Ah, poutine.  Simple, yet delicious.  I fell in love with poutine this year on a trip (of course a hockey tournament) to Sarnia, Ontario.  We had stopped at a Boston Pizza after a game and although not on the menu, the waitress had the kitchen whip us up a batch.  As we dove in with our forks, I looked at my wife and asked her, "you know what would make this even better?"  And of course, being the red blooded Hoosier she is, she replied "Tots."  After 17 years of marriage, we're completely telepathic.

Ever since, we've been making poutine at home with tater-tots and I have to tell you, I think it's an upgrade from the traditional french fries.  I know...sacrilege!  Hear me out.   At first, it was because we're Hoosiers and we put tater tots with everything.   Pizza and tater tots, of course!  Pot roast and tater tots, yes!  But after some experimentation, we realized there's a reason tots are a better choice for poutine.  It involves a very simple, yet very important step in the cooking process.  I'll share that with you in the recipe below.  For now, let's get your shopping list together 'cause you're making poutine tonight!           

SHOPPING LIST

Cooking Instructions

Now that we've got our ingredients, it's time to get cooking.  For the sake of time, I'm going to assume you know that you can't put metal containers in the microwave, plastic melts when heat is applied, etc.  Home Ec. classes save lives, people.

Step one - Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Now, open that bag of tots and pour them out flat on a couple of cooking sheets.  We like to use a cooking stone, but I don't think it's necessary if you don't have one.  Just make sure to get the tots flat.  Now here's the important step, those suckers have to be in the oven at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes.   I wouldn't even be mad if you left them in there for 50-55 minutes.  We want them really crispy (not burned).   This is important because the gravy will make them soggy otherwise.  It's the reason we like tots better than fries - the tots stand up better to the gravy if they are cooked long enough.  

Step two - Once you have the tots in the oven, it's time to take a look at the cheese curds.  The brand we have is Ellsworth and they make the curds really big.  This is great if you like to gnaw on a hunk of cheese.  This is not good if you're making poutine.  The idea is to let the gravy melt the cheese so smaller is better and room temperature will help as well.  So, if the cheese curds are big, pull out your trusty cutting board and knife, and cut those things down.   

Step three - This may be the most important step in the whole process (slightly more than making sure your tots are crispy).  First, go to the fridge and identify the location of your favorite beer, preferably a Canadian import.  Open it.  Drink.  Repeat for 45 minutes or until the tots are done.  You may need several, depending on your expertise.  

Step four - Once the tots are done, pull them out of the oven and set aside.  Pour the gravy into a microwave safe container.  We used a glass Pyrex measuring cup but your favorite microwavable container will do just fine (what, you don't have a favorite?).  Heat the gravy until it's steaming, about two minutes, stirring occasionally.   

Step five - Scoop some tots into a bowl, sprinkle the desired amount of cheese curds on top, and drizzle the hot gravy over your creation.  Garnish with your favorite beer and voila!  Poutine á la Hoosier!

Caution:  you'll want to keep shoveling this in your mouth and a poutine support group may eventually be necessary.    

Think you can do us one better?  We'd LOVE to see your poutine creations.  Send us your pictures at info@inhockey.net or post them in the comments section below.