but not too thick sauce packed with umami, and tons of cheese on fresh kernels that have edges that melts and squeaks in the middle. The ultimate poutine I had was at Chez Ashton in the mall food court where Celine Dion was discovered.

regional differences

A note on the poutine in Montreal. I think it’s something to grow up with, but for some reason the poutine in Montreal has soggy fries. I’m not a fan. I just don’t like the style of fries that Montrealers prefer. I find them greasy and bland. I need my fries to hold up to the salsa and heat. I want them crisp and crunchy and chewy, not soggy and creamy.

fresh cheese curd

Cheese curds, also known as squeaky cheese, are small, randomly shaped nuggets of fresh cheddar cheese. They are smooth like mozzarella and squeak between your teeth when you chew them. They hold their shape well and melt slightly when reheated. Cheese curds are basically baby cheese that is neither ripe nor pressed. They contain extra air, which causes squeaks.

Why fresh cheese curds?

Fresh cheese curds are perfect for poutine because you don’t want the curds to melt into the sauce, you want little cheese nuggets that will hold up to the heat. The perfect cheese curds poutine is coated in piping hot sauce and is slightly gooey and gooey on the outside with a firm yet soft bite on the inside. The contrast of temperature and texture is what makes fresh cheese curds in poutine amazing.

Where to buy fresh cheese curds

Fresh cheese curds are always sold at room temperature and can be hard to find depending on whether or not cheese is made near you. Once you refrigerate the queso fresco curds, they lose their crunch and texture. Even on the west coast of Canada, it can be difficult to find fresh, unrefrigerated cheese curds. On the East Coast, you’ll find unrefrigerated bags of queso fresco near the bakery/deli. In Quebec, they will also be near the boxes, like candy.

In the United States (and western Canada), you can find cheese curds in the cheese section. Outside of Wisconsin, they probably won’t be fresh the same day, so they won’t sizzle, but leaving them on the counter for 20 minutes at room temperature will at least give them a head start on melting. You can even buy cheese curds these days, believe it or not.

What is poutine sauce?

Sauce poutine is another way Canadians say sauce. Just kidding, just kidding, but really, poutine sauce is basically a brown sauce made with butter, flour, broth, and spices.

As a sauce, it is rich and substantial, warm and full of flavor. Not all poutine sauces are meat based, in fact many of them are vegetarian, but they do have a very rich flavor that tastes like the brown sauce you get when you eat barbecue or a roast dinner. The nice thing about this is that unlike brown sauce, you don’t need any drippings.

You can buy small packets of instant poutine sauce at the grocery store in Quebec City and they also sell canned and jarred versions.

How to make poutine sauce

If you’ve already made sauce, you can make poutine sauce! This particular poutine sauce is special in that it uses a roux and cornstarch slurry to thicken it. You get the best of both worlds: the richness of a roux-based sauce and the goofiness of a cornstarch-thickened sauce. This sauce is thick enough to stick to and coat the chips and curd without becoming sticky.

1. melt some butter over low heat and sprinkle with a little flour. Cook the butter and flour into a roux, stirring and letting it bubble for 2-3 minutes.
2. Slowly pour in the beef broth (or vegetable if you prefer) beating over medium-low heat.
3. Beat the tomato sauceWorcestershire sauce, onion powder and garlic powder.
4. cornstarch mix with a little water to create a porridge and add it to the sauce. Bring the heat to medium-high and simmer until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
5. taste and season with salt and pepper.

The best fries for poutine

Mike and I almost always turn to frozen fries and our deep fryer when it comes to home fries. Frozen French fries exist for a reason. They are hearty and crispier than fresh cut fries. The air fryer magically makes frozen fries hot and crispy and just as good (if not better) than oil-fried fries. We like to choose a solid, straight-up fry and fry it for 10-15 minutes with a few shakes in between.

What are the best potatoes for poutine?

If you’re going to go the route and make your own fries, I recommend Russets because of their dense, high starch content. You want them to be able to soak up as much of the sauce as possible.

Less traditional but surprising variations.

Traditional is good but life is too short to stick with the classics. You can take any flavor or dish and chips, cheese curds and put them in sauce. Here are a few we’ve created over the years (disclaimer, item return):

Is there anything better in life than crispy fries, squeaky cheese, and a flavorful, soul-satisfying sauce?

steph-xox