Welcome to day four of our Appetizer Week Series! Today we are going to be sharing possibly the most Canadian dish that I can think of today… Poutine!!
I mean am I even a Canadian if I don't share an authentic Canadian Poutine on my blog? Complete with homemade french fries and a from scratch gravy recipe, get those cheese curds ready!
These french fries really are the BEST EVER homemade fries. They are deep fried, but not how you might think, and there is no deep fryer required to make them!
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How to make Fries from Scratch
Making fries from scratch is actually a lot easier than you might think!
Basically to make these fries all you will need are potatoes, any variety of potato will work for this, and cut into long lengths to create the french fries.
DO NOT rinse the cut fries, just cut them and place them directly into a large heavy bottomed pot.
Pour canola oil overtop of the cut fries in the pot until they are fully submerged.
Cooking French Fries in Cold Oil
This technique is extremely effective for cooking the crispiest pub style french fries, in your own kitchen!
Essentially it allows the fries to cook from the inside-out, resulting in a creamy potato inside and an extra crispy crunchy outside.
Also, it is proven that the fries will absorb LESS oil than the alternate cooking method of starting the fries in hot oil.
The Perfect French Fry
Now, place the pot of fries on the stove over medium/high heat.
You’ll have to keep an eye on the oil as it starts to boil and adjust the heat as necessary. You will want to make sure that the oil is not boiling so rapidly that it is splashing out of the pot, but it still needs to be kept at a controlled boil.
Don't touch the potatoes for the first 15-20 minutes. Since the fries are cooking from the inside out, the fries turn very soft during the first 20 minutes and will fall apart if you try and move them around.
After 20 minutes, carefully use a pair of tongs to move the fries around, do this regularly during the rest of the frying process.
Cook the potatoes until they are golden brown, this will take about 50-60 minutes total. Although, keep in mind that the cooking time can be altered by the size of the french fries and the size of the pot that you use. So you will need to keep an eye on them during the whole process.
Turn off the heat and then transfer the fries into a large bowl lined with paper towels.
Generously salt the fries and toss to fully coat
Easy Homemade Gravy
Homemade gravy is incredibly easy to make. All it takes is some stock, butter, flour, spices and whala, delicious gravy!
So, in a medium saucepan over low heat, melt the butter, but be careful not to burn or brown it!
As soon as the butter has fully melted add the flour and thyme. Whisk together to fully combine and cook for 1 minute.
Add the chicken and beef stock to the saucepan, stirring constantly to fully combine. Stir in the salt and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly. You will notice that the gravy will start to thicken during this process.
To finish thickening the gravy, in a small bowl combine the water and cornstarch.
Pour the mixture into the gravy, whisking constantly, and cook for an additional 2 minutes. You'll notice that the gravy thickens considerably during this step.
And that’s it! Now you have a nice big pot of delicious gravy to go on your poutine!
Time to make the Canadian Poutine!
Now you should have the french fries already fried to perfection and the most amazing homemade gravy to go with them, you are almost done!
In an oven safe casserole dish or cast iron pan spread the prepared french fries into the pan. Top with cheese curds and place in the oven under the broiler for 2 minutes.
A little note- Cheese Curds are definitely the preferred type of cheese to use on an authentic Canadian poutine, but if you can not find cheese curds, you can substitute mozzarella cheese instead.
Remove from the oven and pour the desired amount of gravy on top. Top with parsley, if desired and serve immediately.
And there you have it, an authentic Canadian Poutine that is just as cheesy and delicious as it looks!
Other recipes in the 2020 Appetizer Series
- Fried Mac & Cheese Bites with Sweet Basil Marinara
- Chicken Salad
- Coconut Shrimp with Honey Soy Dipping Sauce
- Hawaiian Sliders with Bacon Mayonnaise
Want to know a little more about how appy week works? Check it out here!
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Canadian Poutine
Ingredients
- 4 large Yellow Potatoes
- ~1 Litre Canola Oil (enough to cover the fries in the pot)
- 240 grams Cheese Curds
- Salt
- Parsley (optional)
Gravy
- ¼ cup Butter
- 5 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Thyme
- 2 cups Chicken Stock
- 1 ½ cups Beef Stock
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Water + 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
Instructions
Cooking the French Fries
- Slice the potatoes into long lengths to create the fries. (Keep in mind that if you cut the potatoes slimmer that they will need less time to cook and vice versa if the potatoes are larger, they will need more time to cook)
- Place the cut potatoes into a large heavy bottomed pot and cover with canola oil.
- Place over medium/high heat. Don't touch the potatoes for the first 20 minutes or so, after 20 minutes, carefully use a pair of tongs to move the fries around.
- Cook the potatoes until they are golden brown, about 50-60 minutes total (see notes in the blog post about cooking times).
- Turn off the heat and transfer the fries into a bowl lined with paper towels.
- Generously salt the fries and toss to fully coat
To make the Gravy
- In a medium saucepan over low heat melt the butter.
- As soon as the butter has melted add the flour and thyme. Whisk to combine and cook for 1 minute.
- Add the chicken and beef stock to the saucepan, stirring constantly to fully combine. Stir in the salt and bring to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
- In a small bowl combine the water and cornstarch and stir to combine.
- Pour the mixture into the gravy, whisking constantly, and cook for an additional 2 minutes until the mixture has thickened.
Assembling the Poutine
- Turn the oven broiler on high heat.
- In an oven safe container, spread out the prepared fries and top with the cheese curds.
- Place in the oven under the broiler for 2 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and pour the desired amount of gravy on top. Top with parsley, if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
If you can not find cheese curds, you can use cubed mozzarella cheese.
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Amber says
I've been craving poutine like crazy, and we barely have anything available restaurant-wise here in L.A. Which is pretty sad. But my attempt turned out AMAZING! I upped the seasoning a bit with my beef gravy, adding a little oregano and poultry seasoning in addition to the thyme. And I mixed in a little chicken stock with the beef stock. I also added a splash of soy sauce (and milk to thicken it up along with a little more flour, as I didn't have any corn starch). And since my boyfriend is vegetarian, I made a second vegetarian gravy out of vegetable stock. The real test for me was making the fries. I never made fresh homemade fries before and I was a little nervous. But wow they turned out perfect! SO crispy! I found I had to cut back about ten minutes on my frying time as they crisped up pretty fast, which was nice. Faster poutine! And sadly, I can't find cheese curds (curse that stupid law). But mozzarella chunks worked great. Thank you so much for this recipe. I wish we could see other people's comments here though. I'm curious to know how others fared using your recipe! I love comparing notes.