Canada is essentially two countries in one, two distinct major languages and very distinct regional menus are found throughout the World’s second largest country.

The influence of Great Britain is no doubt found it’s way into the greasy spoon cafes and diners of North America, where Poutine is the ultimate junk food from Quebec.

All you need to know is that Poutine contains glorious, glorious chips.

Originated in rural Quebec, Canada, in the late 1950s, there are quite a few specific towns that claim to have been the birthplace of Poutine.

One of the origin stories (sorry, no Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, Clark Kent characters here) is that of restaurant owner Fernand Lachance. He claims that in 1957 he was asked by regular Eddy Lainesse to put cheese curds on his chips, to which Lachance exclaimed: “ça va faire une maudite poutine!” (“It will make a damn mess!”).

By all accounts the sauce (gravy) was added in later versions to help keep the chips warmer for longer.

And now some 60-ish years later, the dish is popular throughout almost all of Canada as the ultimate junk food, and is now available in popular fast food chains such as Burger King, McDonald’s and KFC.

We reckon this could be the hangover cure that we have been waiting for, even better than the standard chips, cheese and gravy.

A photo posted by MTLBlog (@mtlblog) on Oct 16, 2016 at 11:14am PDT

Ingredients

• 125g pack of mozzarella or 140g cheese curds, cut into chunks

For the gravy

• 400g chicken wings
• 5 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 50g butter
• 1 white onion finely diced
• 1 carrot chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 500ml chicken stock
• 500ml beef stock
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

For the chips

• 1 ½kg floury potatoes (we recommend Maris Piper)

Method

1. For the gravy, toss the chicken wings in 1 tbsp of the flour, then heat the oil and butter in a large pan.
2. Fry the chicken wings until well browned on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 8-10 mins until soft and turning brown at the edges.
3. When the onions are cooked, add the remaining flour and stir well. Put the chicken wings back in the pan, then add the carrot, bay leaf, stocks and garlic.
4. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 mins. Strain the mixture through a sieve into another pan and simmer for another 10 mins or until thick, seasoning to taste.
5. For the chips, scrub the potatoes but leave the skins on. Chop into chunky chips and put them in a bowl filled with cold water.
6. Pour sunflower oil into a large pan until it is just less than half full, then heat until it reaches 125°C.
7. Drain the chips from the water and pat dry with a clean tea towel. When the oil is ready, carefully lower 1/4 of the chips into the pan.
8. Fry for 12 mins, then remove with the slotted spoon and lay on a wire rack covered with kitchen paper.
9. Repeat the process with the remaining chips. When they have all had their first fry, increase the temperature to 190°C and fry the chips in small batches again, this time for 5 mins or until golden brown.
10. Sprinkle the chips with salt once done, keeping them warm on a wire rack or grill tray in a low oven while you fry the rest.
11. To finish the dish, pile the chips into deep bowls, warm the gravy and pour it over the chips. Top with pieces of cheese and serve immediately.

We’ve just given you the keys to the ultimate fast food indulgence, do with it what you will! We cannot speak highly enough of Poutine as the ultimate hangover cure.