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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7 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

rox

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Augusta, Georgia, USA

Living In: Cary, North Carolina, USA

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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4 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

kate

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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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19 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Just Me

Cooking Level: Expert

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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5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Elizabeth

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Troy, Michigan, USA

Living In: Delray Beach, Florida, USA

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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Reviewer:

dinah

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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20 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Menwith Hill'er Back Home !!

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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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32 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Pichoux

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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51 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

CRIMSONSODA

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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4 users found this review helpful