You’ve never had poutine like this before. Here, we give you the 411 on the 307 Fries, Teton Mountain Lodge’s own unique twist on poutine, plus the recipe to take home.
H
aving grown up spending summer vacations in Eastern Canada, Kevin Humphreys partook of the region’s most famous dish: poutine, a mess of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy. The taste of the salty, fatty treat stayed with him throughout the years until he landed at Teton Mountain Lodge’s Spur restaurant as executive chef, where in 2013, he decided to prepare a special play on poutine.
“We serve a lot of nachos for après ski, so I wanted to create something that could battle the nachos – I call it refined comfort food,” Humphreys says. So instead of regular French fries, Humphreys seasons pommes frites with smoked-paprika salt. Lark Meadow Farms cheddar cheese, meanwhile, replaces the Quebecois cheese curds for more of a melt, and chives add a delicate flavor. But the real showstopper is the braised elk gravy, which takes five-and-a-half hours to prepare. Every other day, the Spur’s kitchen staff braises elk meat, drains it off, and chops it up before making a slowly simmered sauce of butter, flour, vegetables, and herbs (recipe below). The result is a true taste of terroir and a must-try Jackson Hole foodie experience that has people from coast to coast posting Yelp reviews and TripAdvisor photos of 307 Fries.
In four years, Humphreys says he has sold more than 500,000 servings of 307 Fries easily, making 15-gallon batches of the dish every other day. (Believe it or not, he has personally consumed only about four of those 500,000 preparations.) “People freak out about them,” Humphreys says, “It’s one of those perfect foods that brings them back, like me, remembering when they had poutine as a kid.”
Teton Mountain Lodge’s 307 Fries [Jackson Hole, WY]
Elk Gravy
Makes 2 quarts
1 lb. elk stew meat
1 onion, quartered
2 large carrots, diced
1 c. diced celery
3 smashed garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
8 sprigs of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
8 c. beef stock
1/4 c. tomato paste
2 sticks butter
1/2 lb. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. vegetable oil
- Season the elk stew meat with kosher salt and black pepper.
- In an eight-quart Dutch oven or slow cooker, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat, and sear the elk stew meat. After the stew meat has been browned, remove and reserve.
- In the same Dutch oven or slow cooker, cook the onion, carrot, and celery until slightly caramelized, then add garlic and tomato paste, and cook until a rust color.
- Add elk meat back with beef stock, bay leaves, thyme, and rosemary.
- Bring to a simmer, then cover for four hours or until stew meat is tender.
- While the elk is cooking, make a roux by melting the butter over low heat and then whisking in the flour. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until the roux is dark brown in color. Once the roux is dark brown, remove from heat and let cool.
- Remove the elk meat from the liquid and reserve.
- Strain the braising liquid to remove carrot, onion, celery, and aromatics. Return the braising liquid to the Dutch oven or slow cooker, and bring to a boil. Next, whisk in the cooled roux and add the elk meat. Simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
307 Fries
1 qt. elk gravy
4 c. French fries (a frozen package from local grocer is fine)
1 c. high-quality sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tbsp. chopped chives
- Cook the fries according to the instructions on the package, and arrange on large platter.
- Ladle the elk gravy over the fries. Top with cheese and chives.
- Broil for just a few minutes in your oven to melt cheese, and serve immediately.
