Poutine
BY KELLIE HYNES | PHOTOS BY CARMEN TROESSER
This summer, Carnivore Bob and I shipped our
kids off to camp, which meant we paid someone a
fortune to simulate unsupervised play in someone
else’s backyard. It also meant we could party like rock
stars, constrained only by work schedules and a desire
to watch the evening news in our pajamas. Our quest for
hedonism led us to Small Batch in Midtown, where we
tossed back flights of whiskey and gorged on vegetarian
poutine. Traditional poutine is a Canadian comfort food,
made by smothering French fries with fresh cheese curds, a peppery veal or poultry gravy
and, in some fine establishments, a pile
of meat. Describing poutine as cheese
fries is a serious understatement, like
calling Wayne Gretzky an ice skater or
TMZ the evening news. Poutine is an
over-the-top carb and dairy snugglefest
that tastes so rich and cheesy I
needed to add it to my home-cooking
repertoire.
I started by asking another Great
One, Baileys’ Restaurants executive
chef Stephen Trouvere, how Small
Batch – one in the handful of Baileys’
eateries – makes its poutine. Although
he was too discrete to say it outright,
the gist of his answer was fat. Small
Batch’s russet potatoes are twicefried,
which makes them firm on the
outside and fluffy on the inside. I
don’t have a fryer, so I tried baking
my own hand-cut potatoes. First, I
sliced the spuds into thin sticks. (I cut
mine to ¼-inch thickness, which is a
lot thinner than you think; measure
before you cut.) I then soaked them
in cold water to remove some starch;
low-starch potatoes make for fries
with a crunchy crust. I blanched
the fries to soften them and baked them to brown the edges. After
all of that work, my results were a
disappointing, mushy, burned mess.
To make perfect potatoes, I was going
to have to fry without a fryer. I added a
few inches of high-smoke-point peanut
oil to my large Dutch oven. With
the aid of a deep-fry thermometer, I
softened the tubers at 300 degrees,
then cranked the heat to 400 degrees
to crisp them. After the second frying,
I had my own haystack of golden,
not-gritty, fries. The potatoes browned
surprisingly quickly, so if you’ve never
fried before, cook a few fries at a time
until you get the hang of it.
Trouvere described the Small Batch
poutine sauce as a classic country
gravy with lots of freshly cracked black
pepper. I started with a butter roux
and added savory mushroom broth
for umami. If you’ve got homemade
mushroom broth hanging around
your kitchen, fantastic. If not, I’m
partial to the flavorful and ridiculously
convenient Better Than Bouillon line of
bases, available in the soup aisle of most
grocery stores. I finished my gravy with
ground pepper and a few tablespoons of
half-and-half, which was just enough to
make it creamy and luminous.
Nestled between the hot fries and
gravy of traditional poutine is a layer of
fresh cheese curds. I used plain curds
from local treasure Marcoot Jersey
Creamery; you could add a flavor boost
with Marcoot’s garlic and herb curds.
Cheese curds have a polarizing squishy
texture. If you’re not a fan, take a page from the Small Batch recipe book and
use shredded fontina for all of the melt
with none of the squeak. Regardless of
the cheese you use, Trouvere suggested
bringing it to room temperature before
adding it to the poutine so that the heat
from the fries and gravy soften it into
ooey gooey goodness.
Unlike my usual Vegetize It projects,
this is not a healthier version of a
traditional dish. This recipe celebrates
poutine in its full caloric glory. On
nights when the back-to-school grind
is too much, I will toss our usual
nutritionally balanced dinner to the
wind and indulge in this rich reminder
of a carefree summer – while wearing
pajamas, of course.
LIVING-THE-DREAM
VEGETARIAN POUTINE
SERVINGS
2 lbs. russet potatoes, cut into ¼-inch
sticks
6 cups peanut oil, for frying
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups mushroom broth
2 Tbsp. half-and-half
1 tsp. kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 oz. fresh cheese curds (or shredded
fontina) at room temperature*
2 Tbsp. chopped chives
• Place the potatoes in a large,
nonreactive bowl and cover with
cold water. Refrigerate at least 2
hours or overnight.
• Drain the potatoes and blot with
paper towels until completely dry.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with
paper towels and set aside.
• Add the peanut oil to a Dutch oven.
Over medium heat, warm the oil to
300 degrees. Using long-handled
tongs and working in batches,
carefully add the potatoes to the
hot oil and fry until the potatoes
are soft but still white, 2 to 3
minutes. Remove the fries from the
oil and drain on the baking sheet.
• Increase the oil temperature to
400 degrees and repeat the frying
process, this time cooking the fries
until they are golden brown and
crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Line the
baking sheet with clean paper
towels. Remove the fries from the oil
and drain on the baking sheet. Set
the fries aside and keep warm.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over
medium heat. Whisk in the flour.
Cook and stir the mixture until the
flour browns lightly, about 2 minutes.
Increase the heat to medium-high and
gradually whisk in the mushroom
broth. Bring the gravy to a boil, then
reduce the heat to medium. Simmer,
stirring occasionally, until the gravy is
thick and no lumps remain, about 5
minutes. Turn off the heat and whisk
in the half-and-half. Add the salt and
pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• To serve: Place the fries in a large
bowl. Sprinkle with the cheese
curds, top with the hot gravy and
garnish with chives.
* Marcoot Jersey Creamery cheese
curds are available at Dierbergs,
various locations, dierbergs.com.
