Poutine

I put off trying poutine until my last day in Canada.  There were lots of good things to eat, and even when I braced my taste buds for the ordeal, there were some very delectable Digby clams I could have ordered instead. Poutine is french fries soaked in gravy accompanied by cheese curds.    It’s adored in Montreal where the dish originated and has spread throughout Canada. It is reportedly making inroads into the United States.  I considered it my duty to try some. 

I had a food snob’s aversion to poutine, but having tasted it, I must admit it has a certain appeal.  I knew I was consuming so much fat and salt the mere thought of it would give the nutritionist at the Jordan Hospital Cardiac Rehab a case of uncontrollable shakes and possibly send her into a catatonic state.  I knew I should shove it away and order a salad with the dressing on the side, but as with other junk food, one bite invited another, and before I knew it I had cleaned my plate. 

Poutine is comfort food.  It is soft, warm, salty, and loaded with fat.  The gravy soaks the fries so they are no longer crisp, and it is unevenly distributed so the texture varies as you eat.  There are many versions to be had.  If oil fried potatoes and fat-based gravy aren’t rich enough for you, you can get poutine with bacon – sometimes with pulled pork and bacon.  I’ve heard some people eat fries with spaghetti sauce and melted mozzarella, although I haven’t witnessed this with my own eyes.  According to Wikipedia, poutine is sometimes served with lobster, shrimp, duck, lamb, or rabbit.   There are plainly depths to be plumbed before a poutine addict hits bottom.

Like chili and pizza, there’s no definite recipe, and I’m sorry to say mine had melted cheese instead of the cheese curds, which I’m told squeak when you bite them.  This is a traveler’s tale and not a learned treatise.  Further research is definitely required.