Poutine Fest

Charlie and I are out of control.  At least twice a week, we take the Chicago foodie scene by storm and do something utterly ridiculous.  On Saturday we had dinner at David Burke's Steakhouse and then rounded the weekend out with Chicago's Poutine Fest.  Yes...POUTINE FEST.  I just woke up from a four hour quick nap because I basically ate myself into a coma.  I'll take you on our tour of our Poutine Fest adventure.  

This is Sunday Dinner's Poutine, made with Schmaltz Gravy, Dill Sour Cream, Homemade Pickles, Cheese Curds, and Ranch Chicken Skin Chips. This was my absolute favorite  It was the first one I had all day and the only one I went back in for seconds. The fact I had seconds is just shameful considering I tried several others and washed it down with three beers.  

So I'm a huge fan of The Gage.  The brought it with Duck Confit, Pickled Red Onion, Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Jalapenos, and Smoke Box Gravy. What I liked about theirs was that they mixed everything together in a skillet before serving so the curds melted down a bit.

This was The Big Cheese's pirogi poutine.  What a cool idea, right?  Charlie really like this one. They also had the best/most fun staff.

The was Troquet Chicago's Duck Confit Poutine with Duck Cognac Gravy.  Giddy up.

The Green Door holds a special place in my heart.  It's one of those neighborhood bars you can go grab a bite and a few beers and call it a day.  It's also one of the oldest bars in Chicago.  They created an awesome Poutine - Chicago Style with Italian Beef, Sausage Gravy, Curds, and Spicy Giardiniera.

Here was Le Bouchon's french bistro twist on Poutine - Duck Confit, Escargot, and Red Wine Gravy. This was a little too busy for me.  I would have preferred if they either did an escargot and garlic butter poutine, or just went with the duck flavor profile.  Otherwise, it was really good.
 

Barrel House Flat had a super unique take with curried pigs head veloute, masala chicharones, and pickled banana peppers.  Loved trying something a little different.

This was soooooo good.  Really.  It was outrageous.  Haymarket Brewing, went cheese curds out with a Braised Beef, Beef Gravy, and Pickled Jalapenos and Red Onions.  YUM to the NOM.

I LOVED the creativity of The Brixton.  This was their version of "breakfast poutine" - complete with biscuits, hot sauce, crispy chicken skin, curds, and white sausage gravy.  RI DIC U LOUS.

Here was Atlas Beer Company's Duck Confit Poutine with Duck Cognac Gravy.  YUMMYYY.  So rich and delish.

Well I can officially say I've had my fill of poutine...at least until next year. 

Stay Hungry! 

No Lump Gravy

Making gravy used to stress me out.  I was so worried about lumps and bumps of flour but I finally found a very easy method of ensuring that my Thanksgiving gravy is nothing but smooth flavor through and through. 

Here is what you'll need: 

Turkey Drippings

Low Sodium Chicken Stock

Unsalted Butter

Flour

Sea or Kosher Salt

White Pepper 

So I like to cook my turkey on a non stick roasting rack and pan.  It helps facilitate the gravy making, but no big deal if you don't have a pan like this.

After you remove the turkey and the rack, you will be left with something like this. Dried up crispy turkey drippings that are just packed with flavor.

Add about a cup of low sodium chicken stock to reconstitute these bits that dried on the bottom. If you wanted, you could use white wine.   If it wasn't Thanksgiving, I probably would, but I like to keep mine old school on this sacred day.

With a rubber whisk, I stirred and stirred to liquefy as much of this as I could.  Come back to life crispy brown bits!  We still need you here on earth!

This was about as far as my patience took me.  Looks good to me.

My Aunt Deb and Uncle Mike got me this awesome gravy fat separator for one of my wedding shower gifts.  It also works as a strainer too which I LOVE.  I poured the liquid turkey goodness into the strainer so the big chunks would be left out.

And you should be left with something that looks like this.  2/3 amazing flavor, 1/3 more amazing flavor (fat).

I poured it into a bowl so you could get a better look at the strained drippings.

Melt half a stick of unsalted butter into the original pan over medium heat.  

Move it all around so you have a nice even layer of butter at the bottom of your pan. 

Now, here comes the flour.  This will be our thickening agent.

To make an easy rue, just use 1 part butter, 1 part flour.  Sprinkle as evenly as you can over the butter.  Don't stress, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Now, whisk it together until a thick paste forms like this.

Now, add some chicken stock.  Add a little at a time.  I do about 1/2 cup, whisk.  Another 1/2 cup, drink some whisky, I mean whisk.  Absolutely no need to measure this.  Just poor in a little at a time and quickly stir.

Now here comes the fun part!!  Pour the love potion (strained turkey drippings) into the rue we just made.

Look at this.  Golden, brown, delicious.  See how thick it is though?

Add some more chicken stock and let it bubble so it slowly thickens.  Add a little more and then cook down again.  You want it condensed so you have the rich gravy flavor, but not too thick where you can't pour it.

A good way of knowing it's thick enough is to dip in a spoon and let the gravy run off by turning the spoon on its side.  While it's still on its side, run your finger across the middle of the spoon.  If your finger mark stays there and doesn't disappear with gravy running down, it's ready.

I added 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper and just a sprinkle of sea salt.  This just added the perfect little kick.

Most people use white pepper for aesthetic reasons.  I swear it has a different taste though.  To me, it tastes more mild up front with a smooth peppery finish.  Sometimes I'll add both white and black pepper to recipes to give it a more dynamic flavor.  Just play around when you're cooking.  It's all just one crazy experiment.

Now is the time where you can add some herbs.  Since I cooked the turkey with sage butter, this already had a wonderful hint of sage.  If you want, you could just throw in a couple of leaves, stir it around, and then remove before serving.  I don't like mine to have a super strong herb taste.  I want the savory turkey flavor to shine through.

Pour in your favorite gravy boat (I love this one) and serve.  What are your favorite twists to holiday gravy? Stay Hungry!

No Lump Gravy Recipe
Meat Drippings
3-4 Cups of Low Sodium Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup of Unsalted Butter
1/4 Cup of Flour
Pinch of Sea or Kosher Salt
1/4 Teaspoon of White Pepper

Reconstitute meat drippings with 1/2 cup or so of chicken stock and whisk.   Once most of the drippings are picked up from the bottom of the pan, strain.  In same pan, melt butter and evenly sprinkle flour on top.  Whisk your rue to make a thick paste.  Add some chicken stock a little at a time.  Pour in strained drippings.  Whisk.  Add chicken stock until desired thickness is reach.  Season with salt and pepper and serve.  This can be used for any meat drippings - pot roast, chicken, etc.