Québécois Breakfast Plate with Cretons
A classic Québec breakfast plate: eggs, bacon, home fries and toast with homemade cretons, a cinnamon- and clove-spiced pork spread you make the day before.
- prep
- 4 h 20 min
- cook
- 1 h 10 min
- total
- 5 h 30 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Cretons is a Québec pork spread made from ground pork simmered with onion, milk and warm spices such as cinnamon and clove until it is soft, then chilled until it sets. It is spread on toast at breakfast and is a regular on Québec diner plates alongside eggs, bacon and home fries. The spreadable texture and gentle spicing set it apart from a French rillettes.
Cretons has to be made ahead because it needs several hours in the fridge to firm up, so the rest of the plate comes together in about 30 minutes. The home fries are parboiled first, which gives you crisp edges and a soft middle, and the eggs go sunny-side up so the yolk can run onto the toast.
Québec's other famous plate is poutine, made with fries, cheese curds and gravy.
Québécois Breakfast Plate with Cretons is one of the best breakfasts from around the world.
method
Make the cretons first. Put the ground pork, chopped onion, garlic, milk, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and 1 teaspoon of salt in a saucepan and stir to break up the meat. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
Cook for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring often and mashing the pork with a spoon, until the meat is very soft and nearly all the liquid is absorbed. It should look like a thick, loose paste, not browned. Taste and adjust the salt.
Mash the mixture with a potato masher, or pulse it a few times in a food processor, until spreadable but not smooth. Pack it into a container, press it flat and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight, until firm.
For the home fries, boil the potato cubes in salted water for 6 to 8 minutes, until just tender, then drain and let them steam dry for 2 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes in one layer and leave them for 4 minutes without stirring. Turn them, add the sliced onion, paprika, salt and pepper, and cook 10 to 12 minutes more, turning now and then, until golden and crisp at the edges and the onion is soft.
Cook the bacon in a second skillet over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning once, until crisp. Drain on paper towels.
Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat, crack in the eggs and cook about 3 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny. Serve on warm plates with the home fries, bacon, buttered toast and a spoonful of cretons.
chef's tips
- Do not use lean pork. The fat is what makes the cretons spreadable once it has chilled.
- Cretons keeps for about 5 days in the refrigerator, and it freezes well in small containers.
- For crisper home fries, make sure the potatoes are dry after parboiling and give them space. A crowded pan steams them.