Making The ‘Graviest’ Poutine Recipe in Australia – Try It Yourself

Originating in Canada, Poutine came to international limelight when the nation’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a ‘poutine summit’ in Ottawa in 2017 and even before that Trudeau was served with some modified versions of the dish at his state dinner with US President Obama in 2016. Over the recent years, Trudeau has been reinventing this dish and there has been a rush among foodies to try it and this is evident in Australia too. There are many questions on making poutine recipe in Australia, but there isn’t a definitive answer to it around – so we decided to answer this question in-depth.

What is Poutine?

Poutine is a very simple yet iconic dish in Canada that is claimed to have originated in the Quebec region in the 1950s. It is more of a culture in the region. It is a bowl full of crunchy golden brown French fries covered in glaring brown gravy and cheese curds that make a lot of squeaky noise when you chew them (that’s additional fun).

What is the fuss about making Poutine recipe in Australia? 

There is a fuss about making poutine in Australia, not because making the dish is something of a rocket science, but is related to restrictions on importing unpasteurised milk products like cheese curds into the country. But since this restriction has been eased in the recent years, you can now buy Cheese curds in Australia and make a bowl of squeaky and crunchy poutine whenever you want.

Cheese Curds & Poutine

Before we dive into the recipe, let me tell you that you need fresh cheese curds to make poutine. And the next thing is that you can buy cheese curds in Australia. Cheese curds are the most essential ingredient which will either make or break your dish so you must be careful while choosing them. If you don’t have cheese curds, than you might use shredded cheese but that won’t be poutine – it will be something that is yet to be named!

Poutine Recipe Australia

Time:

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 min

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serving: 3 people

Ingredients

Poutine Gravy:

Cornstarch                  3 Tablespoon

Water                          2 Tablespoon

Unsalted Butter           6 Tablespoon

All-purpose flour          ¼ cup

Beef Broth                   20 oz.

Chicken Broth             10 oz.

Pepper                          to taste

For Deep Fried Fries:

Potatoes                      3-4, medium sized

Oil

Toppings:

Cheese curds              ½ cup

Instructions for Poutine Recipe Australia

To prepare gravy:

• Mix cornstarch and water in a bowl and set aside for use later.
• Take a large saucepan, add butter and wait until it melts.
• Add flour and cook for about 5 minutes. Stir regularly until the mixture turns brown.
• Pour the beef and chicken broth, stir using a whisk until it comes to boil.
• Put the cornstarch that we had previously mixed and keep stirring for about 5 minutes.
• When the sauce thickens, season it with salt and pepper as per your taste.

For Deep-Fried Fries: 

• Cut potato into thick stick.
• Keep the potatoes into a bowl covered with cold water and let it rest for 1-2 hours.
• Heat the oil in your fryer.
• Strain the water from the potatoes and make sure you dry all the excess moisture from the potato before you fry them.
• Carefully add potatoes to the oil and cook for approximately 10 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, increase the heat so that the color of the fries changes.
• Once the potatoes turn golden brown and crispy, take it out in a paper towel to remove extra oil.

Show Time: 

• Add fries in a bowl, season it with salt and pepper according to your taste. Warm your gravy if necessary and add it to the fries. Let the gravy cover your fries.
• Add the cheese curds and let it melt into the hot fries and gravy.
• Serve it immediately, Poutine tastes best while it is hot.

Additional Tips (Expert’s tip):

• Use whisk to stir rather than using spatula for best results.
• Use paper towels to remove excess water from potato.
• Don’t over thicken poutine sauce, make sure you maintain consistency.
• Using cold gravy will spoil your poutine, so keep your gravy warm or else reheat it.

Can Poutine be reheated?

Could not finish all the poutine? No worries – you can save it for later. Poutine can be reheated if you store the leftovers properly. To reheat poutine, you can bake it by placing poutine in a foil-lined baking sheet for about 10 min in a 300-degree oven.

If you have any other Aussie variations to this dish, let me know – I would love to try it and if you any questions than also let me know in the comments.