I feel like this recipe is so fitting for today.

Watch the How To Video Here:

Authentic Canadian Poutine from Half Baked Harvest on Vimeo.

It’s the perfect hangover food… or maybe I should say, the best possible food to eat after a really fun St. Patrick’s Day?

I really would not know though since one, I have never been hung over (wow, I am one seriously boring person) and two, I spent my St. Patrick’s day photographing spring veggies and tons of mangos. Which, dorky me of course thought was so much fun. Yep, I live for COLOR these days!

On a random note, my oldest brother Creighton text me on Monday asking where the heck all the corn beef was. Corn beef is probably one of Creighton’s favorite foods. The kid loves it, and I sadly had to respond and say that I made ZERO corned beef this year. He was obviously appalled. He also thought my use of Guinness this March was a little obsessive. UGH.

I totally disagree with him on the whole too much Guinness thing though (I mean, it makes for such good chocolate… and cheese sauce.), but now I am regretting not making any corned beef. Thinking I may just need to run to the store today and buy whatever is left over. Then I can make up for my lack of the sacred “March Meat” with a nice corned beef dinner. Too bad Creigh lives in Cleveland…while, I guess that’s what he gets for dissing my recipes….he should have seen what I made today. He would have DIED. No meat and all colorful things – AKA his most hated foods.

So anyway, let’s move onto another brother. The brother who inspired me to make this poutine. A dish that I will not lie, I never thought I’d make or that he would eat, but I guess there are new surprises every day. Cool!

So the brother just below me, Kai, took a month-long road trip with a few friends to Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont and Canada. Why? To snowboard and film of course. What else would they be doing? Looking at colleges? Right. My dad wishes SOwishes that were the case, but no, they where snowboarding and apparently eating the best poutine. EVER.

I remember the day I got the text saying, “you should really make some poutine” and texting back, “isn’t that gravy covered fries?”. Then thinking, how the hell am I supposed to take photos of that, poutine is quite possibly the ugliest food around! YEAH. Those were my thoughts, how do I take pictures of THAT?

Well, despite my scared thoughts of even attempting to photograph poutine, I of course said I’d make it when they all got home because basically, anything Kai asks for I agree too. He’s just about the only brother I can’t say no to, but then again, it seems he has this effect on most people. I blame it all on his blue eyes and dark hair, that I am beyond jealous of. I’m the girl, I should have gotten the prettiest eyes in the family.

It’s totally not fair. JUST SAYIN’.

Bottom line is I made the poutine, the pictures where actually not difficult at all, and the poutine was soo good. Kai said it was amazing, BUT, not quite as good as the Canadians make it. I think their’s just tasted better after a day out in the cold filming and snowboarding. A couple of beers may have may have added to the flavor as well, since Kai could legally drink there.

So here’s the deal with this recipe. It is really just real deal, fried french fries, some cheddar cheese curds (THE BEST PART) and piping hot gravy. You see, the best hangover food. Once the piping hot gravy hits those cheese curds, they start to melt just slightly and create the most amazing dish. It’s pure goodness and totally what you need today. DUH. It’s Wednesday. We all need something to get us through the hump.

Print 4.33 from 55 votes Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. The Recipe Authentic Canadian Poutine. By halfbakedharvest Course: Main Course, Side Dish Cuisine: Canadian Keyword: cheese, fries, gravy, poutine It's the perfect hangover food... or maybe I should say, the best possible food to eat after a really fun St. Patrick's Day?

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes Servings 6 Servings Calories 377 kcal Ingredients 4 pounds russet potatoes cut into 1/4 inch matchsticks

2 of your favorite beers I used a Canadian beer (can sub water)

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour use a gluten free flour blend if needed

1 shallot finely minced

1 clove garlic minced or grated

3 1/2 cups low sodium beef stock*

1/2 cup stout beer or more beef stock

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

canola oil for frying

3 cups cheddar cheese curds Instructions Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl, cover with beer (or cold water) , and refrigerate for 3 minutes to 2 hours, the longer the better. Meanwhile, make the gravy. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the shallot and garlic, and cook, until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the beef stock, ketchup, stout beer, balsamic vinegar, worcestershire, and a pinch of salt and pepper, and bring to a boil; cook, stirring, until thickened, about 6 minutes. Keep over the lowest setting while you fry the potatoes. You may need to add more beef stock to thin if the gravy gets too thick. Pour the canola into a 6-qt. Dutch oven, filling it about 3 inches up the sides. Heat over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer reads 375 degrees F. Drain potatoes, and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Working in small batches, add potatoes and fry, tossing occasionally, until tender and slightly crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Increase the temperature to high, and heat oil until thermometer reads 425 degrees F. Working in small batches, return potatoes to oil, and fry, tossing occasionally, until crisp and golden brown, about 2-4 minutes. Transfer fries to paper towels to drain. Sprinkle the fries with salt. Immediately divide the fries among serving bowls. Divide the cheese curds over the fries. Now make sure that your gravy is piping hot and pour the gravy over each serving of cheese fries. Dig in immediately... as if you could wait! Recipe Notes *Inspired by my younger brother's trip to Canada. Save to Recipe BoxGo to Recipe Box

Authentic Canadian Poutine will do that for ya!