Poutine is a sacred kind of food, the kind that people only want to enjoy one exact way, the way they grew up knowing it. To mess with poutine is to make Canadians angry. But I'm gonna do it now, because they don't want to leave their safe haven to come to the dirty, diseased United States, so I feel safe. But I swear, my intentions are good. I LOVE poutine, and I even sourced real cheese curds and didn't try to pass off mozzarella blobs as cheese curds in this poutine baked potato. So, points for that? These Ellsworth cheese curds are increasingly available in major grocery stores in the U.S.! Check in the "fancy cheese" section near the deli part of your grocery store.
What is poutine?
I've researched poutine a lot over the years, because getting the real deal in South Carolina really was a challenge. Only one restaurant I'd been to around here actually used cheese curds! One other major sticking point is the gravy. Apparently homemade versions of gravy won't cut it for real poutine. Only powdered, packaged brown gravy mix will do. If you're in Canada or want to buy it from Amazon, St Hubert's poutine gravy mix is the real deal. But for much less, these good brown gravy packets that you can score in the aisles of any grocery store are just as sufficient but decidedly less French.
Back to the curds though. We've been able to get cheese curds in our grocery stores for about a year or so now! I hate to admit it but after a few rounds of poutine and we still have cheese curds left over I'm kind of tired of fries and cheese and gravy. I know, it seems impossible but it can happen. So I wondered how else could we use cheese curds? This is really not THAT big of a variation, but using a baked potato feels a little healthier and a lot less messy than another plate of fries. And here we are, the poutine baked potato. Are you intrigued?
Poutine Baked Potato
Ingredients
- 2 large baking potatoes
- ½ tablespoon butter divided
- 1 packet brown or poutine-style gravy
- cheese curds
- potato sticks
- chives or parsley for garnish
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bake your potatoes in your preferred manner. See below for a variety of baking styles.
- Once finished and cool enough to handle but still warm, cut the potatoes in half, leaving the bottom attached.
- At this point, prepare the brown gravy according to package instructions.
- Rub the butter against the interior edges of the potatoes until melted.
- Add cheese curds in the middle of the potatoes, as much or little as you want.
- Drizzle brown gravy over potatoes to taste (I like a lot of gravy!).
- Garnish with black pepper, parsley, and/or chives as desired.
- You can stick the potatoes in an oven safe pan or plate and put under the broiler for 2 minutes to reheat or make the cheese curds a little meltier if you desire.
- Right before serving, top with potato sticks to taste.
- Serve immediately!
Ways to Bake a Potato
There are many ways to make a baked potato. All of these result in a potato that is worthy of poutine-ing. Check the links below for full instructions! Here are a few suggestions, choose your winner:
Instant Pot baked potato
For an Instant Pot baked potato, put a clean potato with holes poked in it, 1 cup water, and the trivet in the Instant Pot for 10-20 minutes depending on potato size.
Microwave a baked potato
Poke several holes in a clean potato and wrap in plastic wrap. Microwave for 6 minutes, flip, and microwave for an additional 6 minutes.
Bake a potato in the oven
This is how the baked potato got its name. Put a clean potato in a 450 F preheated oven for 25 minutes, brush with butter or oil, then bake for 20 more minutes.
Grill a potato
Wrap a clean potato in aluminum foil and place in a hot grill for 40 minutes.
Looking for other potato recipes?
