This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

I feel like this recipe is so fitting for today.

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Watch the How To Video Here:

It’s the perfect hangover food… or maybe I should say, the best possible food to eat after a really fun St. Patrick’s Day?

I really would not know though since one, I have never been hung over (wow, I am one seriously boring person) and two, I spent my St. Patrick’s day photographing spring veggies and tons of mangos. Which, dorky me of course thought was so much fun. Yep, I live for COLOR these days!

On a random note, my oldest brother Creighton text me on Monday asking where the heck all the corn beef was. Corn beef is probably one of Creighton’s favorite foods. The kid loves it, and I sadly had to respond and say that I made ZERO corned beef this year. He was obviously appalled. He also thought my use of Guinness this March was a little obsessive. UGH.

I totally disagree with him on the whole too much Guinness thing though (I mean, it makes for such good chocolate… and cheese sauce.), but now I am regretting not making any corned beef. Thinking I may just need to run to the store today and buy whatever is left over. Then I can make up for my lack of the sacred “March Meat” with a nice corned beef dinner. Too bad Creigh lives in Cleveland…while, I guess that’s what he gets for dissing my recipes….he should have seen what I made today. He would have DIED. No meat and all colorful things – AKA his most hated foods.

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

So anyway, let’s move onto another brother. The brother who inspired me to make this poutine. A dish that I will not lie, I never thought I’d make or that he would eat, but I guess there are new surprises every day. Cool!

So the brother just below me, Kai, took a month-long road trip with a few friends to Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont and Canada. Why? To snowboard and film of course. What else would they be doing? Looking at colleges? Right. My dad wishes SOwishes that were the case, but no, they where snowboarding and apparently eating the best poutine. EVER.

I remember the day I got the text saying, “you should really make some poutine” and texting back, “isn’t that gravy covered fries?”. Then thinking, how the hell am I supposed to take photos of that, poutine is quite possibly the ugliest food around! YEAH. Those were my thoughts, how do I take pictures of THAT?

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Well, despite my scared thoughts of even attempting to photograph poutine, I of course said I’d make it when they all got home because basically, anything Kai asks for I agree too. He’s just about the only brother I can’t say no to, but then again, it seems he has this effect on most people. I blame it all on his blue eyes and dark hair, that I am beyond jealous of. I’m the girl, I should have gotten the prettiest eyes in the family.

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

It’s totally not fair. JUST SAYIN’.

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Bottom line is I made the poutine, the pictures where actually not difficult at all, and the poutine was soo good. Kai said it was amazing, BUT, not quite as good as the Canadians make it. I think their’s just tasted better after a day out in the cold filming and snowboarding. A couple of beers may have may have added to the flavor as well, since Kai could legally drink there.

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

So here’s the deal with this recipe. It is really just real deal, fried french fries, some cheddar cheese curds (THE BEST PART) and piping hot gravy. You see, the best hangover food. Once the piping hot gravy hits those cheese curds, they start to melt just slightly and create the most amazing dish. It’s pure goodness and totally what you need today. DUH. It’s Wednesday. We all need something to get us through the hump.

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Authentic Canadian Poutine.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Refrigerate 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 969 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds russet potatoes cut into 1/4 inch matchsticks
  • 2 of your favorite beers I used a Canadian beer (can sub water)
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup flour use a gluten free flour blend if needed
  • 1 shallot finely minced
  • 1 clove garlic minced or grated
  • 3 1/2 cups low sodium beef stock*
  • 1/2 cup stout beer or more beef stock
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • canola oil for frying
  • 3 cups cheddar cheese curds

Instructions

  • Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl, cover with beer (or cold water) , and refrigerate for 3 minutes to 2 hours, the longer the better.
  • Meanwhile, make the gravy. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic, and cook, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the beef stock, ketchup, stout beer, balsamic vinegar, worcestershire, and a pinch of salt and pepper, and bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Keep over the lowest setting while you fry the potatoes. You may need to add more beef stock to thin if the gravy gets too thick.
  • Pour the canola into a 6-qt. Dutch oven, filling it about 3 inches up the sides. Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375 degrees F. Drain potatoes, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Working in small batches, add potatoes and fry, tossing occasionally, until tender and slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Increase the temperature to high, and heat oil until thermometer reads 425 degrees F. Working in small batches, return potatoes to oil, and fry, tossing occasionally, until crisp and golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer fries to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle the fries with salt.
  • Immediately divide the fries among serving bowls. Divide the cheese curds over the fries. Now make sure that your gravy is piping hot and pour the gravy over each serving of cheese fries. Dig in immediately... as if you could wait!

Notes

*Inspired by my younger brother's trip to Canada.
View Recipe Comments

Authentic Canadian Poutine | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Authentic Canadian Poutine will do that for ya!

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Do you think you can air fry or bake the French fries if you don’t have a deep fryer? Or is it pretty much a “must” when it comes to homemade French fries

    1. Hey Nicole,
      Sure, you could do either of those:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx

  2. This recipe is delish! The gravy was smooth, extremely tasty and very brown. Thank you for sharing. Will definitely do again.

    1. Hi Alma,
      Happy Sunday!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for trying it out and sharing your review! xxT

  3. This recipe looks great but I’d redo the video regarding the roux. You can’t add the liquid all at once like that to the butter/flour mixture; it can become lumpy. As the butter and flour start to come together, gradually add the liquid while stiring it continually into a smooth sauce. Also, I’d let the butter get a bit more golden – buerre noir. Merci.

    1. Hey Laura,
      Thanks for sharing your feedback, this is how the recipe worked for me, but adjust it to your liking:) xTieghan

    1. Hey Dita,
      Really any cheese curds that you can get your hands on will work here. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan

  4. 1 star
    This recipe is a mess. First of all, poutine is not a Canadian dish, it’s a Quebecois one that Anglo-Canada has, in the last few years, decided is delicious and adopted as “Canadian” despite spending years making fun of it beforehand.
    Second of all, we don’t use beer for the fries or the gravy, and it’s so absolutely obnoxious to see Americans decide to put their “twist” on food from other places without knowing anything about it. Poutine gravy is usually chicken-based, not beef based, although sometimes it’s mixed.
    Imagine the audacity of not even having had one made in the place it comes from and just winging your own without even looking at the recipes from the place it actually comes from. Call it what you want, but don’t call it “authentic.”

    1. Hi Nicole! I am sorry if this recipe offended you and your culture in anyway, as that is never my intention! My brothers love this dish and have tried it in Quebec. That is where I got the inspiration from. I hope you have a wonderful week! xTieghan

      1. Hi Nicole,
        Native Montrealer here. Born and raised and I have family all over QC. We have always used beef gravy! From the eastern townships, to QC city, downtown Montreal, the West Island etc. I’ve never seen anyone use chicken gravy. Not even the smoked meat deli my dad owned. He takes offense to chicken gravy. ? I’m curious as to where you’ve seen it used “authentically”.

  5. 1 star
    This recipe is bogus. I’m glad I did a test run the day before I had guests. It’s been many years since I’ve graced my taste buds with an authentic, dark, velvety poutine gravy. Your photography is obviously much better than your recipe writing skills because it’s obvious this recipe is not what created the gravy in the photo.
    I made this exactly as the recipe instructs and I swear, I’ve had better gravy from a packet. This was an abomination.
    I would have been embarrassed to serve this for poutine to Americans on Thanksgiving.

    1. Hi Ryan! I am really sorry you did not like this and feel this way. This recipe is exactly what I made and photographed. Anyway, Please let me know if you have any questions! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!