Do you eat French Meat Stuffing at Thanksgiving?

[maslex]

I'm guessing that's what it's called. My DH's grandmother always made this for the Thanksgiving table. But she passed away last year and my DH is asking me to make it for him to bring over to my mother's T-day dinner. I didn't eat it too much during the past years but I do remember that it was ground hamburger with probably small bits of potato in it? Does this sound familiar. I don't know what seasonings she used either but I do remember her saying at one point that there was cinnamon in it. I THINK. Can anyone help?

 

[kldmom2000]

My DH's family makes it (they're French Canadian).... if there is supposed to be seasoning in it, they certainly don't put any in So far as I can tell, theirs is just cooked ground meat with a bit of potato mixed in. That's it. Blech. I grew up on the bread stuffing so when we first starting dating when we were HS sweethearts, I was wondering where the *stuffing* was

 

[lynxstch]

and I look forward to it every year..my great grandmother made it every single Thanksgiving..in our version..I brown 2 lbs ground beef, 2 lbs ground pork, mash a whole pot of potatoes, (reserve the cooking liquid)..then add the browned meats to the potatoes (any ratio you like with the potatoes, some people like a lot, some people don't)..add some of the potato cooking liquid till it's the consistency you like..for seasonings I add garlic powder, celery salt, poultry seasoning (yes I know there's no poultry in the stuffing, but it's part of the recipe..lol)..salt, pepper, and onion salt or powder..I love it reheated on sandwiches in the days after the holiday..hope this helps!

I have also made this stuffing into a meat pie..though I don't know if it's a 'traditional' French Meat Pie filling!

 

[Tinijocaro]

Tortiere!! Yes, but my mom made it into pies too! Bell seasoning goes into it, which is heavy on the sage. Also, cinnamon and cloves are traditional. Here are a bunch of recipes for it.

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=tourtiere&SearchIn=All

 

[aprilgail2]

thank god no LOL!! Chopped meat in stuffing???? Its bad enough that when we go to a relatives and they make "stuffing" they put cheese and sausage in it I bring a small container of non meat type stuffing with me for myself!!

 

[psammie1025]

my Grandmother made a stuffing with a small amount of ground pork, crushed milk crackers, lots of eggs, chopped onion and celery, salt & pepper & a bit of cinnamon in it. And my family just loves it.

 

[pumba]

this is to funny......I am also French Canadian......brought up in Maine but my dad and his ancestors were from Canada. My memere always made meat stuffing and it was different.....but my grandmother on my moms side made the traditional bread stuffing. I remember the first year I made meat stuffing with a venison neck roast and had bread stuffing in the turkey also.....the meat stuffing didnt go over to good with the traditional English family. I put the big pot of meat stuffing on the back porch and let the grease go to the top of the pot. Take that off and put the meat stuffing into a pie shell and top it too....and we had meat pie.....I love that. We still have that every Holiday.

My memeres recipe is:

5 lbs ground lean pork
3 1/2 lbs hamburg lean
4 medium to large onions
7-8 medium potatoes cooked
2 1/2 cups of saltines
salt, pepper, sage, celery salt---the meat mixture and onions with a little water cooked over low heat probably 4 or so hours. when the cooked potatoes are done ..drain and let them get cold mashed them really good but no milk in them....stir and cook again over low heat...put this in pie shells or into your bird ...for meat pies 425 degrees for fifteen minutes and then 350 degrees for another 25 minutes or until crust is brown.......delicious

 

[reneempayne]

I have been searching for my grandmothers recipe. I know she uses only pork potatoes, all spice and cloves. I just don't know the ratio. It is great in a pie. It is canadian meat pie as I know it. I know no other!

 

[C.Ann]

Thanksgiving stuffing isn't stuffing without some kind of meat in it.. LOL..

Mine is:
Ground pork sausage (like the Jimmy Dean roll)
Egg
Dried bread cubes
Minced celery
Smidge of milk
Bell's Seasoning

YUM!! Now I'm hungry - LOL..

 

[3boymthr]

Thanksgiving stuffing isn't stuffing without some kind of meat in it.. LOL..

Mine is:
Ground pork sausage (like the Jimmy Dean roll)
Egg
Dried bread cubes
Minced celery
Smidge of milk
Bell's Seasoning

YUM!! Now I'm hungry - LOL..

C.Ann, you're making me hungry too! Can I ask, what are your ratios? This sounds so much like my grandmother's stuffing which I loved. My aunt took her recipe books when she passed away and then left the recipe books in her house when she sold it so all those great recipes are lost.

 

[C.Ann]

C.Ann, you're making me hungry too! Can I ask, what are your ratios? This sounds so much like my grandmother's stuffing which I loved. My aunt took her recipe books when she passed away and then left the recipe books in her house when she sold it so all those great recipes are lost.

You're putting me on the spot here - still at the lake - but this is what I remember.. (Of course you may need to make more or less depending on the size of the bird..)

In a large fry pan, begin to cook the roll of pork sausage until it crumbles (chop it up with a fork or whatever while it's cooking) and loses the pink color.. Add 1/2 cup (or more) of minced celery.. Cook till celery is soft and sausage is cooked (not fried).. Drain off liquid/fat..

In a large bowl place your bread cubes (check the bag for the right amount for your size turkey); 1 or 2 eggs; 1/2 cup milk; the sausage/celery mix; and 1 and 1/2 tsp. Bell's Seasoning.. Mix together well and stuff your bird..

If it looks too dry, add more milk or another egg - too wet, more bread cubes..

It's sooooo good - and yes, this recipe was "passed down" too..

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Polish background here and we eat sausage stuffing. Yummy.....

My italian SIL has hamburger in their stuffing.

 

[LindaG4458]

Tortiere!! Yes, but my mom made it into pies too! Bell seasoning goes into it, which is heavy on the sage. Also, cinnamon and cloves are traditional. Here are a bunch of recipes for it.

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes.aspx?WithTerm=tourtiere&SearchIn=All

Ah, yes, Tortiere and Gorton, foods of my childhood! Yum! I love both and DH refuses to eat either. My grandmother used allspice in hers. When a certain couple comes to visit I make some Gorton and the husband and I will eat a whole container in a sitting. His wife hates it, too.

 

[LindaG4458]

this is to funny......I am also French Canadian......brought up in Maine but my dad and his ancestors were from Canada. My memere always made meat stuffing and it was different.....but my grandmother on my moms side made the traditional bread stuffing. I remember the first year I made meat stuffing with a venison neck roast and had bread stuffing in the turkey also.....the meat stuffing didnt go over to good with the traditional English family. I put the big pot of meat stuffing on the back porch and let the grease go to the top of the pot. Take that off and put the meat stuffing into a pie shell and top it too....and we had meat pie.....I love that. We still have that every Holiday.

My memeres recipe is:

5 lbs ground lean pork
3 1/2 lbs hamburg lean
4 medium to large onions
7-8 medium potatoes cooked
2 1/2 cups of saltines
salt, pepper, sage, celery salt---the meat mixture and onions with a little water cooked over low heat probably 4 or so hours. when the cooked potatoes are done ..drain and let them get cold mashed them really good but no milk in them....stir and cook again over low heat...put this in pie shells or into your bird ...for meat pies 425 degrees for fifteen minutes and then 350 degrees for another 25 minutes or until crust is brown.......delicious

Pumba, how many pies does this make? It looks really good.

 

[dapoteete]

Well, I make Oyster Stuffing and it tastes sooooo good. This one has been in the family for a long time and most of that family was land locked. I have no idea how they decided on oysters.
Here you go though;

Oyster Stuffing

2 loaves white bread, toasted in broiler
1 dozen eggs, boiled and chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
4 cans oysters (reserve liquid)
Turkey/Chicken broth
Poultry seasoning salt and pepper to taste

Boil Turkey giblets and neck for stock.
Sauté celery and onion in butter until translucent and let cool for a few minutes.
Tear toasted bread into 1-inch pieces and place in a large bowl. Add enough turkey broth to thoroughly moisten but not drench.
Add seasoning, salt and pepper to taste. Mix in celery and onions. Add eggs and oysters and mix gently. Add oyster juice. Mixture should have the texture of firm mashed potatoes. (this is the best time to have a bowl of it)
Place in baking dish and cover. Bake in water bath at 350 for 45 minutes.

This recipe comes from a great-great-great-grandmother and to make sure we have enough for leftovers we actual double the recipe. The only thing that has changed is the addition of celery. Not one of the women in my family would ever consider not having this on their Thanksgiving table. We have been known to make and take it to our unfortunate male relatives whose wife’s just don’t understand how important this is to us.
When living in San Diego most people were put off by the idea of the oysters. That is not the case now that I live in the Pacific Northwest.

 

[okeydokey]

Thanksgiving stuffing isn't stuffing without some kind of meat in it.. LOL..

Mine is:
Ground pork sausage (like the Jimmy Dean roll)
Egg
Dried bread cubes
Minced celery
Smidge of milk
Bell's Seasoning

YUM!! Now I'm hungry - LOL..

C. Ann. this is almost exactly my husband's stuffing recipe, but he uses fresh chunks of bread. Gotta have Bells too. We live in FL now and his folks still mail us a few boxes from PA when we run low.

Lately he has been cooking the sausage and onions and celery in a fry pan and draining before mixing it all up, but his Dad would use the sausage raw and stick it in the bird. They warn against that kind of thing now though.

 

[Ms Gregoire]

I got this from my grandmother who was French Canadian, who got it from her mother. She grew up just over the border in the South Roxton area. This recipe calls for 1 roll of Jones or similar sausage fried out, 8 potatoes, boiled and mashed with one tablespoon of milk, salt and pepper, Bell's seasoning, 8 very dry toast, roll out to crumbs, the gizzard, neck and heart, boiled for 1/2 hour, one onion, 3 stalks of celery. remove meat from neck. Put all meats and celery and onion through the coarse wheel on the meat grinder. Mix with the potatoes and seasoning "till no white shows". The potatoes should be cooked the day of the feast. The meats can be cooked the night before.

I always have extra when I stuff a 12 pound bird, so I put that extra into a small casserole and bake along side the turkey for about an hour, and baste with turkey drippings

 

[marcyinPA]

and I look forward to it every year..my great grandmother made it every single Thanksgiving..in our version..I brown 2 lbs ground beef, 2 lbs ground pork, mash a whole pot of potatoes, (reserve the cooking liquid)..then add the browned meats to the potatoes (any ratio you like with the potatoes, some people like a lot, some people don't)..add some of the potato cooking liquid till it's the consistency you like..for seasonings I add garlic powder, celery salt, poultry seasoning (yes I know there's no poultry in the stuffing, but it's part of the recipe..lol)..salt, pepper, and onion salt or powder..I love it reheated on sandwiches in the days after the holiday..hope this helps!

I have also made this stuffing into a meat pie..though I don't know if it's a 'traditional' French Meat Pie filling!

My mother's side of the family is French Canadian, and this is what they did. It was called "meat pie" or "pork pie", and traditionally eaten (in their family anyway) on New Year's Day. Personally, I always thought it was yucky. But my mother still makes it.

Ironically, I just asked my mother for her recipe for New England Bread Stuffing last night.

1 stick of butter
1 onion, chopped
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 TBSP Bell's Poultry seasoning (and according to Mom, it MUST be Bell's!!)
1 pound fresh bread cubes (not that dried stuff!)
warm turkey broth or chicken broth (enough just to bind the bread. Not too wet, not too dry).

I love this stuff- it tastes best when it is stuffed in the bird. My mom makes it best- even I have trouble making it taste like hers!

 

[mhsjax]

I have been searching for my grandmothers recipe. I know she uses only pork potatoes, all spice and cloves. I just don't know the ratio. It is great in a pie. It is canadian meat pie as I know it. I know no other!

YOu all lost me at all spice and especially cloves. Oh and the cinnamon didn't go over well either, than just doesn't belong in meat. That being said I would try something with cinnamon in it, but cloves NO WAY. Continue on.

 

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