Gorton (French-Canadian Pork Spread)

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 105 min
Servings: 40
Yield: 40 servings

Description

This gorton recipe is a French-Canadian pork spread, also known as cretons, that's flavored with nutmeg and clove for a hearty spread on toast or crackers.

Ingredients

2 pounds finely ground pork fat
2 pounds finely ground pork
2 onions, finely chopped
4 cups water
1 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1 Combine pork fat, ground pork, onions, water, cloves, and nutmeg in a large pot; season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, mashing mixture with a potato masher every 15 minutes as it cooks; simmer until pork is tender, at least 1 ½ hours. Add water as necessary to keep mixture from boiling dry. Reduce liquid as much as possible when ready to stop cooking without letting it burn. Transfer to lidded containers.
2 Refrigerate gorton 8 hours to overnight. Remove and discard fat layer or stir into gorton for a creamier spread.