Poutines Rapées
A potato dumpling
dish with a mixture of seasoned pork in the middle, Poutines Rapées is an Acadian
delight. In Nana's family, relatives would come to prepare poutines on
New Year's Day. When there were young children about, Nana put a
coin wrapped in waxed paper into the middle of specially marked poutines to surprise the
children. For a big family gathering Nana used 50
Lbs. of potatoes to make 100 dumplings! Most people eat two or three at a
sitting. Here the recipe has been cut down to make 18-20 dumplings, so
that there are enough to serve 4 people, with some for leftover the next
day.
Make this dish with at
least two people doing the preparation.
I. Utensils
2 Potato peelers
2 Acme Safety Graters
(Let us know if you're
looking for one. Nothing else works as well.)
1 Large Kettle (such as a canning or lobster kettle or dutch oven)-see
photo
1 medium saucepan
1 Large bowl
2 Small bowls or sauce pans
Colander
Tea towels/dish towels
Cheese cloth, cooking quality, with no additives
Plastic table cloth
II. Ingredients
10 lbs. firm boiling
potatoes
1 tablespoon Baking powder
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 lbs. lean pork
1 lb. meaty salt pork
III. Preparation and
Cooking
Note: If you start around 10 in the morning, the poutines will be
ready to eat around 3 in the afternoon.
Cut pork and salt pork into
3/4" cubes. Place in separate bowls and refrigerate until needed.
Cut cheese cloth into about
10"-12" squares. Put pile to the side.
Fill large pot 3/4's full
with water. Set it to boil.
Fill the sauce pan 3/4's
full with water. Set it to boil.
Put a plastic table cloth
on your kitchen table.
Peel the potatoes, after
which put them in a large bowl filled with water (so they won't discolor).
Take 1/4 of the potatoes,
cut them up in large chunks, boil them until soft in the saucepan.
When cooked, drain water and mash the potatoes. Set aside.
For the remaining potatoes,
grate them into small bowls, dumping the grated potato into a colander
sitting in a bowl, as you go.
When all the potatoes are
grated, clean up all the peelings and wash down the plastic table cloth.
(If you like, save the peeling to make soup stock.)
When all the potatoes are
grated, take a tea towel, put a handful of grated potato in the center,
wring most of the water out of the potato (over the small bowls). Do
not over wring, as you want the potato to have a little
moisture.
Empty the potato water into
a larger bowl periodically. To throw the potato water away, flush it down
the toilet or pour it out in your yard. Do Not pour it down your sink
drain, as the starch will clog the drain.
Put the wrung out potato in
the center of the table (on the table cloth).
When all the grated potato
has been wrung out, add the mashed potato to the grated potato. Mix
thoroughly.
Add salt, pepper and baking
powder to the potato mixture, mixing thoroughly. You now have a mound of
seasoned potato mush.
Scoop up some potato, and
make a "snowball" about 5" in diameter. Flatten the ball
out.
Take some pork and some
salt pork and put it in the middle of the flattened potato ball.
Reform the ball, sealing
the meat inside the potato ball.
Put the finished ball in
the center of a cheesecloth square. Tie the diagonal corners of the
cheesecloth together in knots. Tie them so that the cheesecloth is a
loose sack tied around the ball-see photo.
(The balls will expand while cooking.)
Drop the finished balls
into the boiling water in the large pot. Bring to boil again, reduce the
heat to maintain a slow boil.
Boil the poutines for 2-1/2
to 3 hours. Test one to make sure the potato is cooked
through. The poutines should look slightly grayish and mushy.
(Really, that's what they are supposed to look like!)
Cut the cheesecloth off the
poutines, putting the poutines in large serving bowls. Stand back as all
the Acadians rush to feast.
(Note: poutines are really
good reheated. Sauté them in
butter, breaking the balls up a little with the spatula. Season them with
some garlic, pepper and dill. Sauté the poutines until
the edges are lightly brown and crispy.)
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