This easy recipe for Lobster Poutine takes fries and cheese curds to an elevated level, with flavorful lobster gravy and chunks of fresh lobster.
What is poutine?
Poutine is a French Canadian (Quebecois) dish of fries (also known as frites in French), cheese curds and gravy.
The dish was created sometime in the 1950s in Quebec, Canada and is synonymous with Quebecois cuisine.
What are cheese curds?
Cheese curds are pieces of curdled milk and is made from milk with cheese culture and enzymes (rennet).
It has a mild taste and a rubbery, dense texture that squeaks when you chew on it.
Why you'll love this recipe
This recipe for lobster poutine is:
Flavorful: using a lobster stock base for the gravy adds more lobster flavor to the dish.
Easy to make: using frozen French fries, lobster broth and cooked lobster meat simplifies the cooking process.
Not your everyday poutine: adding fresh lobster meat really takes fries, gravy and cheese to an elegant, elevated level.
Tailored to your liking: this dish is incredibly flexible -- ultimately, you can adjust the amount of fries, lobster, cheese and gravy to your preference.
Ingredients you'll need
- French fries: you can make your own and deep fry the cut potatoes, or use frozen fries
- lobster gravy: you can also use a regular beef or turkey gravy sauce; alternatively you can use thickened lobster bisque, which is a rich and creamy lobster soup
- lobster stock or broth: you can find it in specialty markets, at your local fish market, or if using fresh lobster you can use the shells to make your own stock or broth
- butter: use unsalted; but if using salted, you can reduce the salt
- all-purpose flour: regular flour; thickens the gravy
- seasonings: flavors the gravy
- cheese curds: are little chunks of cheese made from curdled milk; they have a squeaky, rubbery texture and are a key component in poutine; however, you can use a melty shredded cheese if you can't find cheese curds
- cooked lobster meat: you can cook/boil raw lobster tails and remove the cooked lobster and cut into large chunks; or use already-cooked lobster
- chives/parsley: for garnish
You can find these ingredients at your local grocery store or supermarket.
How to make lobster poutine
Prepare the fries:
Preheat oven to 425F.
Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
Add the frozen French fries to the baking tray and bake at 425F for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, flipping halfway through.
Prepare the lobster gravy:
In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour and heat over medium heat to make a roux.
Add in 1 C of lobster stock and bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened.
Season with sea salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne powder (optional).
Assemble:
Transfer the crispy French fries to a serving platter.
Top with cheese curds.
Add chunks of lobster meat over the fries.
Ladle or spoon hot lobster gravy over the poutine.
Garnish with freshly chopped chives, green onions and/or parsley.
Serve immediately.
Making your own lobster stock using lobster shells
In a saucepot, heat up 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.
Add chopped garlic, onion, celery, leeks, carrots and sauté until slightly softened.
Add in lobster shells, tomato paste, bay leaves, clove, fresh thyme, whole black peppercorn and sea salt.
Cover with enough water and bring to a boil.
Cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer for about 1 hour.
Strain the lobster stock through a cheesecloth-lined sieve.
How to store
Lobster poutine is best served immediately and is not suitable for storing.
However, you can prepare the lobster gravy ahead of time and store in the fridge until ready to heat and serve.
Store cooked lobster meat and cheese curds in the fridge until ready to serve.
What to pair lobster poutine with
Pair the lobster poutine with dinner rolls, soup, roasted veggies, or a light quinoa salad.
Variations & substitutions
Cheese
Squeaky cheese curds are traditional, but can be hard to find.
You can substitute with mozzarella, or a cheddar cheese.
Gravy
Use beef gravy or turkey gravy to pour over the fries if you don't have access to lobster stock/gravy.
Other seafood
You can use chunks of crab, fried oyster, or pan-fried scallops.
If you're feeling fancy, top it off with a little caviar, ikura or fish roe.
Other delicious recipes you may like
Be sure to check out these recipes:
Lobster Roll
Lobster Mac and Cheese
Korean Loaded Fries With Bulgogi Beef & Kimchi
Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!
Lobster Poutine
For accuracy and precision in baking recipes, use weight (metric) measurements when available.
Ingredients
For the poutine:
- 1 lb frozen French fries
- ½ lb cooked lobster meat
- 150 g cheese curds more or less to your liking
Lobster gravy:
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 C lobster stock
- ½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder optional
Garnish:
- 1 tablespoon chives chopped, or green onions
Instructions
Prepare the fries:
- Preheat oven to 425°F/218°C.
- Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Add the frozen French fries to the baking tray and bake at 425°F/218°C for 20-22 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp, flipping halfway through.
Prepare the lobster gravy:
- In a saucepan, add 2 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour and heat over medium heat to make a roux.
- Add in 1 C of lobster stock and bring to a simmer, whisking until thickened.
- Season with sea salt, black pepper, paprika and cayenne powder (optional).
Assemble:
- Transfer the crispy French fries to a serving platter.
- Top with cheese curds.
- Add chunks of lobster meat over the fries.
- Ladle or spoon hot lobster gravy over the poutine.
- Garnish with freshly chopped chives and/or parsley.
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided should be considered as approximate and is not guaranteed. Please use your best judgment to ensure food is safely prepared and/or a good fit for your diet.
Neil
Love this Lobster Poutine recipe. That lobster stock-based gravy sounds amazing!
Michelle
Thanks Neil, lobster stock gives the gravy such a delicious seafood flavor!
David @ Spiced
Poutine! I love poutine, and I've had a fun time playing around with different recipes here at home. I've never thought about lobster stock and lobster, though. What a fun (and elegant!) twist on a classic comfort food!
Michelle
Yes, you could also use a seafood stock if you don't have lobster stock on hand 🙂
Raymund | angsarap.net
Your Lobster Poutine recipe has my taste buds doing a happy dance! Combining the goodness of fries, cheese curds, and lobster gravy sounds like a flavor explosion. It's like comfort food with a luxurious twist. Can't wait to try this elevated poutine dish.
Michelle
It's the ultimate comfort food, but made fancy! 🙂