(Photo courtesy of Jack Hennessy)
October 04, 2025
By Jack Hennessy
To some, poutine is the flagship dish of Canada. In The Great White North, the land of maple syrup, it would seem life moves a bit slower, and that would explain why they have the requisite time to correctly make gravy. And gravy, done right, is what makes poutine, poutine.
Simply put: Poutine is French fries and melted cheese curds topped with beef gravy. In this recipe, we are adding strips of medium-rare elk and using parsnips instead of potatoes because empty-starch carbs are no good when we need to stay fit to stalk the King of the Mountain.
You can indeed just buy beef stock from the store (get two cartons for 96 ounces) and reduce versus using marrow bones. If doing this, I do highly recommended reducing that beef stock with a chicken carcass included, along with fresh herbs and garlic (all of which you’d want to remove after an hour or two of simmering).
For those who want to go the distance and make your own, authentic beef gravy, you deserve recognition. It’ll require some extra steps and babysitting while the beef stock reduces, as you want the simmer to be just enough to reduce water, but not high enough to where water boils off significantly over time, thus leaving you with pile of burnt bones and vegetables.
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Barely a bubble here and there is what you want… for 12-14 hours. If you think you got it dialed in, you can do this overnight—but may want to set an alarm and double-check.
Yes, if you have elk bones, by all means, use those. If you read this and want to make gravy using elk marrow bones going forward, you now know they’re worth saving, simply for the sake of gravy.
Serves: 6-8Prep Time: 12 hoursCook Time: 3 hours
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Ingredients:
Whole 3 to 3-1/2 pound roast Mix of kosher salt and black pepper or favorite spice mix Beef or elk marrow bones to fill a large skillet Three carrots chopped One yellow onion, sliced Half stalk of celery, chopped 1 cup whole black peppercorns 1/4 cup kosher salt Three cloves of fresh garlic, smashed One fresh sprig each of oregano, rosemary, and thyme 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce 1/4 cup cornstarch, drizzle of cold water to make cornstarch slurry Olive oil 6-8 ounces cheese curds or mozzarella pearls Four parsnips, cut into French-fry-size strips (Photo courtesy of Jack Hennessy) Directions:
At least a couple days ahead of preparing venison roast, to start steps for beef gravy, roast marrow bones at 400 F. Lightly salt. Roast until brown (approximately 15- 20 minutes.) In a large stock pot, add a thin layer of olive oil and heat on medium. Add carrots, onion, and celery; along with whole black peppercorns. Salt. (Wait to add to fresh garlic and herbs.) Sear until onions are slightly brown. Add garlic and stir for a few minutes. Add roasted marrow bones and cover with water (double the height of vegetables and bones when adding water). With any fat leftover in roasting skillet, set aside and save in fridge. This will be used to rub on roast. Add fresh herbs and turn heat to medium-low, so there is barely a simmer. Remove herbs and garlic after an hour of barely simmer. Allow stock pot to barely simmer for 10-14 hours, until stock reduces to half or one-third and is dark. Be careful to not over-simmer, as water will reduce and leave only burnt bones. Once stock is reduced, strain and place in container in fridge to sit overnight. As it stock cools, fat will solidify on the top. Once fully solid, remove solid fat and discard. When ready to cook, trim roast of any silver skin. Liberally salt and pepper roast 2-3 hours ahead of cooking. Either smoke or roast in the oven at 220 F for 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until the internal temp reads 118 F on a top round, blade roast, or sirloin tip. For other, smaller roasts like the bottom round, pull at 113 F. For eye of round or backstrap, pull at 108 F. While the roast smokes or roasts in oven, add cool non-fatty stock to a pot and bring to a simmer to reduce. Add 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet (a caramel browning sauce). When almost ready to serve, create a cornstarch slurry by adding 1/4 cup cornstarch to a mixing bowl and drizzling just enough cold water to be able to mix into a slurry with fingers. Add to beef stock slowly and stir in to thicken. Prior to pulling roast from oven or smoker, create a fire using either wood logs or lump charcoal. Once roast reaches designated internal temp, pull and add directly to the fire. Turn for 2-5 minutes, until there is a nice crust and a slight char on all sides. Do not burn. Once you have a nice crust on all sides, remove the roast and cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 20 minutes for larger roasts, 10 minutes for smaller roasts. While roast rests, cut parsnips into French-fry size strips and lightly oil with olive oil. Roast on baking sheet in oven, turning as necessary, at 400 F until all sides are golden-brown. Remove and lightly butter and salt. Keep oven at 400 F. When ready to assemble, slice elk roast into strips and add to oven-safe skillet with parsnips fries. Add cheese curds and top with gravy. Place in oven for 5 minutes or until cheese curds melt. Serve and enjoy! (Photo courtesy of Jack Hennessy)
