Cretons Recipes Recipe Box

CRETONS

Steps:

• Place the ground pork, milk, onion and garlic into a large saucepan. Season with salt, pepper, cloves and allspice. Cook over medium heat for about 1 hour, then stir in the bread crumbs. Cook for 10 more minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste. Transfer to a small container and keep refrigerated.

CRETONS CREMEUX DE CHEZ NOUS (TRADITIONAL CREAMY CRETONS)

Steps:

• Combine pork, onions, garlic, water, and pepper in a saucepan. Cook on low heat for 1 hour, stirring frequently.
• Stir quick-cooking oats, salt, allspice, and milk into pork mixture. Cook for 1 hour more, stirring frequently. Let cool slightly. Mix with an electric mixer at medium speed until mixture becomes creamy, about 1 minute.
• Refrigerate or freeze in small portions.

CRETONS DE CHEZ-NOUS!

Steps:

• Place pork fat cubes in a large heavy pan or Dutch oven over low heat and slowly pan-fry until the cubes render their lard and become browned and crisp, about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove the pork cracklings with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
• Stir ground pork, onions, salt, allspice, and black pepper in the Dutch oven with rendered fat and slowly pour in 2 cups boiling water; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer with the pan partially covered until water has evaporated, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Place browned crackling cubes into a food grinder and coarsely grind; thoroughly stir the ground cracklings into the pork mixture. Simmer the mixture for 30 more minutes uncovered. Remove from heat and allow to cool until mixture can be handled, about 20 minutes. Grind the cretons mixture with the food grinder.
• Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into small jars or lidded containers and cover with plastic wrap; push the wrap down onto the surface of the cretons to completely cover. Cover containers with lids and refrigerate or freeze until serving time. Let cretons come to room temperature before serving.

EMERIL LAGASSE'S CRETON

Steps:

• In a large saute pan, add the pork and cook until no longer pink, about 3 minutes.
• Add the onions and garlic, and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the salt, pepper, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute.
• Add the milk and bread crumbs and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring to break up the meat.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pork is very tender and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and all the liquid is evaporated, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning, to taste.
• Transfer to a decorative bowl or several smaller ramekins, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula.
• Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled and firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Serve with thinly sliced French bread or toasted French bread croutons.

FRENCH CANADIAN CRETON

Steps:

• 1. Combine pork, onion, and garlic in pan and simmer over medium heat 1 hour.
• 2. Add cinnamon and cloves and cook 30 minutes more.
• 3. Add bread crumbs and cook 15 more minutes.
• 4. Drain in colander.
• 5. Pack tightly in small containers and refrigerate. Serve cold as a spread for crackers.

LIGHTER CRETONS

Steps:

• Place ground turkey, 1 cup water, onion, cloves, sage, and cinnamon in a saucepan. Bring turkey mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes, mashing ingredients occasionally with a spatula while cooking; remove from heat.
• Stir gelatin into remaining 1/2 cup water; stir gelatin mixture into turkey mixture. Transfer to a small container; refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

MOM'S FRENCH CANADIAN CRETONS

Steps:

• On medium high heat brown pork and turkey in the oil and olive oil mix. Using this mix the meat cooks at a higher temperature without burning the oil. While browning add onions and minced garlic; once browned add garlic powder, cloves, cinnamon, and sage, cover the top of meat mixture with salt (I prefer seasalt or kosher) and same, twice around the pot with pepper (preferrably fresh ground). Mix the meat and seasonings and add in boiling water to meat mixture, enough to cover the top. Bring to boil, lower to simmer about 3hrs. or until water is reduced to almost nothing. approximately half way through cooking process adjust your mixture with alspice, no more than a teaspoon should be required. I go by taste. Now to properly adjust the mixture for spreading purposes add in enough bread crumbs to absorb the remaining liquid in the pot. Using a hand blender puree meat mixture. Divide into containers and let cool before freezing or putting in fridge. yeilds 3-4lbs. Enjoy!

CRETONS DE QUEBEC

Steps:

• Place pork in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.
• Drain off fat. Add milk, onion, garlic, mixed spice, salt and pepper. Continue simmering on medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until milk evaporates. Let cool and serve.

MY MOM'S CRETONS (AKA GORTON) AND TOURTIERE

Steps:

• If your meat is too lean, cut up 1/4-1/3 pound Salt Pork, and render into lardons. Remove the salt pork bits, then continue the recipe, omitting the salt. Do not use bacon for the extra fat, bacon is smoked. You can use Lard, 1-2 T, in a pinch.
• Put all ingredients into a large sauce pot, just covering by an inch with the water.
• Mix together.
• Simmer on low, stirring frequently for 3-4 hours.
• Add water as needed to keep moist and from sticking.
• After the allotted cooking time you should have simmered the mixture down till there is about an inch of combined fat and water.
• Taste to check the seasonings. If your spices are old, you may need to re-spice the mixture
• (with the same amounts), then cook out the raw taste a bit.
• Transfer to a bowl to cool, stirring to keep fat suspended in meat.
• Serve warm on toast, or cold for sandwiches.
• For Tourtiere mix the same mixture with 3 0r 4 mashed (dry) potatoes,
• allowing them to suck up the moisture.
• Allow to cool, and ladle into pre-pared pie crusts.
• Egg wash and bake to specifications.