Help with a Canadian recipe?
 

I want to make Poutine since hearing a Canadian acquaintance talk about it. I can order the cheese curds from Wisconsin (yeah, I splurge on food that way sometimes!), but I want to make the REAL authentic dark, tangy gravy, and I can't find a recipe for the gravy when I google the subject of "poutine." Just says to use gravy, but I haven't found any special recipe for it. Could any of you Canadian ladies help me out here??? Thank you in advance!

I don't know about curds used in poutine but I think of curds as somthing that one only buys at the cheese factory and eats right away. Maybe it does not matter in poutine but even day old curds just are not the same as fresh.

I've never heard of anyone making gravy for poutine. You just open a can of Franco-American beef gravy, heat and serve.

Franco-American beef gravy??? That's not authentic poutine.

What you need is St. Hubert poutine sauce (their BBQ sauce or chicken gravy will also do in a pinch). In the U.S. you can order it through Canadian Favourites, a source of supply for homesick Canadians. Their website is at
http://canadianfavourites.com/cover.html

The authentic poutine "gravy" is kind of like a cross between gravy and barbeque sauce.

Try this:
Chop 1 onion and fry in butter until caramelized. Add a couple of splashes of oil and enough flour to make a paste. Cook for about 3 minutes then stir in a cup of red wine and 3 cups of beef broth. Add a large spoonful of tomato paste, a few bay leaves and some pepper. Cook over low heat for 30 - 45 minutes. If it gets too thick add more broth. Strain it before serving to get out any lumps and the bay leaves.

Hey Taggie - you left out the ground
up Lipitor!

LOL llama.
Notice I didn't say to actually EAT the stuff!

To get the true, authentic taste, you have to get the gravy in cans, as the previous poster says. The unique taste of Quebec-style barbecue sauce, or poutine gravy, is essential to this dish. It is widely available in Quebec grocery stores, but I guess you should order St-Hubert brand. As long as you're eating Quebec-style junk food, go all the way. Also, the style of frites beloved in Quebec, which form the calorific base for poutine, are heavy, rich with grease, and well browned--different from the light, crisp fries you usually get in the U.S. Sounds horrendous, I know, but kids gobble up this dish blissfully, as do adults who are not afraid of the calories.

You're all downright wonderful! Thank you so much - will place an order for the St. Hubert Pontine Sauce AND will try the recipe, also. :-)

Uh-oh! Just realized that I will have to order $20 worth of stuff from that site!!! So keep the recipes coming.......... I'll have to think about the ordering... :-)

You could always order some Mae Wests and Jos Louis as a nice dessert to follow the poutine.

.....Okay, I'll bite (or not) - what
are Joe Louis' and Mae West's in the
food lexicon of Planet Quebec?

Food Challenged
in Vancouver

I'd best leave a description to the good folks at Vachon, as I couldn't do it justice.

www.vachon.com/en/nproduit.htm

I'm sure that if you look, you'll find them in Vancouver.

You'd need to have Pepsi and Jos Louis to be really authentic...

Poutine YUMMMM. The best is made with fresh cheese curd though...

Mmmmmmm...Chez Ashton poutine in Quebec City is THE BEST!!!! You guys are making me hungry

Sadly, I don't care for the snack cakes that you refer to (our American equivalents.) I'm not into sweets that much anymore, but I appreciate the suggestion. Is there an American dry gravy mix that you can equate the St. Hubert brand to????:-) Probably not, or you would have said! Is it like good rich homemade, thickened beef gravy or chicken gravy, like Americans make with their turkey at Thanksgiving? (That would be turkey gravy, of course......)

I think with poutine is that there's no real one recipe to go by. It's a junk food recipe that originated in Quebec, but there's not really the "one and only way" to do it to do it correctly.

There's a Quebecois restaurant in Vancouver called "Roosters Quarters" which specializes in roast chicken and ribs. The gravy for their poutine tastes like they mixed the thick chicken gravy with the drippings from the BBQ ribs - and they added cheese curds

I'd say experiment. Any thick gravy will do, although turkey/chicken gravy tends to be used whenever I've had it. Just add cheese curds and voila!

Carmanah, if I imagine pouring my thick, hot, very flavorful turkey gravy (from Thanksgiving dinner) over a pile of hot crispy fries, with fresh cheese curds melting in between.......... YUM! Thanks to all of you for your replies!

A delicious Poutine can be made with grated Extra Old Aged cheese and Roastbeef Gravy, but make sure it's thick (adding a little cornstarch will do the trick)I'm from Quebec and this is how I love my poutine!

Beckybee, is this homemade roast beef gravy, or made from a packet, with cornstarch added? I could try the Kraft Cracker Barrel Extra-Sharp/Aged Cheddar, grated....... Yum, I've just lost 15 lbs. in two months, and thinking I may make this for myself as a reward! :-) Thanks!