Certain dishes have a tendency to make your mouth water just thinking of them, and poutine is one that has a rightful place on that list. A plate of french fries drenched in gravy and cheese, and in some cases, tender bites of succulent meat — what more could a foodie ask for? It is inarguably Canada’s most famous dish, and its popularity has extended far beyond the country’s borders to earn it a reputation as a truly delicious creation.
Bringing all those components together into a perfect poutine can feel like a monumental task for a home cook. However, there is no need to be intimidated by poutine. Chef Randy Feltis of @KatherineWants, a TikTok channel dedicated to the culinary delights Feltis makes for his wife, Katherine, shared some exclusive insider tips with Chowhound to help home cooks make incredible poutine every time. Like many of the recipes Feltis covers in “Katherine Wants: The Ultimate Date Night Cookbook,” the book he co-authored with his wife, poutine is a meal best shared. The final result can vary greatly depending on the creative vision of the chef and the individual ingredients they choose to use. How you select and prepare each component of poutine makes a big difference in the overall success of the dish.
Select your french fries carefully
The base of any good poutine is french fries, and there are lots of choices when it comes to this ingredient. Randy Feltis recommends a longer, traditional potato that is double-fried in fat so that you are building off a hardy foundation. “You don’t want the cheese or gravy to overpower the fries,” he said. “You need them to slow dance with the other ingredients.” Feltis likes to wash them with the skin on so they give off the homemade feel of fresh-cut french fries. And, of course, those fries should be nice and crispy on the outside (thus the double fry or even a triple fry) and soft and pillowy on the inside.
You have plenty of potato types to choose from, but while Feltis doesn’t specify a preference, Russets are a popular choice to make legitimately crispy fries at home. Feltis does recommend, however, seasoning them well by hitting them with what he calls “way too much kosher salt” as soon as they come out of the fryer.
Gravy makes all the difference
Gravy is something that people either love or hate or maybe just hate to love. It might be a bit polarizing, but it can make or break a poutine. As one of the primary components of the dish, a good gravy is a must, and consistency is key, so you’ll want to avoid the many mistakes that can easily ruin a good gravy. A watery gravy or a clumpy, overly thickened gravy is a surefire way to ruin an otherwise well-executed poutine. “The gravy should hug the fries and stick to the cheese so that it melts,” said Randy Feltis. He warns against a too-thick gravy, opting instead for one that strikes a nice balance between soupy and thick. “This will allow it to coat the fries and glaze the cheese curds,” he said, giving it the perfect consistency to work its way through the fries to the bottom of the plate.
There are plenty of options when it comes to cheese
Randy Feltis doesn’t seem to be too picky when it comes to the cheese, other than the fact that he doesn’t use vegan cheese alternatives — although the poutine you build is truly a matter of personal taste and creativity, so familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of using vegan cheese and have fun with it. The cheese component of poutine is traditionally accomplished using cheese curds, and one thing that any cheese aficionado will tell you is that a good cheese curd should be squeaky. Feltis seems to agree, suggesting that you use anything that is “fresh and squeaky.” He also recommended a few that are commonly used in poutine, specifically Quebec cheese or St. Albert cheese, and noted that traditional poutine has white cheese curds, not the yellow variety.
Keep in mind while building your poutine that the cheese curds usually sit on top of the fries with the gravy poured over them. An expertly crafted poutine will have all the ingredients layered properly, with the gravy permeating the plate and the cheese melted just enough from the other ingredients that you get an epic cheese pull when you take that first bite.
Have fun with your meat choice
Poutine is traditionally made with beef gravy, and many restaurants serve the dish with tender bites of meat mixed with the fries, cheese, and gravy. But when you are the chef, you call the shots and can make it with any meat you prefer. According to Randy Feltis, if you’ve got a good brisket, adding chunks of succulent meat to your poutine is a great idea. “Really,” he says, “any braised meat like an oxtail or a beef cheek is a great addition.” Some of these cuts can be tricky, like oxtail, which can be difficult to cook well if you don’t know what you’re doing, so arm yourself with some oxtail cooking knowledge and get to practicing because oxtail can actually be one of the most delicious cuts of meat.
Have fun with your protein choices as long as they mesh cohesively with the other ingredients. Bacon, short ribs, pulled pork, the sky is the limit. You can even add south-of-the-border flair with carne asada or carnitas, as they will both blend well with the poutine’s flavor profile and give you easy-to-eat bites of meat that will mix in well among the fries and the cheese. If you want an extravagant touch, a fried egg on top of the poutine will give you a great protein punch with a gooey spill of egg yolk dripping down into your fries.
Don’t be afraid of store-bought ingredients
There is a misconception that if you are going to cook food at home, then every component needs to be made from scratch. But in reality, that is not only a monumental task, but it also isn’t necessary, even when it comes to a delicious homemade poutine. There is nothing wrong with using store-bought ingredients, according to Randy Feltis, but he does have some recommendations for how to work with them so your poutine still tastes homemade. “At home,” he says, “you always want your frozen french fries to cook longer than you think because you need them crispy.”
When it comes to store-bought gravy, he suggests cooking it down to reduce it further than it already is. And he’s even got a sneaky trick to make it taste even better: reduce some wine and mix it into the gravy, which you can do by heating wine in a saucepan over medium heat until it’s been reduced to about one-third of its original volume. This delicious addition will give it a richer flavor profile that will elevate your poutine to an epic plate of comfort food to share with your family and friends — or all by yourself. We’re not here to judge.
