Beef Mince Gratin In The Style Of Quebec Poutine

If you love Quebec poutine, that specialty made with fries, brown gravy, and melted cheese, you're going to adore the following recipe! In the ground beef poutine-style casserole, we add meat to turn this Quebec specialty into a full meal.

Ingredients

Here are the necessary ingredients to prepare a poutine-style ground beef gratin for 4 people:

400 g of ground beef.
400 g of frozen oven fries.
200 g of shredded cheddar cheese.
1 onion.
1 cube of beef bouillon.
25 cl of warm water.
20 g of butter.
2 level tablespoons of cornstarch.
2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
2 tablespoons of olive oil.
3 tablespoons of chopped parsley.

Note: For this recipe, I used sweet potato fries but you can certainly use classic potato-based fries.

Poutine Sauce Preparation

The Quebec-style ground beef poutine gratin is a comforting dish made with fries, ground beef, and brown gravy. I recommend baking the fries in the oven while you prepare a homemade poutine sauce.

1- Spread the frozen fries in a single layer in an ovenproof dish. Bake the fries for 20 minutes at 200°C (392°F), turning them occasionally and monitoring their browning.

2- While the fries are cooking, prepare a broth by dissolving the beef bouillon cube in 250 ml of warm water.

3- Add soy sauce and cornstarch, then mix well with a whisk to avoid lumps.

4- Melt butter in a saucepan. When it foams, add the broth-based mixture. Bring to a boil and whisk until the sauce thickens.

Cooking ground beef

To prepare the ground beef gratin in the style of Quebec poutine, you need to sauté the meat in a pan with chopped onion.

1- Peel the onion and chop it finely.

2- Heat the olive oil in a pan.

3- Sauté the onion and ground beef for about 5 minutes.

4- When the meat starts to brown, add the brown sauce. Mix well and turn off the heat.

Assembling the gratin in the style of Quebec poutine

All you have left to do is assemble the various ingredients to prepare the Shepherd's Pie Poutine-style.

1- Pour the sauced ground beef into the casserole dish containing the fries.

2- Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over everything.

Note: In the original Quebec poutine, a special cheese that is hard to find in France is used. Cheddar, which is a very melty cheese, is the best alternative for making poutine with French ingredients.

Baked Ground Beef Gratin

1- Preheat your oven to 200°C.

2- Broil the ground beef poutine-style casserole for about 10 minutes.

Tasting Tips

Once out of the oven, sprinkle the Quebec-style minced beef gratin with chopped parsley.

Serve this French-style poutine hot. You can pair it with a green salad for a complete meal.