Poutine
Montreal's gift to the world: crisp fries under a blanket of squeaky cheese curds, drowned in peppery brown gravy hot enough to melt everything into one glorious mess.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Poutine, in 5 ideas
- The curds must be fresh and at room temperature. Cold curds from the fridge never melt, and old curds have lost the famous squeak.
- Gravy goes on boiling hot and in two passes. So it reaches the fries at the bottom instead of pooling on top.
- The gravy itself is a proper one, beef and chicken stock together, dark roux, a peppery bite. Jarred gravy is where poutine goes to be sad.
- Double-fried fries, because a single fry goes. Limp under the gravy in minutes and the dish lives or dies on the contrast.
- Eat it fast, with a fork, from the middle. Poutine waits for no one and reheats for nobody.
What you need
Ingredients
- 3 lb russet potatoes
- 2 quarts oil or beef tallow, for frying
- 2 cups fresh cheese curds, at room temperature
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
- Fine sea salt
How to make it
Method
Cut the potatoes into fries, soak in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain and dry very well.
Fry at 300 °F (150 °C) for 6 to 8 minutes, until soft but pale. Drain and rest 30 minutes.
Make the gravy: melt the butter, whisk in the flour, and cook to a deep golden roux. Whisk in both stocks, the Worcestershire and the pepper, and simmer until it coats a spoon. Keep it at a bare boil.
Fry the potatoes again at 375 °F (190 °C) for 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp and deep golden. Salt at once.
Pile the fries into warm shallow bowls. Scatter half the curds over, ladle on half the gravy, then the rest of the curds and the rest of the gravy, so it melts in layers.
Serve immediately, forks ready, no apologies.
If you cannot find curds, torn low-moisture mozzarella is the accepted understudy; nothing else comes close.