Topic: Poutine! (Read 43863 times)

Slick · « **on:** 14 Apr 2010, 10:46 »

Take some delicious fries, mix them up with some cheese, and pour gravy on top! Poutine! Poutine is amazing, and it is one of the few things that fall into the category of 'distinctly canadian cuisine'. People from away often express disgust at this dish but I do not know why. Surely, gravy and potatoes is nothing new, and neither is cheese and potatoes, so I do not see why this dish sounds gross.
The poll is just there out of curiosity, but I am interested in what people think of poutine, and as well, if anybody has any particularly great variations of poutine. My friend's favorite was just the basic poutine topped with lots of chopped-up montreal smoked meat, which sounds delicious. My favorite comes from a truck-stop cafe back home, which makes a dish called "slops" (formerly the "heart attack") which is a poutine plus ground beef, fried mushrooms and onions, and dressing (dressing is something newfies are fond of, it is just dry stuffing that was never stuffed in a roast). That dish is one of my favorite things and it is tradition to go there as soon as it opens and gets slops and many cups of coffee and talk about life, music, and everything with an old friend whenever we are both in town.
Across Canada, wherever you find newfie expats, you will find newfie fries which are fries with gravy, dressing, onions, mushrooms, and peas. I think newfie fries are clearly inferior because they are lacking in cheese.

As a side question to those familiar with poutine, do you prefer curds or grated cheese? Purists demand curds, but frankly I really like the melty-stretchy effect of grated mozza most of the time.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 11:38 »

god damnit poutine is delicious.

Dimmukane · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 11:49 »

I do not think it sounds super gross, but I also do not like gravy at all. Never tried it, obviously.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 11:56 »

I haven't ever heard of it, but I'm going to need some clarification here before I make up my mind. Are we talking British gravy (brown liquid commonly made with meat stock but also available vegetarian) or American gravy (gluey grey lumps that look a bit like porridge)?

Alex C · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 12:00 »

There is no American gravy. We have multiple kinds of gravy. Maybe you're thinking of sausage aka white or country gravy?

JD · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 12:02 »

Going by your description british gravy is used.

Anyway Poutine is Canada's gift to the world. It is so good.

sean · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 12:18 »

i didnt even know poutine existed! i probably would not like it though, i find gravy to be kind of yucky.

McTaggart · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 12:23 »

Not gonna lie, it sounds super gross. It should be noted though that I really dislike a lot of greasy food. I can't eat a chip roll and not feel awful, and since poutine is basically a chip roll plus cheese minus bread I can't see it going down well.

evilbobthebob · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:00 »

This is called poutine? When I was at primary and secondary school, a lot of the kids ate this. Well, until the healthy food things came along and plates of chips and gravy weren't considered a balanced diet. I've never seen it as particularly appetising.

Liz · « **Reply #9 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:06 »

I have only had the terrible poutine from the Toronto Zoo, so I shall abstain from voting as there is no good option for me.

Van donk III · « **Reply #10 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:07 »

ah, had never heard of it before even though it was a staple diet of my student days
this is what I know it as

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #11 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:17 »

To contribute to the topic, when I was in montreal I went to what my brother claimed to be the 'best poutine place in town' and had some vegatable poutine, which seemed like it was just poutine but instead of meat based gravy it was made with vegetables. It was really delicious, really fatty, and probably not healthy at all.

Johnny C · « **Reply #12 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:21 »

You can't just slap any old gravy and cheese on there. You gotta have brown gravy and you gotta have curds. Very few things make me more upset at a restaurant than asking for poutine and receiving some fries with gravy and a bunch of mozzarella haphazardly sprinkled over top of it. TEXTURE IS MASSIVE!!

Lines · « **Reply #13 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:30 »

Gross. I'm not eating that.

mberan42 · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:32 »

Quote from: Slick on 14 Apr 2010, 10:46

My favorite comes from a truck-stop cafe back home, which makes a dish called "slops" (formerly the "heart attack") which is a poutine plus ground beef, fried mushrooms and onions, and dressing (dressing is something newfies are fond of, it is just dry stuffing that was never stuffed in a roast).

OH MY GOD THAT DISH SOUNDS AMAZING (caps to emphasize just how amazing).

Most of the time when there are dishes like this in the States it includes scrambled eggs. A typical American version/whatever is scrambled eggs, hash browns (thinly sliced potatoes cooked on a flat-top griddle), veggies (commonly: mushrooms, green peppers, onions), a fuckton of cheddar cheese and gravy. (Not turkey gravy, but the kind of gravy that goes with biscuits. Not cookies biscuits, but piping hot fresh-from-the-oven flaky cylinders of bread (well how the fuck would you describe American biscuits?)) Sometimes there's corned beef hash in there too. Lots of people put ketchup on it too. I can't eat eggs (allergic), but they always sound so damn good. I need to find a diner in Chicago that serves Poutine 'cause it sounds amazing and I could actually eat it.

Barmymoo · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:48 »

I would describe American biscuits as deformed croissants.

Blue Kitty · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 13:56 »

I like gravy, but I enjoy some quality chili more. Cheese is alright in my book.

Lines · « **Reply #17 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 14:07 »

Sausage gravy is what you're after matt. The really thick gelatinous stuff. And biscuits aren't deformed croissants! They are delicious! Pretty much the American version of poutine is the kind of hasbrowns you'd find at Waffle House (or elsewhere, but I'm pretty sure most people know what a Waffle House is.) Really, if it weren't for the gravy, I'd probably eat poutine, but I just really can not stand gravy.

ackblom12 · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 14:18 »

Man, Kat keeps telling me Sausage gravy is not gravy, that it's just "Alfredo sauce". She is a goddamn liar though.

vegkitkat · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 14:31 »

I had poutine last night. It is my favorite drunk food. Without it, my college experience would not have been half as awesome as it was.

I am a curds girl all the way. Shredded cheese on poutine is just wrong.

Papersatan · « **Reply #20 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 14:47 »

Quote from: ackblom12 on 14 Apr 2010, 14:18

Man, Kat keeps telling me Sausage gravy is not gravy, that it's just "Alfredo sauce". She is a goddamn liar though.

Because it is:
flour and fat (make a roux)
milk (cook till thick)
Black pepper (season)
That is white sauce. The only difference is white "gravy" uses pork fat.

On the topic of poutine though I think it sounds great and I would love to try it. My desire is further supported by the fact that of the 29 people who have taken this poll, no one has chosen "I've had it and don't like it"

Scarychips · « **Reply #21 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 14:54 »

I do not like Poutine at all. I've tried numerous times, I've seen people eat some, and it disgusts me completely. And I'm a Quebecois for god's sake!

Lines · « **Reply #22 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 15:30 »

I'd rather stick with fries with shredded cheese and bacon because come on it has BACON.

JD · « **Reply #23 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 16:42 »

A&W makes some good poutine.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 17:08 »

It sounds delicious! I love chips (the thick steakhouse cut, not fries) and gravy, and cheese (delicious cheese!) could only be a welcome addition. Unfortunately when I was in BC I never found a place that sold it.

Boro_Bandito · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 18:42 »

Actually Kat a roux is used as the basis for Béchamel, Alfredo is a completely different sauce. The reason it becomes a gravy is the stock that's mixed in with it when you make a good country gravy, which if you do it right you make using the drippings in the iron skillet you just cooked your sausage in, or if you're really good you just straight up mix the sausage right in with it. Also you make the roux from the dripping plus the flour, instead of using butter, since the drippings provide all the oil you need to make the roux. It gets lumpy if you don't mix the roux well, which can be hard since most people just use a spatula with instead of a whisk, but in my opinion that just makes it all the better.

Getting back to the basic discussion I have had poutine many times and it is ultra delicious. Sausage Gravy with hash browns is definitely NOT the US equivalent, country style Buttermilk biscuits are closer to the British scone than they are to croissants, cookies are freaking cookies they are not biscuits you limey bastards, and why do we keep saying american equivalent? Canada is more NORTH America than the US, literally.

edited for typos, y'all.

Blue Kitty · « **Reply #26 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 18:47 »

See now the sausage gravy actually sounds pretty good. Here I was thinking something along the lines of turkey/mash potato gravy. I should save some the next time I make biscuits and gravy.

Lunchbox · « **Reply #27 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 18:47 »

Man I hate bechamel sauce.

Slick · « **Reply #28 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 18:47 »

A&W makes the best of the fast-food poutines, in my opinion. My dirty indulgence meal is a whistle dog (hot dog with bacon and cheese) and a poutine at A&W.

Lunchy clearly that just means you have to come back to Canada and travel further east. (p.s. that was in regards to poutine, not bechamel. I got post-blocked a couple times)

Phil-o, Kat did not say it was alfredo stephen said kat said it was alfredo kat said it was a white sauce, which it kind of is (there were more commas in that sentence which made it clearer as to who said what but I think I like it better this way).

JD · « **Reply #29 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 18:51 »

I don't know how you missed Poutine in BC.

Alex C · « **Reply #30 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 18:55 »

Quote from: Papersatan on 14 Apr 2010, 14:47

Because it is:
flour and fat (make a roux)
milk (cook till thick)
Black pepper (season)
That is white sauce. The only difference is white "gravy" uses pork fat.

On the topic of poutine though I think it sounds great and I would love to try it. My desire is further supported by the fact that of the 29 people who have taken this poll, no one has chosen "I've had it and don't like it"

This is probably the most needlessly reductive thing I've seen outside of politics in a while. I mean, yeah, sauces can be divided up into a few major families, but that doesn't mean the white sauce put on fettucine alfredo is gonna taste the same as a sauce made with pork fat. There's the same general principles involved, certainly, and that's useful when deciding what kinda sauces might go well with something, but that doesn't mean that what fat you use doesn't matter. The whole concept of mother sauces is really only something you should keep in mind when you're stuck improvising.

Slick · « **Reply #31 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 19:00 »

guys chill the fuck out country gravey is a relative of alfredo they are cousins no one said they taste the same except stephen who implied kat said it by misrepresenting her

Candle · « **Reply #32 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 19:13 »

poutine: it's fucking great most of the time, and when it's not it's still pretty good for junk food.

reference image ^

Boro_Bandito · « **Reply #33 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 19:24 »

Quote from: Slick on 14 Apr 2010, 19:00

guys chill the fuck out country gravey is a relative of alfredo they are cousins no one said they taste the same except stephen who implied kat said it by misrepresenting her

Alfredo's actually an emulsion of cheese and butter, and is tossed directly with the pasta, easier than bechemel actually

(this is just for clarity sake, not to start another argument)

Slick · « **Reply #34 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 19:28 »

fuckckkkkkkk youuuuuu phillllllllllll

(OK sorry we're all cool everybody's cool sorry for swearing and yelling)

Alex C · « **Reply #35 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 19:28 »

slick gravy is important and this isn't over

Slick · « **Reply #36 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 19:30 »

Presently I am eating what I will call "Questionable Poutine". It is regular and sweet-potato fries, tossed with a 'white style' sausage and ground beef plus beer gravy and grated cheddar and mozza because I do not stock curds regularly. Also the sausage and ground beef is off course in there too.

edit: This is really what I love about the internet. There are so many different interpretations and understandings of things that are regional. Like, if you say gravy people interpret it differently based on where their from. Everyone has a different idea of what is and isn't gravy but we all like to eat food and talk about gravy, right?
I mean, this is not coming out as eloquently as I wanted but I love how things I take for granted, like gravey and bell peppers, are interpreted differently by people with whom I otherwise have perfectly intelligible conversations in a shared language.

edit the second: like, in meebo right now khar has no idea what we mean when we talk of gravy and phil is teaching a course on sauces. The world is ridiculous!

edit the third: guys this white-gravy poutine mess is like the best thing. Every time Canada and the U.S. get together to talk about important things they should eat this because it is like the perfect fusion of American biscuits & gravy and Canadian poutine and also there is beer in it which always helps important negotiations and discussions!

Jace · « **Reply #37 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 20:18 »

More like POOtine, am I right?

(I might be right, I haven't had it and I don't trust canadian opinions of it)

Inlander · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 20:58 »

Everytime I read this thread title I feel like James is insulting me in Canadian French.

Johnny C · « **Reply #39 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 21:50 »

BEER GRAVY SOUNDS AMAZING

David_Dovey · « **Reply #40 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 23:39 »

I have not had proper poutine because (as far as I can tell) you can not get cheese curds in Australia but I have made it plenty of times with The Lady using soy cheese.

Also it is best with -prepare to have yr minds blown here- TATER TOTS

EDIT: fuck this thread I am so hungry now

Johnny C · « **Reply #41 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 23:46 »

look for cheese curds at the supermarket!!!

KvP · « **Reply #42 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 23:47 »

Motherfuckers didn't get me no poutine when I was in Tronno.

David_Dovey · « **Reply #43 on:** 14 Apr 2010, 23:48 »

shit Johnny why did I not think to look for food at a supermarket thank you so much

Slick · « **Reply #44 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 05:31 »

It is ridiculous that you got mediocre thai food but no poutine. I think at one point I was campaigning to go for poutine but no one was hungry, or maybe that was the other time I was in Toronto with Tania and Allison.

Also Harry yes I am insulting you.

Inlander · « **Reply #45 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 05:34 »

POUTINE!!

Theriandros · « **Reply #46 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 06:36 »

Just trying to clear up a few food misconceptions:

Quote from: Barmymoo on 14 Apr 2010, 13:48

I would describe American biscuits as deformed croissants.

Either you've been eating ridiculously non-fluffy croissants or someone put far too many rising agents in your biscuits. An American biscuit is, well, this:

It's fluffy, layered, and extremely buttery, but thicker in texture than your average croissant.

Also:

Quote from: Papersatan on 14 Apr 2010, 14:47

Quote from: ackblom12 on 14 Apr 2010, 14:18
Man, Kat keeps telling me Sausage gravy is not gravy, that it's just "Alfredo sauce". She is a goddamn liar though.
Because it is:
flour and fat (make a roux)
milk (cook till thick)
Black pepper (season)
That is white sauce. The only difference is white "gravy" uses pork fat.

Yes, it is white gravy. However, alfredo sauce is a completely different thing, as it is primarily a combination of cream, butter, and cheese (usually something like Parmesan). Other seasonings are permitted, but the fats are primarily from milk as opposed to including meat drippings.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #47 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 06:41 »

putin?

Theriandros · « **Reply #48 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 06:43 »

Indeed.

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Poutine

Cernunnos · « **Reply #49 on:** 15 Apr 2010, 06:49 »

i really want to try this stuff

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Author Topic: Poutine! (Read 43863 times)

ackblom12