It’s not really a secret that I was born and raised in Canada, and as a Canadian, I have a great respect for poutine. If you’ve never heard of poutine, you don’ know what you’re missing. Much like the delicious Nanaimo Bars, poutine is a Canadian national treasure! It’s not the kind of food you eat a lot in south Texas, but when the temperatures start to dip, nothing soothes your soul like French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy!
Cheese curds are the solid parts of soured milk; you might also know them as squeaky cheese. You can usually find cheese curds at a well stocked cheese counter. If you can’t find curds, substitute your favorite shredded cheese. If you use shredded cheese, you won’t need to put the fries and cheese in the oven because the warm gravy should melt everything. I don’t like to use a super thick gravy because the dish is already heavy. I just go to the powdered gravy aisle at the grocery store and pick my favorite. A really good one is the Knorr Au Jus Gravy.
When we talked about preparing his dish, we had many discussions about how unphotogenic this meal is, and Candice and Amanda decided we’d be better off shooting the Poutine in a beautiful restaurant!
Cured is an amazing restaurant specializing in cured foods of all kinds. This is Chef Steve McHugh’s baby, and it’s amazing! Cured is located at the Pearl Brewery complex in the old Administration Building. It’s a stand alone building that is just the right size for this gorgeous restaurant. If you find yourself in San Antonio, a trip to the Pearl is definitely in order. It’s full of amazing shops, restaurants, the culinary school and the farmer’s market. Later this year, the Hotel Emma is opening, and then all your weekend needs will be complete!
Cured is the only restaurant in town where you can order poutine, and it’s definitely not your average fries and cheese curds! It’s smothered in cheese and topped with pork cheeks and pickled cauliflower. If you don’t happen to live near a poutine source, you can use our recipe. If you do happen to go to cured make sure you also order the Pork Butter and Corn Bread!
Poutine
Ingredients:
- French Fries (you can make some in the oven, but I usually just go to Five Guys and order some!)
- Brown Gravy
- Cheese Curds
Instructions:
- Put the fries and cheese curds in an oven safe dish, and place in a 350º oven for 5 minutes.
- Top with warm gravy.
- French Fries (you can make some in the oven, but I usually just go to Five Guys and order some!)
- Brown Gravy
- Cheese Curds
- Put the fries and cheese curds in an oven safe dish, and place in a 350º oven for 5 minutes.
- Top with warm gravy.
Sarah, thank you so much for sharing! It looks absolutely delicious! I just wanted to ask you, when you make this at home where do you find the cheese curds at? I’ve been wanting to make this for awhile but can’t seem to find cheese curds anywhere! I would appreciate your help!
Julie: I buy cheese curds at the grocery store, but if you can’t find them where you are, you can order them off of Amazon.