Triple Cooked Poutine with Mushroom Gravy

Poutine, beautiful Poutine. Why must you live so far away? I spent a short amount of time in Montreal back in May of 2013. It was there that I fell in love with the Quebecois favorite drunk food, poutine. I must have had poutine every single late night I spent in Montreal, soaking up all the beer I had consumed earlier in the night. But I am not the only one who loves poutine, It has held such heavy culinary weight in the region that even the Canadian Supreme Court designated Poutine as “ ‘distinct’, as well as distinctive, historical source of sustenance for Quebecois”. (Barsh and Henderson)

Origins are debated in Quebec, various towns and chefs have claimed ownership to Poutine. However, the actual history is more of a happy accident than a calculated brilliant dish. “And in 1957, the course of this province’s history was dramatically altered by a casse-croute joint in Warwick called Lutin Qui Rit (Laughing Imp). Owner Fernand Lachance claimed to have invented poutine by filling a bag with French fries, cheese curds, ketchup and vinegar and shaking it up. When the bag exploded all over his counter, Lachance called the heaping eyesore a “maudite poutine” (translatable as “cursed mess,” the term poutine being Acadian slang).” (Gollner)

The origin of poutine was a humble mistake. However, the dish has evolved to include many unique variations and ingredients in kitchens throughout eastern Canada. Purists, if such a thing truly exists might argue that the fries must be cooked in lard or other animal fat renderings, but we’re a long ways away from Quebec and my goal was to make a poutine that is completely vegetarian but delicious in it’s own right. The fries are triple cooked and the gravy is made with a mushroom base and topped with local cheese curds. I’m not going to lie, this poutine is awesome.

I also want to note, this method is time consuming. There are plenty of other ways to go about frying a potato, but my method creates an ultra crisp exterior with a semi-hollow soft interior. It’s an incredibly pleasurable texture. Most importantly though, please make sure to crack open a delicious beer or two when you enjoy this dish.



Triple Cooked Poutine with Mushroom Gravy

Triple cooked French Fries

Ingredients

• 1 Russet potato
• Enough High heat oil to cover a thick bottom pan 3-5 inches

Cooking Directions

1. Peel potatoes, cut into thick Julienne shape.
2. Blanch in 200 degree water for 4 minutes. Transfer to ice water bath, let dry on a wire rack, and freeze for one hour.
3. Fry in 275 oil. Wait until lightly browned about 6-8 minutes.
4. Remove from oil and dry immediately on a wire rack over a pan with a paper towel.
5. Briefly fry a 2nd time at 325 until perfectly browned. About 1-2 Minutes.
6. Repeat the process and clean oil off with fresh towel.

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

• 2 T Unsalted butter
• 2 T All-purpose flour
• 2 c Vegetable stock (Feel free to substitute stocks)
• 1/2 White onion
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 1 c White mushrooms, small diced
• Parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Lightly brown Onions and mushrooms for 5-7 minutes on medium heat.
2. Add minced garlic and lightly brown on medium heat. 2-3 minutes.
3. Deglaze pan with stock.
4. Transfer to blender or food processor and blend mixture to make smooth.
5. Put back in Pot over medium heat.
6. Make roux(1 part flour 1 part butter) by slowly stirring in the 2T of flour into lightly melted butter. Melt and stir over medium-low heat in a separate small pan until paste consistency.
7. Mix in roux into the stock mixture over medium heat and stir until gravy consistency.
8. Take the pot off the heat and mix in Fresh Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary, salt and black pepper to taste.

Total Time: 1 hour

Citations and Further Readings:

• Barsh, Russel L., and James Y. Henderson. "The Supreme Court's Van der Peet Trilogy: Naïve Imperialism and Ropes of Sand." McGill Law Journal (1997). Print.
• Gollner, Adam L. "The Cheeses of Warwick." Maclean's Canda's Weekly Newsmagazine 12 July 2004. Print.
• López-Alt, J. Kenji. "The Burger Lab: Why Double Fry French Fries?." Serious Eats. Serious Eats, n.d. Web. 15 June 2014. Path: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2010/01/the-burger-lab-why-double-fry-french-fries.html.

Photos by Jordan Henline