Creton Maison Recipe - A Popular Québécois Meat Spread! | Club Foody (2024)

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Author: Francine Lizotte

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by Francine Lizotte

  • appetizer
  • breakfast
  • brunch
  • Canada
  • creton maison
  • homemade creton
  • lunch food
  • meat spread
  • meat spread for lunch
  • pork spread
  • province of Québec
  • québec
  • Québécois cuisine
  • traditional québécois dish
  • Appetizers
  • Canadian cuisine
  • Hors d'Oeuvres/Antipasto/Canapés/Dips/
  • International
  • Low Sodium
  • Pork
  • Québécois cuisine
  • Sandwiches

Creton Maison Recipe - A Popular Québécois Meat Spread! | Club Foody (2)

I’m originally from Montréal and as a young woman I moved to Toronto and spent the biggest part of my life living there. Every time I went back to Québec visiting family and friends, I wanted to satisfy some of my food cravings… let me explain.

The Province of Québec is mostly French speaking and the culture is quite different from the rest of the country which is English. When it comes to food, Québécois cuisine is noticeably distinct from other provinces although the differences today seem much less apparent than they were in the 80s.

Back to my cravings…
When planning a trip to Montréal, I usually had a list of food that I was looking forward to enjoying again. Life was busy and I couldn’t go back to Montréal for several years and this gave me the idea that I should start making my own Québécois cuisine. Now that I live on the West Coast, I’m glad I took the initiative of making the favorite dishes that I grew up with and can enjoy them whenever I have the craving.

What I am sharing with you today is Creton Maison which is a typical Québécois dish served mostly for breakfast. It’s a meat-spread/pâté people enjoy on toast, croissants or bagels with yellow mustard. It’s obviously not your typical toast and jam fare and definitely a different way to enjoy the first meal of the day. You can also enjoy it for lunch between slices of bread, pita or tortillas with tomatoes, lettuce and of course yellow mustard.

It’s definitely cheaper to make this Creton at home than to fly to Montréal or Québec City and enjoy it at a local restaurant. I hope you give this Québécois breakfast classic a try soon… you won’t be disappointed! Now if you’re looking for a great pâté recipe, take a look at my Cognac Chicken Liver Pâté!
Bon Appétit!

Here are more delicious Québécois recipes for you to try…
Perfect Poutine with Bacon Gravy
Tourtière (meat pie)
Squash à la Canadienne

Old-Fashioned Baked Beans with Bacon

and for more pork recipes, click on this link… Recipe Category • Pork



Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel by clicking on this link… Club Foody YouTube

Creton Maison Recipe - A Popular Québécois Meat Spread! | Club Foody (3)

Creton Maison

Try this delicious traditional Québécois meat spread called Creton on toast, in a sandwich or on your favorite cracker or bread.

5 from 3 votes

Creton Maison Recipe - A Popular Québécois Meat Spread! | Club Foody (4)Add to Favorites

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Servings 8

Hover to scale

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Passive time 0 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lean ground pork
  • 1 cup white onions, chopped
  • 2 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 2-3 large green onions (white tips only), sliced
  • 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. mixed spice - épices mélangées see Recipe
  • 1 pinch ground Himalayan sea salt
  • freshly ground black pepper, to taste (I always use mixed peppercorns)
  • 1 tsp. oatmeal Footnote #1
  • 1 tbsp. 35% heavy cream, or to desired consistency Footnote #2

Directions

  • In a medium pot, add pork, onions, garlic, green onions, celery, mixed spices, salt and black pepper; cover mixture with water. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 1 to 1 ¼ hours; stir occasionally.

  • Halfway through cooking, add oatmeal and stir well.

  • About ½ hour before the end of cooking, start whisking the mixture using either a whisk or potato masher. Add a little cream at a time until smooth.

  • When the time is up, using an immersion blender, smooth out the creton to desired consistency; taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

  • Before freezing, put a paper towel on top. When thawing it out, put container upside down so the paper towel can absorb the extra liquid from the creton.

Notes

Footnote #1: Add cloves if desired and substitute breadcrumbs for oatmeal.

Footnote #2: Slowly add heavy cream by the tablespoonful until the desired consistency is reached. It usually doesn't need more than 3 tbsp.

Don't forget to rate and comment on this recipe!

Creton Maison Recipe - A Popular Québécois Meat Spread! | Club Foody (2024)

FAQs

How long does cretons last in the fridge? ›

Cooked meats: 3-4 days. Confit meats: 2-4 days. Cretons: 2-4 days.

What does Creton mean in French? ›

The link, linguistically, appears to be to the medieval French word creton, which according to the online Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330-1500) means 'morceau de panne de porc frite', that is, 'small piece of fried pork fat'. If you fry a piece or pieces of pig fat, you get something akin to pork cracklings.

What is Creton made of? ›

cretons, a cold pork spread with a texture that varies from smooth to chunky. The pâté-like dish is common in the cuisine of Quebec and first gained popularity with French Canadians. It is made by cooking ground pork and pork fat with water or milk, bread crumbs, onions, and spices.

What is the difference between Creton and Gorton? ›

In Quebec cuisine, cretons (sometimes gorton or corton, especially among New Englanders of French-Canadian origin) is a forcemeat-style pork spread containing onions and spices. Due to its fatty texture and taste, it resembles French rillettes.

Are cretons healthy? ›

"Creton is a french-canadian specialty; this type of "pork pate" is certainly not healthy, but really delicious! I like it spread on toast or crackers, along with hot mustard. Many in Quebec eat it at breakfast.

What is the shelf life of Creton? ›

Creton should be refrigerated. Its shelf life in the refrigerator is three weeks. It freezes well for several months.

What is Cretonne in English? ›

cre·​tonne ˈkrē-ˌtän kri-ˈtän. : a strong cotton or linen cloth used especially for curtains and upholstery.

What is cretons in English? ›

Noun. (Canada, New England) A spreadable paste made from pork fat, ground pork trimmings, onions.

What does it mean to call someone a Cretan? ›

a native or inhabitant of Crete.

Can Creton be frozen? ›

Season to taste and add spices. Cool mixture, stirring occasionally. Place cretons in small bowls. Keep in refrigerator or freeze.

Where did Creton originate? ›

This original creton, made from leaf fat, is very rare today. In 1940, Marius Barbeau, who was a famous Canadian ethnographer and folklorist, described how the recipe had its origins in the monasteries of the lower St. Lawrence River valley.

What does Creton taste like? ›

The spread is typically flavored with garlic, cloves, ginger, celery, parsley, nutmeg, cinnamon, onions, and allspice. Its texture is fatty, creamy and tender, and it is often served for breakfast, when it is paired with toast.

Is Creton head cheese? ›

Cretons are usually served on toast as part of a traditional Quebec breakfast. Not to be confused with "fromage de tête" (tête fromagée in Quebec) or head cheese. From Me, Creton was a comfort food that I grew up with after moving to a small town outside Montreal Quebec called St.

What are the types of meat in French? ›

Red Meat
FrenchEnglishPronunciation
le boeufbeefluh buhf
l'agneau (m.)lamblahn-yoh
le porcporkluh pohr
la saucisse le saucissonsausagelah soh-sees luh soh-see-sohn
3 more rows

What is Quebec pork? ›

Quebec pork farmers are subjected to strict standards, resulting in top-quality meat. Their livestock are fed a natural diet, composed of cereals and vitamin and mineral supplements. And growth hormones are completely prohibited.

How long are tenderloins good for in the fridge? ›

Beef, veal, lamb and pork roasts, steaks and chops may be kept 3 to 5 days. After cooking, meat, poultry and seafood can be safely stored in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days.

How long will souse meat last in the fridge? ›

Once you're done sous viding, if you cook it through to pasteurization and you chill it efficiently and then put it in a refrigerator, the food will last for a long time, a lot longer than normal leftovers do. If you follow that routine, cooked food in unopened sealed bags will last for at least a week, if not longer.

How long are tenderloins good for? ›

Store fresh pork tenderloin in the fridge for up to two to three days before cooking. It's best to cook pork tenderloin soon after buying it, although it will keep for two to three days in the fridge. Any longer than three days and it's best to store it in the freezer, where it will keep for up to six months.

How long can uncooked beef schnitzel last in the fridge? ›

Raw meat is good for around 5 days in the fridge, while mince will only last from between 1-2 days.

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