TURKEY POUTINE – THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS OR THANKSGIVING TURKEY LEFTOVERS!

Turkey Poutine - this take on the classic French Canadian dish of french fries, cheese curds and gravy with the addition of leftover stuffing and cranberry sauce will have you eagerly anticipating the day after the big turkey dinner.

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups shredded leftover turkey
• 1 1/2 cups leftover dressing or stuffing
• 1 1/2 cups cheese curds see notes for substitutions
• 3/4 cup cranberry sauce room temperature
• French fries

For the French fries

• 6 large or 6 medium size russet potatoes
• 1 liter canola oil or more depending on the size of your fryer
• kosher salt for seasoning

Instructions

For the french Fries

1. The best, most crispy fries are always cooked in two stages at 2 different temperatures.
2. Wash or peel your potatoes and cut them into fries. I like to keep the skins on. The size of the fries is up to you but shoestring size, about ¼ inch square (6-7 mm) always maximizes the crispy flavour.
3. Hold the fries at room temperature in lukewarm water until ready to fry. Lay them out on layers of paper towels and pat dry with additional paper towels immediately before frying.
4. Add the canola oil to the deep fryer and bring it to 350 degrees F. Fry the potato sticks until just beginning to crisp but not brown; about 6-8 minutes for shoestring fries.
5. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. These fries will likely go limp as they cool. This is perfectly normal. They will re-crisp in the second fry.
6. Turn off the deep fryer until ready to fry again.
7. When you are ready to serve the fries, bring the oil up to 375 degrees F in the deep fryer.
8. Fry for an additional 6-8 minutes or until the fries begin to turn a light golden brown and become quite crispy.
9. Remove from oil and toss with a pinch of kosher salt to season.

To put together the poutine

1. First of all, use real cheese curds if you can find them. They should also be at room temperature for best results.
2. The turkey and stuffing should be heated in the microwave. I find wrapping them in plastic keeps moisture in while reheating.
3. It is essential to have boiling hot gravy for this dish, so be sure to have that simmering on the stove and at the ready.
4. Hot French fries are also essential so that the combined heat of all of the ingredients will help the cheese crds to melt.
5. Start by placing the french fries in the bottom of 4 serving bowls, followed by a layer of stuffing and shredded turkey.
6. Add the cheese curds on top and pour the gravy slowly over the cheese curds to get them starting to melt.
7. Serve with a dollop of the cranberry sauce on the side.

Recipe Notes

Fresh cheese curds are best for this recipe but are not always easy to find. Fresh mozzarella cubes make an acceptable substitution in a pinch. Many fast food restaurants in Canada will substitute grated mozzarella for cheese curds but if you choose to do that I think small diced cubes are better but be sure that they are at room temperature before the gravy is poured on.

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