You know what sucks about being married? Sharing my poutine. That’s about it, but still.
Kris at To Be Mrs. Marv asked SiS for tips on how to make poutine, so Hanne and I have begun our investigation. We ate two halves of two poutines each before we left for Christmas. More accurately, I greedily ate about 2/3rds of both while Hanne tried to snap a good shot. I darted my fork in after each camera click, making off with great gooey gobs before she started eating. She either didn’t notice or didn’t complain, which is why I married her.
What is poutine, you ask? Poutine is, like, the greatest. It’s comfort food that will make your arms feel weak and your heart thump lugubriously. Glump glump. It’s a clusterfuck of fries, gravy and cheese. But no ordinary cheese. We grew up in Alberta where so-called poutine is mangled by a mess of cheap melted mozzarella cheese. You can’t do that. You just can’t.
A real poutine needs fresh cheese curds. Finding them fresh is likely the biggest challenge in making a good homemade poutine. The fresher the better as curds lose their springiness quick. Poutine is all about textures: crispy fries and teeth squeaking curds swallowed in a salty goopy gravy.
My favourite Montreal poutines can be found at the 24hr La Banquise (they have two dozen variations, but I’ve only tried the original pictured above) and at La Belle Province on St-Laurent Boulevard just above Prince Arthur. La Belle Province is a mediocre chain, but by some miracle combo of fries, curds, good gravy and typical Montreal inconsistencies, this particular location nails it. I’ve stolen into many a winter night out of that joint with a piping hot tin plate balanced on my hand (see the spoils in the picture below).
The best poutine in the world can be had at Au Pied de Cochon. I had hoped that their cookbook would hold the secret to their silky gravy, but unfortunately their poutine recipe tells me to pick up a can of PdC gravy from the restaurant. Secretive protectionist bastards! I’ve heard they emulse foie gras into their gravy. They also serve a poutine with a slab of foie gras on top for twenty bucks a plate. That plate alone is enough to convince me what side of the foie gras debate I’m on.
So Hanne and I will continue our investigation. We’ll eat more of this heavenly sludge and then test some recipes. When we come up with the right concoction, we will share it with you here. Kris has a head-start on us–check out her perfect fries here.
11 comments
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January 11, 2008 at 3:38 pm
EB
Gee… that sounds like a really sucky investigation assignment…. :)
January 13, 2008 at 8:36 am
happygrub
The latest donnahay has an article about making cheese, including cheese curds. Will you make ur own? (wow..)
I think fries have a universal fan base, who doesn’t like fries? And cheese, and gravy, I love your recipe already.
Never heard of poutine though! If u succeed, I will be among the first to try it ok?
January 14, 2008 at 9:52 am
hannehanne
EB- Yeah, we’re suffering over here. It’s a tough life.
Happygrub- wow, I’ve got to grab that donnahay! Here in Montreal, cheese curds are so easy to find, we never consider making them ourselves. But if we leave Montreal, we won’t have a choice (and we’re already worrying about leaving Monttreal…). We’ll let you know how it turns out. I’m a little intimidated by the fries bit, but I’ll just have to get past that.
January 14, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Rebecca
Other than the people there are only two things I miss about Montreal:
Bagels and La Banquise. Sometimes I dream about it, the different poutine flavours, the 24 hours of service… you just can’t find good poutine in Vancouver!
January 15, 2008 at 12:13 pm
hannehanne
Rebecca– I know it! I’m already missing poutine and we haven’t even left Montreal. Course, in Vancouver you get sushi, so…
January 16, 2008 at 10:44 pm
happygrub
Are the fries difficult?
January 17, 2008 at 2:11 pm
hannehanne
Farhan, That’s the part I’m not sure about. I’m a little terrified of frying things, but after seeing the way Kris’s turned out, I think I’m willing to give it a shot. Never say never, right?
Oh, by the way, I looked up the curd recipe in donnahay and it’s unfortunately not the right type of curds. The ones in the magazine (which look totally delicious and I HAVE to try them soon) are soft. The cheese curds you get in Quebec are basically very young cheddar cheese. They’re quite resistant to your teeth, so you get a squeaky sound when you bite into one, almost like how you’d imagine it to be to chew rubber. Only cheese-flavoured. Sounds unappetizing, I know, but they’re good!
January 17, 2008 at 3:46 pm
urbanfeed
I love poutine. I grew up in upstate NY, where fries with gravy are common, but poutine was reserved for trips north. Now I live in Cambridge, Mass and (lucky for me) there is a sandwich place around the corner that features poutine to satisfy all my fried potato/cheese/gravy cravings.
I don’t understand why poutine isn’t everywhere? It’s like fried chickpeas, which I recently ate for the first time in a Spanish restaurant in NYC — they were so delicious; why haven’t they swept the world?
January 17, 2008 at 4:57 pm
hannehanne
urbanfeed– fried chickpeas? I am SO into that… I guess my previously-expressed concerns about frying are just going to have to be surmounted. The poutine thing is odd. I’m not sure why it’s not already a global sensation. Even made with inferior cheese, it’s a fatty delight.
March 1, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Tracy
Being just over the big pond from Canada, I’ve heard a lot about poutine. I thought it was just fries and gravy. Didn’t know about the curds. I’m glad you posted a picture and a description. I think it sounds kind of gross — but most good junk food usually is.
March 7, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Andy
If you enjoy poutine that much, you should try Benny BBQ on the south shore, there’s one in greenfield park. Below montreal, that one and the one at la belle province at marche central on l’acadie near the heights of sauve.