Poutine may not exactly be our national dish, but I think it’s hard to find any Canadian who “pou-pou”s the ‘tine! I mean, it’s fries with gravy and cheese curds – what’s there not to like? Also, try finding this in ANY other country – it’s not impossible, but Canadians from all walks of life enjoy this dish from coast to coast to coast in bars, fast food joints, and even fancy restaurants. Now you might as well try to make it at home! The trick is the gravy, which traditionally uses both seasoned beef and chicken broth, as opposed to unseasoned stock. For this recipe I use our fantastic bone broth, which is made with both beef and chicken bones, and is an altogether richer in flavour than stock. If you can’t find cheese curds, you can substitute full fat mozzarella (the kind you would use on pizza) cut into thick strips. Use as much cheese curds as you like – I would start with one package then ad more if you’re feeling luxurious. Finally, I like to ad chives to my fries, and that includes poutine. They add a bright “oniony-ness” that works very well with fries.
Homemade Poutine
Yield: Serves four
Ingredients
Gravy:
3 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp water
1 L Bone Broth
1 tsp dried sage
1 bay leaf
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
to taste salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 packages of duck fat French fries, beef tallow fries (or frozen fries of your choice)
1 to 2 packages of Bright’s cheese curds (or cheese curds/mozzarella of your choice)
3 tbsp finely chopped chives (optional)
Method:
1) To make the gravy, first mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and set aside.
2) In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the bone broth to a simmer with the sage and bay leaf.
3) In a separate saucepan over medium high heat, make a roux with the butter and flour. Melt the butter, then add the flour and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns golden brown.
4) Add the hot bone broth to the roux, a cup at a time. Whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. Once all the bone broth is incorporated into the roux, stir in about half the cornstarch mixture and simmer for a minute or so. If you'd like your gravy thicker, add a more of the cornstarch mixture, in small increments, as needed, to thicken. Remove the bay leaf and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Keep warm until your fries are ready.
5) Cook the fries as per package directions until golden and crispy.
6) Put the hot fries in a large mixing bowl and season with salt (if desired) add a few ladles of gravy and toss the fries in the gravy to coat. Add as little or as much gravy as you like, depending on preference. Crumble in the cheese curds and chives (if using) and toss to mix with the fries. Pour the poutine into a serving bowl and serve with extra gravy on the side.