Poutine Take #1

So one of the things on my list to master is poutine. Now some might think, whats so hard to master in a dish consisting of fries, cheese, and gravy? Well a proper Quebec poutine, is fresh fries, cheese curds (as fresh as humanly possible), and a poultry (sometimes veal) gravy. Now this may not seem the hardest thing to accomplish, and yet, its near impossible to find a true, consistent, Quebec style poutine in Toronto.

So what do you do when you can't find what you want from someone/somewhere else? You do it yourself. And so I headed out to the market. I bought some cheese curds, and a couple potatoes. I got home only to realize I had no chicken stock, but I did have a thing of beef stock. So I already sacrificed the gravy principle (although fine by me as I enjoy a beef gravy just as much), at least I still have the fries and fresh curds. So I made my twice fried fries, and put on my simple gravy of butter roux and beef stock. I put a layer of fries into the bowl, topped with cheese curds, and ladled over the gravy.

(there just aren't enough foods that sparkle)

Verdict? Well the cheese curds weren't as fresh as initially thought, and thus didn't squeek (yes the squeek is very important). The fries however were close to perfect, nice and crispy, and light and fluffy inside. The gravy was good, but next time I want to go with a poultry gravy!

I am researching how to make your own curds, hopefully next time I will be able to do so! Freshness will never be a problem again.