Poutine Rapee

Poutine Rapee

The ratio of potato used is 2 part finely-grated raw potato to 1 part plain (no butter or milk) cooked, mashed potato. As you would for potato pancakes, you have to squeeze as much water out of the grated potato as you can. You then mix the squeezed grated potato with the mashed, and season with salt and pepper. 

You scoop up a handful of the potato mixture, and fold it around a tablespoonful of diced salt pork which has been soaked overnight in water, then mould it all into a ball so that the pork is enclosed in the centre. You roll the ball in flour, then put it into simmering salted water to cook for anywhere from 2 to 2 1/2 hours. 

I can remember the first time I was "subjected" to poutine.  I was sailing on HMCS Nipigon and we had docked at Sorel Quebec, this is where the ship was built.  Joe Deighton said that we were going to go to McDonalds for Poutine.  Turns out, it wasn't the the Acadian version on Poutine Rapee.

Dad loved the Poutine Rapee.  Me, well, I wasn't quite as fond of them as he was.  I would normally put a lot of sugar on them to add more taste to them.

Ingredients

1 lb fatty salt pork
10 potatoes
4 potatoes (cooked, mashed and seasoned with salt and pepper)

Preparation:

1. Soak the salted pork in cold water overnight to remove the excess salt.
2. Cut into cubes.
3. Grate the uncooked potatoes and extract the water from them by squeezing them in a cloth.
4. Mix the grated potatoes with the mashed, seasoned potatoes, adding more seasoning if necessary.
5. Make a hole in the centre of the potato ball with your thumb and add a tablespoon of the salted pork.
6. Close up the hole and roll the poutine in white flour and gently lower the poutine into a large pot of boiling,salted water.
7. Keep the water boiling and simmer the poutines for 2-3 hours.
8. Serve hot with butter, salt and pepper, or as a dessert with sugar and molasses.