Subscribe by EmailLa poutine: How to make the ultimate geek food
September 21, 2007 by Geeks are Sexy | 63 comments
A while ago, I wrote a post about a Japanese Pizza Hut pizza titled: “Pizza Hut’s double roll pie is the ultimate geek food“. I didn’t realize then how wrong I was on the subject.
Last night when I got home, my wife said, “Honey, I feel like eating a Joe Bob poutine.” (I’ll get back to the Joe Bob thing later.) Excited, I took my keys, jumped into the truck, and headed over to our local fast-food joint. While driving, I realized that the “poutine” was in fact the ultimate geek food for us here in “La belle province“, and not that disgusting Japanese excuse for pizza.
I really don’t see why it shouldn’t be that way for the rest of the world! This is probably the only post I’ll ever write about my local “fine-cuisine,” so enjoy it while it lasts.
How to make a poutine and its many variations:
The poutine (poo-teen) is a very versatile dish that can be served as a side dish to hot dogs and hamburgers, or can be eaten as a main dish. It is also a very popular choice to set your stomach right after a night of heavy drinking.
What you need:
1- French fries. You can make your own or buy them in the frozen section of your grocery store. I usually go for the frozen stuff. It’s a lot less messy, and they only take a few minutes to prepare.
2- The sauce. Here’s a basic recipe for poutine sauce:
- 1 quart stock of chicken or veal
- 2 ounces of flour
- 2 ounces of butter or oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
First, bring the stock to a boil in a saucepan. Then, combine the butter and the flour and cook over high heat, stirring the mixture until everything simmers (two to three minutes). Then, bring the heat down and let simmer for around 35 minutes. Don’t forget to stir the sauce frequently. When you’re done, strain the sauce through a strainer lined with cheesecloth, and add salt and pepper to taste. If you want your sauce to be thicker, lower the heat to medium and let it reduce further.
And if you are like me, just take some pre-prepared (powder form) brown or BBQ sauce (like the stuff they use on chicken). Much easier that way!
3- A bag of fresh cheese curds. You want those to be really fresh! How can you tell? When you eat a piece, they have to squeak loudly in your mouth. If you can’t find that kind of cheese, you can use grated cheddar or mozzarella, but it’s not as good.
When you have all the ingredients handy, follow these instructions:
- Dump a bit of cheese curds on the bottom of a bowl
- Cover them with lots of fries
- Cover the fries with a good fistful of curds
- Pour sauce on top of everything
- Enjoy
Sounds disgusting? Maybe, but it’s absolutely delicious. Here are a few extras you can add to your poutine:
- Fried onions
- Chopped hot dog sausages
- Chicken
- Peas (I can’t stand them)
- Replace the traditional sauce with a Bolognese or Marinara one. We call this an Italian poutine.
Get the idea? Use you imagination. I’m sure you’ll come up with some fantastic variations.
Oh and about that Joe Bob thing: it’s the name of a poutine served in my home town. It’s a regular poutine, but the chef adds some fried onions and chopped hot dog sausages to the mess. It’s extremely good (just not for your behind!).
- Pizza Hut’s Double Roll pie is the ultimate geek food
- Why you should NOT eat Mcdonalds’ food
- The Geek Cookbook: Introducing The “Fatty Melt” Hamburger
- The Bacon Cheese Roll is a Geek Delicacy
Never in my life have I heard of this “concoction” that you speak of.
I don’t have a French accent, so I’m not sure I even know how to pronounce “poutine”. :)
You can have all you want Kiltak. I think I will stick with ketchup. ;p
Just pronounce it like that Skunk from looney tunes does :)
And dude, you do not know what you’re missing. Try it sometimes!
man the poutine (poo-teen) is an excellent dish i recommend adding smoked meat ask for it at your local LaBelle province or perhaps LaFleur’s its very tasty in fact tomorrow im gonna go order a poutine from Harvey’s
if there is a harvey’s in the states i recommend that or even st. hubert, oman they have the best sauce i could almost drink it as a drink lol.
Nice – I always wondered how to make it from scratch – they don’t sell the sauce in cans here in the states. :-)
Rob
ah yum yum
as long the potatoes are fresh and not frozen.
blanche first than cook
Pierre
Mmmmmmm……fried onions….
As a Montrealer, I always enjoy eating this delicacy.
This stuff is the best, though one has to limit the number of times one eats it, or else pay the consequence in the long term.
There is even one restaurant here in Montreal that switches the BBQ sauce for foie-gras. Haven’t had a chance to taste this version, but I’m told it’s delectable!!
Num Num Num Num.
We took our honeymoon in BC/Alberta (Vancouver to Banff and back) and had poutine 2 or 3 times in the week we were there. I think I even saw it on the menu at McDonald’s.
What could be better than fries, cheese and gravy?
The real beauty is in its simplicity.
Yeah, they have it on the menu at McDonald’s here in Quebec also..
Big Mac + Huge coke + poutine = Most unhealthy combination ever.
pronunciation: poo-TEEN (though that doesn’t seem just as good spelled that way)
Sad some would consider a shame for that delicacy to be the unofficial national dish in Quebec, if not Canada.
For the tasters, it’s much better to avoid McDonald’s, which I consider one of the worst I’ve ever tasted. Their fries are just not made for this mix. Better choices are from the Quebec fast food chains, La Belle Province/Lafleur/Valentine, or the local brand of higher-grade fast food. I think every major city in Quebec has it’s own famous “poute”.
It’s actually true that Poutine is an excellent dish to settle your stomach after consuming too much booze. The absorbing quality of this big mass will keep some alcohol from reaching your liver too fast.
Ok, this is really starting to bug me, will everyone please quit calling it poo-teen, my god, learn to pronounce, I don’t care if your not french, it’s not hard. It’s written Poutine, and pronouced poo- tin.
I don’t care that you are french; Poo-Teen is a way to help people pronounce poutine no matter how much you don’t like it. There are many things in this world you may not like, there are also many which you cannot change. Live life with no regrets. That is my advice to you.
Well Said Lolfrench :)
I’m a French Canadian Myself, and you know what? I don’t give a damn about the way people say “poutine”. :)
If the name of the current Russian president is a guide, I think you are both right: TEEN and TIN is about the same, but tin is closer to the heavenly truth, I’d even say it’s more like TING as in ‘waiting’.
Has anybody heard Rah-Rah-Ras-POUTINE? (Bony M)
Which brings me to the question I wanted to ask here:
WHAT’S THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION? (Surely, Poutine was there before the current Russian President, but we also have Beef Stroganoff, Pavlova Toffee and Shaliapin Steak). Does anyone know?
My son has just brought me a tin of Poutine from Quebec – I’m about to taste it, but he says the way to serve it is with chips (fries) and diced cheddar.
Any expalanations much appreciated.
Thanks,
Alex from Normandie (France)
I want to try it! Kiltak, will you cook for us? Perhaps host some sort of mass-poutine cook-off here in the US?
And if you don’t like the idea of torturing baby cows or chickens, there is a vegan poutine recipe here: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=8196.0
When you prepare a vegan poutine God kill a kitten.
I personnaly welcome our Poutine Overlord.
”La Pataterie” Rulez.
The proper word is “Smite” :)
There’s this place in Victoriaville that serves poutine in huge aluminum buckets. Drool.
La Pataterie rulez indeed! Ashton ain’t bad too.
What is the name of the restaurant in Victo that sells the “Chick and Swell”poutine? I NEED to have some!!
This is definitely a Canuck thing. For us southerners, we just use hash browns, smothered in onions, cheese and sausage gravy. They sell that at most Waffle Houses.
I never had poutine until I moved to Canada…I admit it seemed a little weird and gross so I was hesitant to try it, but I’m glad I did.
I love poutine!!!!
I’ve never heard of poutine, but judging from the photos, I think you’re right. Definitely not good for the behind! Tish’s tush is perfectly fine the way it is! I don’t want it to be any bigger!
Sounds rancid.
You could not be more wrong
I’m going to see how this goes with a classy side of Tbell or Jack in the Box. Sounds like some good, late-night weekend food. :D
on the macdonalds menu!??
we dont have that in ontario
although its readily available everywhere else
This is the same concept as gravy and mashed potatoes, gravy and steak fries, etc. Veloute is a mother/leading/base sauce that every chef knows how to make. Honestly thought instead of going through the process of making a roux(flour+fat combined then added to sauce/stock) you should just make a slurry(Corn starch+water) and add that. If you’re using good stock you won’t notice the flavor difference, it is much quicker, and the fact that cornstarch will break down over a long period of time(meaning your sauce gets thinner) isn’t an issue if you’re cooking for yourself and eating it right away.
It looks (and sounds) delicious, however most real geeks would never cook anything that required that many steps… or that much time.
The part about: “Then, bring the heat down and let simmer for around 35 minutes. Don’t forget to stir the sauce frequently.” is especially un-geeklike because it is an annoyance, and would thrust the cost/benefit of this dish to incredible heights.
I suppose if I had someone who would make it for me, I would be able to enjoy it, but unfortunately my girlfriend is a geek too.
Hey, you don’t necessarily have to do this.. didn’t you read the article? Quote:
“And if you are like me, just take some pre-prepared (powder form) brown or BBQ sauce (like the stuff they use on chicken). Much easier that way!”
Man, us Canucks eat poutine ALL the time!!
The sauce isn’t really anything special, we just use Gravy.
But cheese curds are a must…
If you guys ever pass by montreal and it’s surroundings, La belle province, Au coq, valentines, N&G right of jaques cartier bridge on riverside drive near champlain school are the definit best 4 spots for me. A good poutine will make you feel like one bite is a mix of all three ingredients four if you add extra. The bad ones will look cheaply put together as if all the ingredients were separate.
I travel all over just to try poutines. There this awsome restaurant in Montreal Quebec that has around 25 different poutine. Also for a fast food one St Hurberts is pretty good in Quebec. But my favorite is Newfire Fries Poutine. First i use beef stock gravy and bay leaves. For the fries its has the gravy, peas, fried onions, and turkey stuffing. Its freakin awsome shit.
northern ontario has a great poutine base. all the fast food joints serve it except McD’s and it a standard staple at all fry stands. I can get a poutine at 4 in the morning but not a pizza. I can even get a pizza poutine!
I have a friend that eat a poutine in fukoka (japan).
Talk about a international delicacy!
It is not a joke…
a montrealer how now lives in japan, serves poutine to the japanees!
Sounds similar to what we have in Australia, “Chips and Gravy”.
I think it’s more a Victorian thing, but it’s always consumed at about 4am after a big night on the piss. Good stuff.
Poutine. Three ingredients, two syllables, one big fucking mess in the morning. Soooo good.
Props from New Brunswick here.
Poutine kicks tons of ass and its true the gravy is not the most important part it being boilingly scaldingly hot is to melt the cheese in strings & curds to string properly.
A fun variation is spicy fry poutine
mmmmmmmmmmm,
D
Poutine..named after our Prime Minister (jokes…anyone who watches CBC will get it).
i would kill for a poutine right now….seriously.
One thing i’d like to say. I’m never tried homemade sauce, but i have to completly disagree with using BBQ or Brown sauce. It ruins the taste.
I was born in Quebec, and their, the stuff is sold on McDonalds menus, even high class restaurants server it.
True poutine has to be made with “poutine” sauce, and the recipe for homemade up there seems like a good one.
Also, the fries should be fried, although if you bake them it works, Frying them is much better, but that my opinion.
Nice choice in food. Now i don’t have to hound my mom to get me some poutine sauce from her mom.
Best in montreal is at decarie hotdog.
I love Poutine.
I live in the Ottawa area and they’re a few good places to get some pouter..
1) Archie’s, great little chip wagon out in Dunrobin. They make a double where they put curds and gravy half way.
2) ESD (Elgin Street Diner), They have about 6 or so different kinds, my favs are the Smoked Meat and Philly Steak.
George W. Bush was once tricked by the host of the Canadian comedy show “This hour has 22 minutes”. He was interviewing Bush during a rally and referred to the Canadian prime minister as Jean Poutine (Jean Chretien actually). Bush didn’t know the Canadian prime minister’s real name so he kept referring to him as Jean Poutine.
LMAO!!!!!!!
i watched that episode, it was definitely hilarious….
specially when that woman started harping on about how BUsh considers Jean Putine highly
Well if I was going out with someone who ate that kind of stuff, I think I’d be looking for a new Geek boyfriend.
Being a French Canadian living in the states myself, I can tell you that finding this recipe on how to make the sauce is a great thing. You can’t find anything near it in the states, and having to cross the border to get more isn’t always possible. Now I can make it and have my american friends try it, and maybe get my small town addicted to it.
I do miss just being able to buy it from a fast food restaurant when I’m in the mood for it.
I had a friend of mine on a stage in Connecticut at pheizer. I went down to see him and I brought him a poutine from “Louis” In the town I come from “Sherbrooke” There is no better place to get one. Anyway, I had them keep the sauce fries and cheese separate so it would stay good for its 6 hour road trip. When I gave it to him, he shrieked with delight. Imagine 2 months with no Poutine. *shutters*
So if poutine is really the ultimate geek food. Believe me I am one MAJOR geek. lol.
+1 for Louis! Combo Maxi Louis + Poutine = happy stomach :)
OMG Being Canadian I grew up on Poutine. I did not realize it was a greek dish. You learn something new everyday.
It’s *geek*, not greek…
Dude, this is one great essay about Poutine. As a french guy like they call us in the west, I can almost tell that you come from Quebec. I especially liked the fact that you said that it’s “very popular choice to set your stomach right after a night of heavy drinking”. It’s so fat that it reactivates your digestion system!
Besides that, I agree it should be considered the geekest food ever, as it’s even more enjoyable eating it in front of the computer while downloading stuff or playing games. Or even downloading poutine recipes.
For thoses who havent tried it yet, i strongly recommend it, do it yourself or even better; come in Quebec and try local fastfood like Ashton (the creator of poutine) or Stratos (they usually put lots of cheese in your too big poutine). For home made, a little St-Hubert can of sauce is best.
After eight months i’ve been in the west, nobody does poutine like in Quebec!
Ashton didn’t create the poutine …, and they don’t have a really good poutine neither.
Please go out of Quebec city and open your mind a little bit…
1st it does not sound as poo-teen… its more poo-tin. 2nd the best poo-tin ever made is here in saguenay! Bébé (baby in french) come try their BBQ poo-tin ^^… 3rd i found french’s bbq sauce (the one with the chicken legs picture on it) to be a really good sauce. just follow the instructions on the bag and add a little milk and sugar (just a little!!)
A local pub in victoria uses stilton instead of cheese curds and throws in real bacon bits. It’s way over the top. I get one about every 2 months
Ok, if you really want to be picky about the pronounciation, it sounds more like “pout’sin”.
And one of my favorite variation is “patate sauce et choux”, where you replace the cheese curds with shredded raw cabbage.
Heh, the best is in Saguenay, since we got the best cheese of the Quebec “Le bon fromage boivin”
Were born to cook this dishes! x3
It’s not as authentic, but I find using the thicker cut fries—what the Brits would call “chips”—and beef gravy to be even tastier. Gotta have the squeaky curds though, preferably white ones.