"Thick-cut fries, squeaky fresh cheese curds and dark beef gravy — Quebec's invention now feeds every province. The original, unadorned version is still the best."
About Poutine
Quebec's greatest contribution to world cuisine — thick-cut fries smothered in dark beef gravy and squeaky fresh cheese curds that must be added seconds before serving so they soften but never fully melt; invented in the Centre-du-Québec region in the 1950s; now ubiquitous from Vancouver to Halifax with infinite topping variations.
Poutine — a staple of Canada's cuisine
Quebec's most famous contribution to Canadian cuisine was invented in the Centre-du-Québec region sometime in the 1950s, though exactly where is disputed by several municipalities with genuine rancour. The components are fixed: thick-cut fries cooked in beef tallow, fresh cheese curds that must squeak when you bite them (the squeak indicates they are less than 48 hours old), and a dark beef gravy poured over everything immediately before serving so the curds soften but don't fully melt.
Poutine has travelled from its Quebec origin to every province and been adapted endlessly: with pulled pork, with lobster, with foie gras at upscale Montreal restaurants that are simultaneously sincere and ironic about it. The purists — and there are many — maintain that the original form (fries, curds, gravy and nothing else) is the only legitimate version. The original form is also the best version.
What to Expect
The poutine arrives in a Styrofoam container, the gravy still hot and sinking between the fries. You let it sit for 90 seconds — enough for the curds to soften at the edges but retain their chew in the centre. The fries underneath start to absorb the gravy. The first forkful has all three textures at once. You eat it too fast and burn your mouth.
Why Try It
Poutine tells you more about Quebec food culture than almost anything else — the French-Canadian heritage (the gravy tradition), the dairy country (fresh curds that squeak), the working-class origins. It's a dish that was local food for 40 years before the rest of Canada noticed it existed.
Insider Tips
The cheese curds must squeak. If they don't, they're not fresh. Ask when they were delivered.
Chez Ashton in Quebec City and La Banquise in Montreal are the two addresses most worth making.
Avoid poutine from fast food chains — the curds are always wrong.
The gravy should be dark and slightly glossy. A pale gravy is a sign that something went wrong in the kitchen.
