Learn how to make real poutine at home with my Authentic Canadian Poutine Recipe. I will show you how to make it, as well as explaining exactly what exactly poutine is, for the uninitiated.
What kind of a Canadian food blogger would I be if I didn’t have a recipe for Canadian Poutine on this blog? Poutine is a wonderful and delicious concoction of fries, gravy and cheese curds and is one of the most quintessential Canadian dishes! So if you already know how great this dish is and are just looking for a great, authentic poutine recipe to make at home, skip on down to the recipe. I’ve got you covered! If you’d like to learn more about Poutine, read on!
What cheese to use for poutine?
When it comes to poutine, it’s really all about the cheese curds. Real cheese curds are what makes a poutine “authentic”. Cheese curds are simply solid pieces of curdled milk, that can be either eaten alone as a snack or, in Canada, added to fries and gravy to make poutine :) Cheese curds can be found in white or yellow colour. White cheese curds are the ones you want for poutine.
Substitute for Cheese Curds in Poutine:
If you can’t get cheese curds, the closest possible substitution if you want the poutine experience, would be torn chunks (not shredded!) of a full-fat block mozzarella cheese (NOT fresh mozzarella – use the kind you’d shred to put on top of pizza). You want it in chunks so it doesn’t melt completely. Don’t be skimpy. Some cheese curds are the size of my baby finger. That’s part of the poutine experience – the chunks of warm, softened cheese and shredded just won’t cut it because it melts completely and mixes in with the gravy. (Cheddar is not the best substitute. Even though cheese curds are technically cheddar they don’t taste like it. The taste is much more mozzarella-like – soft, pliable, subtle taste, squeaky :)
How do you make poutine gravy?
I’ve included a perfect poutine gravy recipe below for you! If you’ve eaten a lot of poutine, you’ve probably experienced a wide range of gravy tastes. Some are clearly chicken, some are dark and beefy. I think the perfect one is somewhere in between. I looked to French-Canadian chef Ricardo for a reliable and authentic recipe. Let’s face it, the French-Canadians know poutine! His gravy is 2/3 beef stock and 1/3 chicken stock, for a lightened up beef gravy. I think it’s perfect.
How to pronounce Poutine:
If you are an English speaking Canadian, you’ll almost certainly pronounce it “poo-teen” (emphasis on the last syllable). French Canadians might suggest that it should be pronounced as “poo-tin” (again, with the emphasis on the last syllable). I say, if you find yourself in Quebec, you could try the latter – pretty much anywhere else in Canada and elsewhere, the former will serve you well.
How to eat poutine
Even if you are strictly a person who eats fries with your hands, when it comes to poutine, a fork is the only way to go! The combination of lots of gravy and melted cheese is a mess to eat any other way.
Cook’s Notes for Authentic Canadian Poutine
French-Canadians would probably recommend starting your poutine gravy with canned broth (vs. the boxed variety). I personally find it a little too salty for my taste, but that might be just the brand I use.
If you use canned, definitely taste before adding additional salt to your gravy. Don’t skimp on the freshly ground pepper in the gravy, though :)
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Ingredients
Poutine Gravy:
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp water
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 20 oz beef broth
- 10 oz chicken broth
- Pepper, to taste
For Deep Fried Fries:
- 2 lbs Russet potatoes, (3-4 medium potatoes)
- Peanut or other frying oil
Toppings:
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese curds, (Or torn chunks of mozzarella cheese would be the closest substitution)
Instructions
- Prepare the gravy: In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water and set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns golden brown.
- Add the beef and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk. Stir in about HALF the cornstarch mixture and simmer for a minute or so. If you'd like your gravy thicker, add a more of the cornstarch mixture, in small increments, as needed, to thicken. Season with pepper. Taste and add additional salt, if necessary, to taste. Make ahead and re-warm or keep warm until your fries are ready.
- For Deep-Fried Fries: Prepare your potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch thick sticks. Place into a large bowl and cover completely with cold water. Allow to stand at least one hour or several hours. When ready to cook, heat your oil in your deep fryer or large, wide, heavy cooking pot to 300° F.
- Remove the potatoes from the water and place onto a sheet of paper towel. Blot to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
- Add your fries to the 300°F oil and cook for 5-8 minutes, just until potatoes are starting to cook but are not yet browned. Remove potatoes from oil and scatter on a wire rack. Increase oil temperature to 375°F Once oil is heated to that temperature, return the potatoes to the fryer and cook until potatoes are golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined bowl.
- To Prepare Poutine: Add your fried or baked fries to a large, clean bowl. Season lightly with salt while still warm. Add a ladle of hot poutine gravy to the bowl and using tongs, toss the fries in the gravy. Add more gravy, as needed to mostly coat the fries.
- Add the cheese curds and toss with the hot fries and gravy. Serve with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.
Notes
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Can you use just chicken either instead of beef?
Hi Hameed, You can, thought the gravy will be lighter in colour and flavour. While less traditional, it should be still tasty :)
How many cups of gravy does your recipe make?
Hi Sherry, the recipe should make about 4 cups of gravy.
What is the name of the cute dish you are serving your poutine in? Is it cast iron? Do you heat them before serving? They are adorable.
Thanks Mindy and yes, they are cast iron (so yes, you can warm them before serving to keep food hot longer). They should be easily available on Amazon. Just search small oval cast iron.
Can I do oven fries to make this dish?
You can, though you’ll only really get the full poutine experience with fried fries :)
How long do you cook your potatoes and what temperature in the airfryer?Thanks
Hi Noellie, in my airfryer, it’s 380F for about 25 minutes, tossing once or twice as they cook.
This was sooooo good!!! I haven’t had poutine since I was in Canada in 2017, and being out in Norway, there aren’t any places to buy it! This recipe was just perfect :) We didn’t have cheese curds so used a gruyere-like cheese (but super soft) and it tasted just as good. Plus the gravy recipe is my new favorite! Will definitely make this again :)
So glad to hear, Tabitha :) Thanks!
Maybe I’m totally missing it, but I can’t find where I sign up for emails.
Lovely site and thank you for providing for different serving amounts.
Hi Charlie, Thanks so much. To sign up, just scroll to the top of the page and click “Subscribe”
How long can the gravy be stored?
Hi Molly, the gravy should keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, or it will also freeze well!
Love! Love! Love this recipe! Especially the poutine gravy! A new family favorite! Thank you very much for this post!
So glad to hear :) Thanks!
Hi, is your broth the canned condensed type that you find in supermarkets, or is it the diluted version? I’m not sure I can easyly find the canned version here in France, however we do have broth “tablets” than need to be mixed with water. Would that do?
Hi Vera, yes, just go ahead and uses the tablets, just make it a little stronger than usual (so a little less water). Should work just fine :)
Living many years in central New York, I took many hockey teams up into Northern New York, Ontario & Quebec where the boys loved poutine. Coming from Philly, I was familiar with “wets”, gravy on fries, how could adding cheese curds NOT be a plus (other than my doctors opinion)? Wanted to make these for the boys again when they visit. Thanks so much.
Do enjoy! It’s the ultimate comfort food :)
This worked out perfect. The weather has been blue chip and we were having a small (6) party for my daughters 31st birthday. I made this all out side on my burner. Poutine complimented my home made burgers. We did the 3X version. My son in law cut all the potatoes ahead of time. I also made the gravy the night before and heated it up again. I think I was able to get a few fork fulls before it was all gone. .i did not change a thing did as you suggested it was tasty. Next time I’ll double it again so I get some.
So glad you enjoyed it! And yes, you definitely need to double it :) Thanks Pat!
My daughter is a hardcore “pescatarian.” Can I use vegetable broth – or will that ruin the flavor? (She may just have to “abstain!”)
Hi Mina, My daughter is vegetarian, so I have a little experience in this area. She uses a powdered gravy mix from Walmart that is a beef gravy with no actual beef :) There is also no-chicken chicken base, from Better than Bouillon, among others. Surprisingly there are a lot of no-meat “meat gravies” on the market! It’s worth a closer look at the ingredient labels on broths and/or gravies (canned or powdered), for sure. That wold be the best option. All that said, vegetable broth will technically work, though the flavour will definitely be a bit un-pountine-like. But … if you want to make one that works for all, give it a go :) Enjoy!
Better than bullion is the bomb! Only thing I use now days. They have a veggie one that’s really good flavor
My first time to comment.
I only followed your recipe on potatoes and how to fry them since we already had canned st. Hubert’s poutine gravy with smoky bacon. Wow! This will be the only way I will fry potatoes from now on. So i did 300 degree F for 7 minutes then followed your instructions to remove and turn the heat up to 375. I tried 2 batches. Fried it for 3 minutes and 5 mins.
I served my hubby the 2nd batch cooked in 5 mins and he loved it. I prefer light golden brown so i ate the 3 min batch. I used st. Albert’s cheese curds. Was super good cause of the fries. It reminded me of the food chain new york fries poutiine. Yum! I will try your gravy next time:)
So glad to hear, Abbey :) Thanks!
Hi! I tried “dissolving” the corn starch in the amount of water recommended, but it ended up becoming that dry paste, as corn starch tends to do. When I added half of the cornstarch mixture to the gravy, the corn starch simply clumped up and didn’t mix at all. Could you please help me? Not sure where I went wrong.
Hi Audrey, just add a splash more water to thin out the paste a bit more. It should blend in just fine.