If you're Canadian, chances are you've probably heard of this treat. I don't actually know if it's considered a meal or an appetizer because I'm not Canadian. We're just very close neighbors. So I consider myself almost an expert. Almost.
Funny thing is, I'd never even heard of Poutine until I visited southern Florida once. Which is like one of the farthest spots in the continental US from Canada. What's your excuse, Wisconsin? Huh?
Whatever you consider Poutine, a meal, an app, a treat, whatever, it's delicious. Mmmm. It's like the super frigid frozen tundra equivalent to chili cheese fries. And we all know you can't go wrong with fries. I recalled this yummy treat and decided to make my own version via memory. Poutine is traditionally made with fries, light brown gravy and cheese curds. I added turkey for some protein and a little somethin' somethin'.
Here's where I offer a few helpful notes. You'll notice I seasoned my fries with Fox Point Seasoning (two words, sorry for the typo above). This is a seasoning mix found at Penzeys Spices. Which is only the absolute BEST spice shop anywhere ever. If you don't have one near you, you're in luck! You can order online! Get their Fox Point here. I use it on my veggies - especially broccoli and asparagus, my white fish (especially tilapia and cod) and ALWAYS on my fries. This is not a paid for advertisement. I just seriously love Fox Point. If you don't have this or don't want to order it, use this to season your fries instead:
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp dried minced onions
1/2 tsp dried chives
Not quite the same, but it'll work.
And about the cheese curds. Wisconsin is FAMOUS for cheese curds. I'm serious. And they're even MORE famous for deep frying them. What am I talking about? We're famous for deep frying everything - you should see our fair food... deep fried oreos, deep fried twinkles, deep fried snickers, deep fried veggies, and the newest one we saw last year: deep fried butter. No, I'm not kidding. We are soooo weird.
Anyway, there's an art to picking the perfect curds. And I was at Walmart grocery shopping - which is NOT where that art form is performed. SO. I went with fresh mozz. Which I think, while not at all traditional or accurate, is pretty tasty in it's own right. Make sure you pick nice, fresh mozz. Like the kind you get in the deli section. I went with mozz pearls, and then cut them in half to spread them out over the fries. If you can find REAL honest to goodness cheese curds, then go that route, but mozzarella pearls work great.
And yum.
Now, welcome your inner Canadian, eh?
*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!
Hmmm, not too bad for an American, I guess...lol. If I make poutine with mozza, I'll usually shred it so it melts better. And generally you'd put your fries in a dish (however you plan to eat them, plate, bowl, etc.) and the put the cheese on and let the hot fries and hot gravy melt the cheese. Although with the bigger pieces of cheese, I can understand why you would throw all that in the oven too! :) I'd recommend trying pulled or shredded meat with the poutine. There's a killer smokehouse by my work that makes poutine with pulled pork...O. M. G. it's good! And messy. And delicious!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, not too bad for an American, I guess...lol. If I make poutine with mozza, I'll usually shred it so it melts better. And generally you'd put your fries in a dish (however you plan to eat them, plate, bowl, etc.) and the put the cheese on and let the hot fries and hot gravy melt the cheese. Although with the bigger pieces of cheese, I can understand why you would throw all that in the oven too! :) I'd recommend trying pulled or shredded meat with the poutine. There's a killer smokehouse by my work that makes poutine with pulled pork...O. M. G. it's good! And messy. And delicious!
ReplyDelete