My Mom's Cretons Aka Gorton And Tourtiere

There are as many recipes for cretons as there are folks making it in quebec. This recipe is my adaptation of my family's recipe. Note; it does not contain milk.

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.

, 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 potatoes ,.

Allowing them to suck up the moisture.

Allow to cool , and ladle into pre-pared p.

Ingredients

ground pork butt, onion, allspice, clove, cinnamon, water, pepper, salt