Canadian
🧪 Experimental
Maple Bacon Poutine Chowder
Everything you love about poutine, reimagined as a creamy chowder — crispy bacon, sharp cheddar, and a real hit of maple syrup for a sweet-savory twist you didn't know you needed.
What It Is
Maple Bacon Poutine Chowder is what happens when creamy potato chowder looks at a plate of poutine and says, “Move over, I can be dinner too.” It is thick, rich and unapologetically Canadian, with smoky bacon, cheese-curd goodness and just enough maple to deepen the savoury flavours without turning supper into breakfast.
Origin
This is not an old Quebec recipe lovingly copied from a flour-dusted family card. It is a Spoon & Scribble kitchen experiment, like OMG, a collision of poutine, chowder, maple and bacon created because ordinary soup was behaving far too responsibly.
Fun Fact
The maple syrup is not there to make the chowder sweet. It adds a gentle caramel-like richness that plays nicely with the bacon and gravy. Pour in half the bottle, however, and congratulations: you have invented poutine porridge and offended several provinces. Except Alberta.
Ingredients
- About 12 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large potatoes, diced
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1-1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- Black pepper, to taste
- Salt, to taste
Steps
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the broth and potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in the milk, cheddar, and maple syrup. Cook, stirring, until the cheese is melted and the soup is smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top generously with crispy bacon.
Notes
Experimental recipe, with a Canadian flare. This one's a genuine "let's see what happens" combo. Poutine flavours in soup form, with maple syrup doing double duty as a sweet counterpoint to the salty bacon and sharp cheddar.
The maple syrup should quietly deepen the bacon flavour, not stand on the table singing “O Canada” through a megaphone. Start conservatively and taste before adding more. Wait until the end before adjusting the salt because bacon, broth, gravy and cheese curds are already doing plenty of salty heavy lifting without the dead sea.
Substitutions
No cheese curds? Cubed mild cheddar or mozzarella will still provide the required level of cheesy misconduct. Diced ham or turkey bacon can replace the bacon, although the flavour will be less smoky. Vegetable broth can replace chicken broth. For a lighter chowder, use milk instead of cream; for a thicker one, mash a few extra potatoes directly into the pot.
Storage
Cool the chowder promptly and refrigerate it in a covered, shallow container within 2 hours. Store for up to 3 days. Keep extra bacon and cheese curds separate so they do not become soggy little disappointments. Reheat only what you need, stirring often, until the chowder reaches 74°C (165°F) or comes to a full rolling boil.
Freezing
For the best results, freeze the chowder without the cheese curds or bacon garnish. Cool completely, transfer to freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat gently while stirring. Potato-and-dairy chowders may separate slightly after freezing; a splash of milk or broth and a determined whisk should bully everything back together.