Reviewed: Oct. 26, 2009

Cretons are not the most flavorful of recipes but I like to make them more yummy by using 2 cloves are garlic and adding Parsley and dry minced green onion when they are done cooking. I also let them simmer for another hour or 2. When done, I put them in my food processor and then let them set in the fridge over night. They are great in the morning with butter on toast, with mustard and toast or regular bread for lunch, or on French baguettes alone or with butter or mustard.

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Peachy76

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Reviewed: Oct. 10, 2009

Thank you for this recipe, we are not french but my husbands neighbour was and use to make this and give him some and he LOVES it,the only thing i did different was to put it in the food processor so it was more like a spread... so i tried this and he said it was just as goos or better!!!!!

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tuckergirl88

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Reviewed: Mar. 16, 2009

Great recipe,reminds me of home, easy to make with ingredients that everyone has on hand

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SUSIEDRISCOLL

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Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2009

You're going to have to constantly stir this the whole time to keep it from burning the bottom of your saucepan. Maybe using full fat ground pork instead of lean would have helped prevent that. It is tasty, but doesn't quite spread like a paté, but more similar to ground meat.

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Darryl

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Reviewed: Jan. 24, 2009

My mother-in-law makes this every Christmas. Her recipe is slightly different. She uses twice the ground pork (2 lbs). She also uses 3-5 slices of white bread (without the crusts) that she mixes with water to make a paste..she uses the bread paste instead of breadcrumbs and milk. Mmmm...what a treat!

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rox

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Augusta, Georgia, USA

Living In: Cary, North Carolina, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 25, 2008

This is a very basic recipe, and if I were craving cretons and didn't have any availiable at the grocery's, I would make this one as a last resort, but I have a very similar recipe that uses evaporated milk instead of regular milk, unflavoured gelatin, and a lot less garlic. I use granulated garlic sparingly (about a teaspoon) instead of a real clove, because it's just too fragrant. I also find that using a half-porc, half-veal mixture for the meat makes it much more spreadable. I'll use lean veal and extra lean porc. After you are done cooking it, place it in the food processor for a few spins. About half of the creton varieties you will find at the grocery's have been food-processed. I enjoy them either way. Great on toast, baguette, but a really scrumptious treat is having it on a freshly baked croissant. Mmmm.

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ekatiemo

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Quebec, Quebec, Canada

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Reviewed: Nov. 26, 2007

This recipe is a very old one. As with ones that are passed down from Mere Mere, pronouced "meh-may". (grandmother). These recipes vary greatly. From Cretons with spices to ones that have hardly any. I tend to like the spices, and the oldest recipe I have found includes these wonderful spices. This recipe was made for me over 20 years ago from a friend that we were stationed with in the Air Force. She was very "French Canadian" and spoke it often. Once having this recipe, I was hooked with French Canadian Cuisine. This recipe was left a little bland for me. Many have had a hard time with this one. But you must be patient with this one. It takes a long time to cook. And even if the liquid looks all gone, keep stirring and at the end when all of it is still hot, turn it in a food processor. Just to get that perfect Puree. Press it in a loaf pan. Then you can turn it out and make slices to match the size of the bread. This is a fantastic breakfast. As they say: Çé tsiguidou. (everythings A-Okay, or everythings alright)

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Just Me

Cooking Level: Expert

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Reviewed: May 29, 2007

This is not a spread!!! You absolutely should not cook this on medium for an hour. My pan burned because of course all of the liquid evaporated out of it and the end result is ground meat not a spread. The taste was good and I made a sandwich out of it, but I would not make this again.

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Elizabeth

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Troy, Michigan, USA

Living In: Delray Beach, Florida, USA

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Reviewed: Apr. 30, 2007

This was very tasty and although took a long time to cook, was low maintainance. I served it with brown rice and everyone liked it.

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dinah

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Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2007

Excellent!! Excellent!!! The trick to this not being crumbly is to pack it into a very small dish - I got all into a little 1.5 cup casserole - took some effort! Then I covered in foil - placed my other 1.5 cup casserole on top with a 4-pound ball weight in it. Came out perfectly!! Also - I was doubtful - because the meat appeared to be cooked and liquid gone after 20 minutes - but I was patient - kept it on low for rest of the hour - stirring frequently - then added the bread crumbs...worth the wait!!! Fabulous flavor!! Oh - I didn't have fresh garlic - so I used a pinch of garlic powder. I also used grey sea salt instead of regular salt.

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Menwith Hill'er Back Home !!

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Reviewed: Dec. 6, 2005

This turned out perfect! My husband is French-Canadian so we've had cretons a lot in the past. We can buy it here as well but this homemade version is going to be the new norm in our house! I would feel confident serving this to his Grandmother the next time we visit her in Quebec. I processed it for about 10 pulses in the food processor after it was all done just to break up the onions a bit more.

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Pichoux

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Reviewed: Sep. 25, 2005

Great recipe! However, the recipe does not mention that you cannot use lean ground pork for this (that is probably why some people found it not easy to spread).Another trick to increase creaminess: use an immersion blender after 20 min. of cooking. It improves the texture (if you want smoother cretons, that is). It taste a lot better with fresh bread crumbs as well (if using fresh, increase to 1/2 cup. Traditional recipe call for 1 cup of fresh bread crumbs, but it is a bit much for my taste). I am an unrooted french canadian, so I was glad to find this recipe, which is a staple in our household!

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CRIMSONSODA

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Reviewed: Jul. 14, 2004

We live in Australia, my husband is French Canadian. I made this for him and he loves it ! Today I am making it for the second time. We ate it on a sliced baguette, I just love it with french mustard. It's very easy to make. Thank you for bringing a bit of Quebec to my darling husband.

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VANDI

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Reviewed: Jul. 30, 2003

I made this recipe for my husband, he is originally from Montreal, Canada, and Creton is one thing he misses terribly, he loved it. Great recipe.

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STACY430

Home Town: Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, USA

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Reviewed: Jun. 11, 2003

This is a fantastic recipe for cretons!! I had a flashback to my youth recently from when I went to Quebec for an exchange program and had cretons which was a staple with the family I stayed with. I found this recipe and have made it several times. For the person who rated it before me, you may have cooked it on too high a temperature and thus lost a lot of moisture. It should simmer for about an hour, I put my burner on low. After you add the bread crumbs you should whisk the mixture aggressively. I spread it on toasted slices of french baguette with plenty of mustard. YUM!

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SANDRAGREER

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Reviewed: May 21, 2003

Very good. It was even great on Rye Bread (toasted). I'm not sure how it was supposed to spread on the bread though. Perhaps I cooked it too long. It was still yummy though. I plan on trying again. My 2 year old even liked it!

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PANDABEAR01

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

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Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2003

What a stroke of luck to find this recipe! I grew up on this and lost my mom's recipe for it. This was such a treat when eaten on plain white bread. This transplanted Franco-American from Maine says a very big THANK YOU NANS.

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