Cretons is a French Canadian dish that is served cold most often at breakfast spread on toast. It is also eaten as a snack on crackers and in sandwiches. It is very popular in the province of Quebec (a mainly French speaking province in Canada) and in other French speaking areas of Canada.
The recipe varies greatly, just like French Canadian cooks.
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp allspice (to taste)
1/2 tsp cloves (to taste)
1 large onion chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs.
Mix meat, spices, milk, onions and garlic together in a large saucepan. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours adding water if the mixture gets dry and won’t simmer well.
After cooking add breadcrumbs and stir. Spoon into small container and refrigerate. This can be frozen.
Music by: Jason Shaw http://www.youtube.com/user/audionautix
Hello today we’re going to make a traditional French Canadian dish called Caton this is a cold like a cold meat kind of a pate that is served often on toast for breakfast it it is also served as a snack on crackers as well first start off in a large saucepan
You’re going to add about a pound of ground pork now I found some Leen ground pork it was actually white lean this particular package that I found to that you are going to add about a cup and a half of milk I know that sounds strange but it really adds creaminess to the
Final recipe then you’re going to add a large onion chopped three or four cloves of garlic chopped and half a teaspoon of all spice and a half a teasp spoon of cloves some salt and some pepper and then you’re going to sim simmer this over medium heat for about
An hour to an hour and a half stirring occasionally now you may find that um if you use the really lean pork you may find there’s not a lot of juice in the bottom there so really doesn’t simmer well if that’s the case um you can add some water I
Added about another 3/4 of a cup of water to this and it made it just the right consistency to simmer nicely on the stove and after about an hour an hour and a half you’ll see the onions will start to break down and the meat will be
Into very small pieces and as soon as it gets to the end of the cooking time you’re going to pour in about a half a cup of dried breadcrumbs I didn’t show this part for some reason but that really helps solidify things and it absorbs a lot of the juices then pack it
Away into small containers keep one in the fridge and the rest you can put in the freezer this is served cold and usually served for breakfast on toast people spread it on their toast and they eat it with uh eggs it has almost a a pate like consistency
To it as you can see here it freezes very well so you can put it in small containers and just take out what you need and it just spreads on toast and it is very good the more traditional Katon has a lot more fat in it um so it’s
Actually a lot more easier to spread but this is this one’s a little bit more healthc conscious
47 Comments
I have to thank you for sharing this recipe, I've always wanted to try making cretons (I'm from Quebec 🙂 ) and thought it was too complicated, but after watching this video and seeing how simple it was, I tried it at once! It's cooling right now and I tasted it and it's realllyyyyyy good, I can't wait for my fiancé to try it out, it's one of his favorite food 🙂 Thanks again!
I usually make a double batch and put some in the freezer for later. I find the home made cretons has less fat than the store bought stuff and I prefer it. Hope you liked it!
Kind of like eating turkey bacon, it's good but not the same at all. You could try ground chicken or turkey.
I should have made a double batch, it's already half gone! You're right, it does have less fat (I used lean pork too) but the only thing I would do different next time is to put a little less cloves. Half a teaspoon didn't seem like a lot but I would maybe put only a quarter of a teaspoon next time. But it's great nonetheless, I'm so glad I tried it 🙂 I'm gonna do some again for sure!
The tweaking of the spices is very personal for sure 🙂 My mother in law makes this with very little cloves in it. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Do you even know how to speak French?
I am always open to trying new foods 🙂
Merci!!!! I have not had Creton since I was a child, living in Montreal with my family. I can't wait to introduce this to my American Friends and family!
cretons?I don't live in Canada.
theme song,WHERE IS IT????
do
is it almost like meatloaf?
More like a pate.
that reminds me of something I used to eat as a kid, called deviled ham . It came in a can , very delicious 🙂
Can i add beef or turkey instead
Cant eat pork
I grew up in NE Massachusetts in a predominately Québécois section of town. My family had it's own recipe for Cretons (we called it: Gorton) and Tourtière. You can talk to 10 out of 50 Québécois folks, and each one will have their own recipes for both foods!
My family did not use milk in their recipe. Just water or beef stock. We also used many more spices in the mix.
I'm talking from the experience of a person who has cooked these recipes for 30+ yrs!
well… she does.. whats your point exactly? But yeah, i missed the theme song too 😉
My point is i don't know what that is. 🙁
Delicious! I was eating it well watching, the problem is I live in Ontario! So I can only buy when i drive over to Quebec!
That's an interesting Creton reciepe. I like creton, but there's usually a bit too much fat in it for my taste. I'll have to try this reciepe. BTW, creton is even more delicious on a toast when you also spread cream cheese or mustard on it. ^-^
Tres Bien!
HA!!! I knew I loved you for a reason! Yer a fellow CAUCK!!!!!! XOXOXO
I have been making creton for 50 years or so like my mother and meme before me and the recipe is the same except we use water instead of milk.I give it to everyone and they all love it.
Vive les bons cretons ! je crois qu' en anglais on les appelle " greaves " .
Greetings from Montreal! 🙂 I love all your recipes! Curious question did you go to pastry or cooking school your skills are top notch? 🙂
Oddly enough Im Canadian and Ive never seen this. Ive heard the word before but never seen it or what its for haha. Thanks 🙂
How long does this keep in the frige for? Till it is gone? Very nice to hear the recipe in english after watching half a dozen in french.
So yummy. Grew up eating this. Best served with yellow mustard on sourdough toast. My Memere's recipe was the best!
Hi…I found your video by accident….and was thrilled !!!! I am a ex-Montrealer grew up eating this stuff…lived out of Canada for a few yrs…and the only time I got to eat Cretons was when I was home visiting…now living in Kingston Ontario and not able to find Cretons anywhere…so was very happy to see this video…a million thanks …for posting I will be making this tonight as I have a huge craving…now if only there was a cabane a sucre….nearby I would be in heaven…Merci !
Wow..this isn't the way my mom made it as I was growing up. She's Canadian French and came to the states when she was 5 and grew up in Van Buren, ME. Then my mom made it, it was a process in it's self, but she use a 5lb pork roast and after the boiling was done, she put it through a grinder like her mother did. Cretons is what I and the rest of my 7 siblings grew up on along with ploys,chicken stew, meat pies,blood sausage and so much more! Ypou brought back so many wonderful memories of my childhood..thank you
Nothing better than cretons with ployes !…Being from NB, and now living in Toronto, where we cannot find any French Canadian food anywhere, it is great to be able to make it at home from scratch, and share it with my 8 yo daughter who has not been exposed to this food before but would love it, I'm sure. Thanks again !. 🙂
Please add the recipe.sure sounds good,
it's that time of year to start cooking 🙂
There as as many recipes for Cretons and Tourtiere as there are Québécois cooks! My Great-Grandma did not use milk, but instead rendered salt pork to get the extra fat. She made that adaptation as she had moved from Quebec to Lawrence, MA, and in New England they used a lot of salt pork and the obligatory yellow onion.. Her spices were: Allspice, Clove, Cinnamon, Salt, Pepper.
My Great-Grandma's Creton recipe, is also my Tourtiere recipe, with the addition of potato, and yeah, a crust. They're both over 130yo, and I'd like to share them.
If you want them, hit me up.
CAME ACROSS THESE RECIPE ==LOVE IT ==CHILDREN TOO==I PUT IT TO FOOD PROCESSOR TO BE MORE SMOOTH–I MIGHT TRY IT WITH BEEF TOO…
I love this stuff.
Shower in it
Awesome I remember my dad making that when I was a kid thanks for the recipe going to make it batch
is gorton and this the same?
I tried this recipe for Cretons de Quebec before and it did not taste like I remember. I used to go to Quebec often as a kid to visit family and we would buy and eat this stuff by the kilo. I actually found that there are certain spices which are Mace, Cinnamon, Cloves, and White Pepper
you eat it on ploys too as my hubby was brought was growing up.
Can you make that without milk cause I am lactose
Perfect pronunciation.
Mix it in your eggs when they are cooking.
Put mustard on it… your welcome
Always loved it with some yellow mustard on top
I makr this every year at Christmas, sooo good