Montreal-Style Poutine with Bacon, Peppers, Mushrooms, and Onions
Crisp hot fries are piled high with bacon, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and cheese curds before being smothered in a hot brown gravy to recreate our favorite poutine from Montreal.
1/2poundbaconcooked and chopped into bite size pieces
2tablespoonsolive oildivided
1small yellow oniondiced small
1red bell pepperdiced small
1green bell pepperdiced small
8ouncescrimini or button mushroomssliced
1/4teaspoonkosher salt
8cupsworth of crispy hot french fries
2cupscheese curds
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a large oven proof skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan, let it warm, and then add the onion and the peppers. Toss the vegetables in the oil to coat, sprinkle lightly with salt and then let them cook without stirring for 1-2 minutes. Stir and let them cook 1 more minute, until slightly tender, but still a bit crisp. Remove the cooked onions and peppers to a small dish.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the empty pan and add the mushrooms. Toss to coat them in oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Let them cook undisturbed for 1-2 minutes. Stir and cook 1 more minute, until browned. Remove the cooked mushrooms to the dish with the cooked vegetables.
Pile the fries in the same large oven safe skillet or in a baking dish. Top with the peppers, onions, mushrooms, and bacon. Pile the cheese curds on top and then pour the hot gravy over the top to melt everything together. Serve immediately or place in the oven until hot and melting. Enjoy!
Notes
I knew exactly what I wanted for the french fries in this recipe, so Sean picked up (2) large orders of fries from Five Guys (easy salt) on his way home. I know that it's possible to make spectacular fries at home, however, we live less than a mile from some of the best fries available. Make this with the fries of your choice, whether they are deep fried, oven roasted, freshly cut, frozen, or from your favorite burger place.
Cheese curds can be a little tricky to track down, but I found a local dairy that sells them at the farmer's market here in Phoenix. I was also able to find them at our local Sprouts grocery store and I've been told that Costco carries them as well. I am sure that you could substitute any white, melting cheese (mozzarella would probably be the closest thing) if you absolutely can not find cheese curds, but please try to locate them first. The chewy, melting combination of the hot cheese curds is like no other cheese I have ever tasted!
If everything is piping hot when you assemble the poutine, the gravy will melt the cheese into gooey pieces. If the foods have cooled a bit, just pop the skillet in the waiting oven for 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is tender and starting to melt.