Ingredient selection for Canadian Poutine dish

Question

Poutine is a simple dish from Québec, Canada. It is traditionally made with French fries, topped with fresh mild white cheddar curds (quite unlike American white cheddar which is quite sharp) and with a tangy and salty brown gravy poured on top of it all. It looks something like this:

It's easy to make when you like up in Québec, as the gravy can be purchased in any grocery store. But I live in the USA now, and there is no such thing as poutine gravy here. For the cheese I use Monterey Jack cheese, which is close enough. I've tried to whip up my own gravy multiple times, but it's never been quite right. Here is how I usually go about it:

1. Start with chicken stock.

2. Thicken with flour or starch.

3. Add some pepper, salt (if needed, usually it's pretty salty already).

4. Add something for tang, like a bit of barbecue sauce or ketchup.

5. Maybe throw in a few spices, like garlic or onion powder.

I was just wondering if anyone has ideas to make this more palatable, e.g., other ingredients, or any cooking suggestion.

Answer 1

Hello @Phrancis and welcome to Seasoned Advice! Poutine gravy is a beef gravy made with beef or veal stock. Here is a link to a recipe . There are many other recipes online, as well.

You can buy the prepared sauce online here or a gravy mix on Amazon .

By the way, you were on the right track, just not quite there yet! :)

Answer 2

Ricardo has a very good, authentic tasting and even smelling recipe for poutine gravy:

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
• 6 tablespoons (90 ml) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cans 10 oz (284 ml) beef broth, undiluted
• 1 can 10 ounces (284 ml) chicken broth, undiluted
• Pepper

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring until the mixture turns golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the broth and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk. Stir in the cornstarch and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Season with pepper.

As an aside, I can't imagine Monterey Jack being good enough. Scour your specialty stores and find those curds! Sprouts carries them in Southern California for example.

Answer 3

I had poutine once in Canada when I was driving through. I had dinner in a diner and poutine was the advertised special. The waitress looked at me like I was from Mars when I asked what poutine was. So I only have that one experience to draw from, but the gravy tasted to me exactly like this stuff:

You can buy exactly that in any grocery store in envelopes, or at Sam's Club in canisters like that. Costco probably has a version too, if not exactly that brand.

Incidentally, a lot of grocery stores carry cheese curds with the "gourmet" cheese.