Curd It Be Shepherd’s Pie Poutine?

One dish that I absolutely LOVE is poutine. For those who don’t know what poutine is, it’s a Canadian dish that includes french fries, cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It is delicious! I would take the option of poutine over disco fries any day.

Now for those who don’t know what cheese curds are, they are moist pieces of curdled milk, basically a baby form of cheddar before it is formed into the bricks we know and love. It is also referred to as “squeaky cheese” because of the sound it makes when you chew the fresh curds. They are also delicious when breaded and fried (another one of my favourite appetizers to order and make)! I basically just love cheese curds in any form and it’s rare that we can find them in New Jersey. I was beyond excited when we got two flavours of curds in from Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery in Wisconsin. We received, in my store, both the Hot Buffalo and Garlic flavour.

After we got these curds in Devin sent me this awesome recipe she found when she was searching for blog inspiration recipes. The recipe is for Shepherd’s Pie Poutine. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a comfort dish like Shepherd’s Pie? Beef, veggies, and mashed potatoes…talk about heaven! And it was super simple to make.

Shepherd’s Pie Poutine*

What you’ll need:

• a bag of frozen french fries, cooked to package directions
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• olive oil
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup frozen mixed veggies (I used a carrot, pea, corn and green bean medley)
• 1 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
• salt and pepper to taste
• package of Ellsworth cheese curds (I used Garlic, but plain would probably work best)

For the gravy you’ll need:

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1/2 cup of Guinness stout
• 1 Tbsp each of Worchestershire, ketchup, and dijon mustard (I used an extra Tbsp of ketchup instead of mustard because I had none at home)
• salt and pepper to taste

How to do it:

1. In a medium sized pan, cook ground beef until browned and drain fat, set aside
2. Using that same pan, add some oil and saute onions and mixed vegetables until tender over medium high heat
3. Add beef back into pan, and add Worchestershire and salt and pepper
4. Heat saucepan over medium high heat and add butter, when melted add flour, stir and cook for about a minute, this is the base for your gravy
5. Slowly whisk in Guinness and beef stock, whisk it constantly while you add the liquids
6. Add in Worchestershire, ketchup, mustard, and your spices then bring to a boil and cook until its thickened, should take about 5 minutes
7. Assemble your poutine! Place french fries down, top with the beef and veggie mix, add Ellsworth cheese curds and top with Guinness gravy, repeat in layers to make sure every french fry gets smothered!

I mean, just look at it. It looks amazing! My boyfriend and I loved eating this for dinner with our one friend who shares my love of poutine. I even gave our friend some extra meat and veggies to take home and he ate that on the spot! I also think this is a great recipe for a football Sunday and the cold weather that’s creeping up on us. Try it out for yourself!

Let us know what you think about cheese curds and Shepherd’s pie, leave us a comment!

Please contact your local Bottle King Vineyard Market to check for current stock and availability on the Ellsworth Cheese Curds.

*Original recipe from here