Poutine and Things a la Poutine

A variation on Poutine.  Photo by Rob Robitaille

There are a lot of foods that make perfect sense, foods that go together like they were made for one another; ham and eggs, macaroni and cheese, pizza and beer. French fries, gravy, and cheese curds?  Maybe not so much.  Of the people I have talked to, they fall into two distinct groups: those that love poutine and those who have never heard of it.  And most of the people who have never heard of it seem to always say the same thing like "Huh, that doesn't sound like it goes together."  But, take it from the poutine lovers of the world, it does go together and it's really good.

Poutine is a popular French Canadian invention, but outside of Canada, even in a bordering state like Minnesota, most people have never heard of it.  In its pure form, poutine is fries with cheese curds and gravy.  The method of how the fries are cooked, the type of curds, and the style of gravy are hotly debated and I don't think I can really add much to that debate, nor do I want to.  However, even in its birth place, there are many riffs on it, even as over-the-top as lobster poutine.  All I know is that poutine is great and if there was a place that sold poutine near my favorite watering hole back in college, I would have been there a lot.  I can't think of anything else that goes better with, or after consuming large quantities of beer.  In fact, poutine can be fairly complex in flavor and a properly matched beer can push it to a whole new level.

The "poutine" pictured above is made from some basic fries, cheddar curds, and the left over braised beef chuck roast from my previous post.  As long as you don't care, that no matter what riff you choose to make, it will always be wrong in the eyes of the self proclaimed poutine purists, the sky is the limit.  

Poutine

• French fries
• Cheese curds
• Gravy

Place a pile of hot fries on a warm plate (I think a small cast iron pan looks cool and keeps the fries warm longer).  Place a hand full of curds on the fries and top with steaming hot gravy.  This will help melt the curds.  Serve with a suitable beer.

Riffs on the gravy:

• Braised beef chuck roast (like I did)
• Left over pot roast, shredded, with carrots, potatoes, and gravy
• Beef stew
• Chicken a la king (Then you could call it chicken a la king a la poutine. HA!)