What Makes a Great Poutine?

One of the best known foods in Quebec is beautiful food known as “Poutine”. This calorie rich food is not to be taken lightly as just mentioning the ingredients can add pounds and inches to your body without even tasting it. The other thing about Poutine is that you can never say you have had one unless you have traveled to Quebec. Most regions in Quebec have their own version of the yummy dish and the variations are endless. But what makes a great Poutine?

Poutine is made up of three basic ingredients, french fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy. You will get other ingredients depending on where you are and how people are trying to make the dish unique. Be warned that if you have not had Poutine from Quebec then you have not had real Poutine! The versions you get in fast food restaurants is not real Poutine. If you get Poutine with Mozzarella cheese then you have not had real Poutine. Don’t be fooled by imitations even if they do taste good.

Back to what makes a great Poutine? First the best french fries to use are homemade if possible. If that’s not available then at least get thick french fries. Next is the cheese curds which should be served at room temperature and should be fresh. The test for these are when you bite into them and chew them do they squeak? The bigger cheese curds are better, but that is just my opinion. The last piece is the gravy and brown gravy is best to be used. The order that you add it to the dish is french fries first, then the cheese, then the gravy.

Here is where things get interesting. There are many versions of this famous dish even within the Province of Quebec. To date the best version I have had is my home region of Thetford Mines Quebec. In fact a few miles away in Coleraine Quebec is a little restaurant that serves Poutine avec (with) Salad. You have the basic ingredients then on top they add a salad version like coleslaw on top. When I first heard of this I wasn’t sure what to think, but now it is my favourite version of the dish. There are other versions such as Italian Poutine and so on, so feel free to search out a version you may like.

Looking for reason to visit the wonderful Province of Quebec? Why not go on a Poutine run to find a different version that you enjoy? I could not find a better reason to explore this beautiful Province. If you are in Coleraine make sure you stop and have one at my favourite spot.

About the Author

Carmen Outridge owns Outridge Translation Services offering English to French translation services for those operating in the Province of Quebec. She has been in the translation industry for over 30 years and is from Quebec. If you have documents you need translated then visit www.outridgetranslation.com and have your translation completed the way Quebec expects it.