A delicious combination of squeaky cheese curds, crispy fries, and gravy is what makes theperfect Canadian poutine.
The dish may look very simple to make as it requires only three ingredients, but these three ingredients need to be perfect. If you use the wrong ingredients, you won’t have the authentic taste of real Canadian poutine.
Here are some tips to make authentic poutine. Just follow all the tips and can enjoy some delicious poutine:
Use the right cheese curds
Cheese curds are the most essential ingredient that will either make or break your dish, so you must be careful when choosing them. You might be thinking cheese is cheese, so any kind should work,but that’s not the case. Using cheddar cheese won’t give your poutine the same authentic taste.
Cheese curds in Australia are now easy to get; I prefer using Pure Dairy’s cheese curds. They have a delicious taste, texture, and nutritional value and are perfect for making poutine.
If you don’t have cheese curds, you can use shredded cheese, but that won’t be poutine – it will be something that is yet to be named. I did once try to use mozzarella, but it didn’t work at all.
Making your own gravy
Many people decide to go with readymade brown gravy and pour it on top of the poutine. But if you really want to make authentic poutine, you should do it the right way – make your own gravy. It’s fresh and better than readymade gravy.
Most recipes only require a few ingredients, including a mix of chicken and beef stock, as it gives a brown color to the gravy. Obviously,it’s a bit of effort, but it’s worth a try. Make your gravy light and not too thick so that all the fries can be adequately coated.
The Fries
A good fry ensures the poutine is crispy, and the gravy is absorbed correctly to create a sloppy and resilient texture. From selecting the right potatoes to frying them, it all determines how crispy and fluffy your fries are.
I prefer using russet potatoes as they are an excellent source of potassium. Once you cut the potatoes into the shape of fries, you need to soak them either in cold or hot water for 30 – 60 mins depending on your needs. Soaking in hot water will make the fries crispier, while cold water makes the fries softer. For poutine, I like using cold water – the Canadian way.
Use Room Temperature Ingredients
Most people don’t know the importanceof using room temperature ingredients. They just get the ingredients out of the refrigerator and start making the dish, but it makes a huge difference when making poutine. It helps all the ingredients to mix well together.
So, next time when you prepare the poutine, make sure all the ingredients are out of the freezer half an hour before you start cooking.
Pour gravy over the French fries while they are hot
Poutine always tastesthe best when it’s hot. Try cooking everything at the same time to ensure everything is hot at the same time. Pour the hot gravy over the French fries, and everything will start melting on top of each other.
The cheese curds are the only thing that will be at room temperature when you are constructing. Place the cheese curds on top of the gravy. You can use as much gravy and cheese you want, but the fries should be smothered in gravy.Finally, you can add some seasoning if you want your such as salt, bacon, and others.
