Christmas Leftovers Poutine

This poutine recipe has delicious layers of oven fries with cheese curds and leftover turkey, all smothered in gravy and topped with cranberry sauce. Christmas poutine has become something of an accidental tradition in my house. I have a habit of hosting dinners on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. For the 24th, I make a traditional French Canadian tourtière and/or boil New Brunswick lobsters. On the 25th, with enthusiasm still coursing strongly, I roast a massive turkey with all of the trimmings. But the 26th? I’m tired.

Leftovers get an upgrade.

Instead of starting a new meal from scratch, or just reheating limp turkey,  I’ve been using my previous-day meat, gravy and cranberry sauce and repurpose them into Christmas Poutine. In other words, layers of oven fries and cheese curds smothered in gravy with turkey and cranberries. I’ve got you in my pocket now, haven’t I?  

A case of wine for you!

Red Rooster Winery generously offered Foodess readers a whole, beautiful case of wine as a Christmas giveaway. They’ve also partnered with me on this post. If you haven’t entered the giveaway, hop to it right here! I asked them what they’d pair with my poutine, and they suggested their Gewurtztraminer or Rosé.  I’m a big fan of both.

What wine to serve with turkey (and poutine).

The Red Rooster Gewurzt is an off-dry wine with juicy flavours of tropical fruit, melon and pear. The lingering finish of lychee nut, exotic spice and melon make for a lovely turkey dinner (and turkey dinner leftovers reimagined) companion.

You asked, I listened.

Last year I showed my Boxing Day table in my Instagram stories and so many of you messaged me for this poutine recipe. I made a note in my calendar to share it with you this year. It’s really easy, barely a recipe at all, but truly an ultimate comfort food. I would not judge you for pouring yourself a glass of wine and using frozen fries as a shortcut to make it extra painless.

Cheater’s curds.

Poutine traditionally uses cheese curds. You can get them at some grocery stores (in Canada, anyway) but they’re not super easy to track down. I am really happy with swapping in mozzarella and/or white cheddar. Mozza is super melty and mild and cheddar adds nutty, buttery flavour. Instead of grating the cheeses, I just pull it apart into small chunks. A block of cheddar just curds pressed together after all. We’re just hitting rewind.

Melty poutine, guaranteed.

I like to toss the cheese onto the roasting fries during the last few minutes of baking to expedite the melting process, lifting the full responsibility off of the shoulders of the gravy. The worst thing in the world is cold, squeaky cheese curds in a plate of poutine. If you’re serving a crowd, I recommend warming the plates, too (do it in the dishwasher or just run them under hot water). The recipe easily doubles or triples for a crowd! As is, it makes enough for four to six. Who are we kidding? Four. Or one, if greedy.

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Christmas Poutine

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Dinner

Canadian

Keyword poutine

Ingredients

  

• 2 lbs potatoes ideally russet, but flexible
• 4 tbsp cooking oil
• salt
• 8 oz cheese mozza, cheddar or a mixture, torn into 1/2" pieces
• 2 cups leftover turkey
• 2 cups leftover gravy
• cranberry sauce for serving

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 450ºF (with convection, if you've got it). Cut potatoes lengthwise and then lay them flat to chop them down to french fry size.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and divide fries between them. Toss with oil and salt. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping once, or until golden and crispy. Once the fries are done, sprinkle them with the cheese and return to the oven until it starts to melt, about 2 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, reheat the turkey and gravy. (You can reheat them together in one pot if you like).
• Top the fries with the turkey and gravy and serve with cranberry sauce.

Keyword poutine

Last Updated on December 14, 2018 by Jennifer Pallian BSc, RD