Dec 14, 2018, Updated Oct 14, 2024 Turkey leftover 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.
Turkey 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?
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.
