Lobster Poutine

An iconic Canadian staple, but elevated…

What’s the story with “poutine”?

Poutine originated in the 1950s in Quebec, Canada and is a super iconic comfort food across the country. It typically consists of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. You’ll find a variety of twists and takes on the infamous poutine across Canada but today we’re making a version with lobster!

What type of lobster should you use?

For this recipe I used live lobster and boiled it (head first into the boiling water) after putting it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Freezing lobster before boiling is a method used to minimize the suffering of the lobster during the cooking process. It’s believed that freezing the lobster briefly puts it into a state of temporary anesthesia, reducing its awareness and potential pain.

When choosing lobster for this recipe, you can use live or pre-cooked lobster, or grab some lobster tails. We ultimately want to end up with cooked lobster chunks that will be placed over the fries. You can boil, steam, roast, or grill - whatever floats your boat.

Lobster gravy for the Lobster Poutine

Making our own lobster gravy is going to take this dish to the next level. It’s incredibly simple to make, but we first need to start with a lobster stock. We’re going to take the shells of the lobster, along with some onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. This all gets sautéed in a pot and then we add in some tomato paste, a bit of beer, cover it with water and then add in some black peppercorns and herbs.

For an even deeper level of flavour, option to roast the lobster shells in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes before adding them to the pot. This is going to enhance the flavour and richness of the stock - the heat of the oven adds some caramelization to the lobster shells and we’re going to get way more complexity to our stock overall. Also the colour of the stock will be a bit darker.

Important to let this simmer for at least 45 min - 1 hour. Trust me, it’s totally worth it. Then you can take out all the large bits using a slotted spoon, spider, etc and then pass it through a sieve for a final pass. After this we put it back into our pot and reduce by about half (you want the sauce to coat the back of a spoon). I like finishing with some pea-size pieces of cold butter for a super silky gravy.

Making the fries for the Lobster Poutine

Cut the potato into uniform wedges or sticks so they cook evenly. We soak them in some cold water for at least 30 minutes to remove the excess starch, resulting in crispier fries. Pat dry them after and dress with olive oil and whatever seasoning you like. Air fry at 400 for 20-25 minutes (flipping half way through), or you could bake in the oven at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes (flipping half way through). You could also fry these in oil that’s heated to 325 degrees for about 5 minutes, remove and bring the heat up to 375 degrees and fry them again until they’re golden brown and crispy!

What are cheese curds?

Cheese curds are bite-sized pieces of curdled milk that have a mild and kind of a tangy flavor. They’re commonly made from cow's milk, although they can also be made from other types of milk like goat's milk or sheep's milk. What sets cheese curds apart is their unique texture. They have a springy, squeaky texture, which is why they are often referred to as "squeaky cheese." They are really really fun to eat. My grocery store only had orange cheese curds for some reason but they taste exactly the same to me!

Ingredients:

[Serves 2]

1-2 lobster (you could also use lobster tails or pre-cooked lobster meat)

2 potatoes

1 large carrot

1/2 onion

2 celery stalks

2-3 garlic cloves

3 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 cup beer (nothing too hoppy)

2 tbsp black peppercorns

fresh parsley & thyme

cheese curds

1-2 tbsp cold butter, cut in pea sizes

olive oil

salt & pepper

Preparation:

Cook the lobster, let cool slightly and take out all the meat. Bang the shells to get them into small pieces and we’ll use this for the lobster gravy.
In a pot with some olive oil, add crushed garlic, chopped onion, celery and carrots. Sautée for 3 minutes until softened slightly over medium heat. Add lobster shells and stir for another few minutes. Add tomato paste, stir, and then add the beer and water until shells are just covered. Add peppercorns, herbs and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 hour, partially covered.
Meanwhile, cut potatoes into wedges or sticks and soak in cold water for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry and dress with olive oil, salt and pepper and air fry at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes (flipping half way through).
After the lobster stock is ready, take out large pieces with a slotted spoon and then strain. Pour back into the pot and over medium-high heat, reduce this by half stirring frequently. The sauce should coat the back of the spoon when ready (about 15-20 minutes). Option to finish with some small pieces of cold butter to make the gravy extra silky.
Assemble: fries on the bottom, lobster meat chunks, cheese curds, lobster gravy poured on top and finish with chives!

Beer Pairing:

I paired a Fat Tire with this Lobster Poutine. I love the malty sweetness of the beer and found that it paired really well with the rich and savory poutine - had a nice contrast! It’s not too bitter, it’s pretty medium-bodied, and has been one of my faves for a long time. I also used it in the lobster stock and it worked great!