# Poutine...Beginner's recipe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 10, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652 "2015-03-10T00:41:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/1 "2015-03-10T00:41:53Z")
My youngest daughter has discovered the existence of [Poutine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine) and wants me to make a batch. While I don’t have any problem with the concept, I’m going to have a problem with the execution. I’m not a very good cook and usually depend on canned/boxed/jarred help to cook dinner. I have a large selection of grocery and specialty stores to buy the ingredients but need a simple ingredient list and recipe to actually construct the darn thing. Just for the record, my deep fryer isn’t working, so I have to compensate for that. Thanks in advance - DESK edited to add deep-fryer problem. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/2 "2015-03-10T00:57:01Z")
[The Wiki recipe you cited pretty much nails it.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine#Recipe) Medium thickness fries, crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. Squeaky, slightly tangy cheese curds. Chicken or chicken/beef gravy with a bit of salt and pepper. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/3 "2015-03-10T01:04:52Z")
i think trader joe’s has some in the cold case? that’s totally cheating though… ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/4 "2015-03-10T01:09:36Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > i think trader joe’s has some in the cold case? that’s totally cheating though… I didn’t notice them when I was there Sunday but I’ll check again because cheating on this is totally OK by me. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/5 "2015-03-10T01:27:18Z")
Poutine is pretty simple - fries, cheese curds and gravy. No need to make it too complicated. Why not start with frozen fries and oven-bake them, if your deep fryer is out of commission? When hot from the oven, add a handful of squeaky cheese (cheese curds) and top with gravy. Pretty sure you can get gravy in a can, so really it just comes down to putting everything together. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/6 "2015-03-10T01:29:18Z")
If you want to get into the soul of poutine, parboil the fries, then let them dry and cool before frying them. Start the gravy with a roux rather than a gravy mix. Milk the cow with your own hands, while singing to it dans le français québécois, etc. Just remember to have fun, for poutine is all about what tastes good to you, not any particular ingredient or process. ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/7 "2015-03-10T07:58:26Z")
I would love to make my own poutine as much as the next poutine-lover, but the one thing stopping me is the inability to get my hands on fresh cheese curds. Unless you live near a dairy farm, I think it’s next to impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/8 "2015-03-10T13:00:02Z")
> [@Saturn\_Dreams](#): > > I would love to make my own poutine as much as the next poutine-lover, but the one thing stopping me is the inability to get my hands on fresh cheese curds. Unless you live near a dairy farm, I think it’s next to impossible. Yep, this. That was my first thought when I read the OP. The only place I’ve seen really good cheese curds is in Wisconsin. Presumably you can also get them in Quebec, but I’ve not personally looked. I can get things called “cheese curds” here in da UP (which is, essentially, Wisconsin North), but they’re not fresh. I guess they’d probably work for Poutine. But truly, for curds, freshness is key. ---
**Author:** ![Mallory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@Mallory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallory)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/9 "2015-03-10T13:18:08Z")
Are “cheese curds” the same as cottage cheese? ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/10 "2015-03-10T13:58:08Z")
> [@Mallory](#): > > Are “cheese curds” the same as cottage cheese? Not exactly. It’s more like crumbled Colby cheese, at least the stuff I bought “from Wisconsin!” was. But I once made poutine with rinsed large-curd cottage cheese and it was pretty good. (But I’d rather have steak frites done in beef suet and dipped in homemade mayonnaise or malt vinegar!) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/11 "2015-03-10T13:58:48Z")
The cheese curds in cottage cheese are not pressed. The cheese curds used in poutine are pressed. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/12 "2015-03-10T14:03:15Z")
If you can’t find cheese curds you can substitute piles of mozzarella cheese and make a cheap truck stop poutine. Nowhere near as good but it was always good enough for a bunch of drunk students at 2am. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/13 "2015-03-10T14:53:09Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > If you can’t find cheese curds you can substitute piles of mozzarella cheese and make a cheap truck stop poutine. As I learned the hard way, never do that when your girlfriend is a French-Canadian with a passion for cooking. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/14 "2015-03-10T15:13:43Z")
If you want really easy and don’t want to do your own fries, buy some really good ones take out, add cheese curds and chicken gravy. If you want to get fancy add a bit of parsley to the gravy. If you want as authentic as possible make your fries with russet potatoes and deep fry them, [twice](http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/twice-cooked-french-fries-241100) if you can., buy some [St.Hubert gravy](http://www.amazon.com/St-Hubert-Poutine-Gravy-Mix/dp/B008MOC11M), and find the freshest white cheese curds you can, they should “squeak” when you bite into them. The poutine police won’t be busting down your door if you don’t make your own fries…or gravy… ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/15 "2015-03-10T15:28:33Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > As I learned the hard way, never do that when your girlfriend is a French-Canadian with a passion for cooking. :smack: A valid point. I ate it that way when I was a student in the early 90s. I was raised out west and didn’t know any better as I had not encountered poutine before moving back east. Until then fries with gravy was as fancy as I had had. Now that even McDonald’s and Burger King use cheese curds I know better and would never stoop so low myself. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/16 "2015-03-10T15:34:03Z")
I ordered poutine at a diner here Nashville once and got fries with gravy and cold shredded mozzarella cheese on top. They didn’t quite grasp the concept. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/17 "2015-03-10T15:47:06Z")
> [@Mallory](#): > > Are “cheese curds” the same as cottage cheese? [Cheese curds](https://www.wisconsincheesemart.com/item/cheddar-cheese-curds-combo-3lbs-pK/#.VP8R5IHF-dw). Fresh ones have a bit of a “squeak” when you bite into them. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/18 "2015-03-10T15:54:40Z")
The thing that annoys me about poutine here in Chicago is that whenever I see it on the menu, it’s never just standard poutine. It’s always something like pulled pork poutine, or duck breast poutine, or wild boar poutine or some weird shit like that. Now, poutine can come in all sorts of varieties, but I usually just want a simple classical poutine, like what is pictured on the homepage of [La Banquise](http://labanquise.com/en/). (The most interesting poutine I had was from some curry house in Montreal --Chef Guru, after googling it-- where the gravy was replaced by a curry sauce and topped with chopped cilantro, in addition to the standard curds & fries.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/19 "2015-03-10T17:15:18Z")
> [@brainstall](#): > > Poutine is pretty simple - fries, cheese curds and gravy. No need to make it too complicated. Ah but when you do— the Poutine at _Le Cellier_ in EPCOT is to die for. Cheese curds are rather hard to find around here. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652/20 "2015-03-10T17:16:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Cheese curds](https://www.wisconsincheesemart.com/item/cheddar-cheese-curds-combo-3lbs-pK/#.VP8R5IHF-dw). Fresh ones have a bit of a “squeak” when you bite into them. “This webpage is not available” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poutine-beginners-recipe/714652.md?page=2)