If Canada’s famed picturesque mountains and lakes are enough to entice you into exploring the land of the maple leaf, then you should be delighted to know that the country’s culinary cuisine is also worth digging into.
Other than the mouth-watering Canadian gastronomy fare the likes of Poutine, Butter Tarts, Bagels, Timbits, the Montreal Hotdog and the Tourtiere, there are countless other dishes one must try. Because it will be difficult to experience a taste of all the best traditional Canadian dishes in one trip, you can start your gastronomic discovery from this list of 6 must-try Canadian dishes.
Cedar
Plank Salmon
Any salmon dish—even if it’s simply fried and dipped on a sauce—is already a winning dish. What more if you cook it following the Native American's traditional way of using cedar planks.
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| Photo credit: Bariatric Eating |
Immersed on water added with coarse salt, wine and fruit juice, the planks are then dried and heated on the grill and then are topped with salmon fillets. After it gets cooked well-done, the salmon which was marinated in seasonings, oil and various herbs such as thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley, dill and juniper berries, will surely satisfy your palate with every bite.
Turducken
This one was recommended by a friend who has decided to relocate to Canada and is already looking for homes for sale in Vancouver.
According to her, this is a combo-dish consisting of a deboned chicken, deboned turkey and deboned duck all rolled into one and stuffed with savory stuffing incrusted between the three kinds of meat.
This dish was influenced by galantine, a French dish, which was then adapted by the Cajun people from the then French-Canadian settlement in Quebec.
Pâté
chinois
Literally translated to "Chinese Pie", this dish was invented by Chinese chefs who worked in Canada during the construction of the Canadian railway in the 19th century.
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| Photo Credit: Online Culinary |
This popular comfort dish consisting of stuffed ground beef with creamed corn and topped with mashed potatoes on top, is available in most cafés in Quebec and in several cities all over Canada.
Cretons
This is a unique-looking dish consisting of ground pork, milk, lard and breadcrumbs and prepared in creamy and tender texture and served like a spread. This meat-spread dish is made more flavorful with various herbs such as cloves, ginger, garlic, nutmeg, cinnamon, celery, onions, parsley and allspice.
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| Photo Credit: Recettes |
If you made this using a meat ingredient other than pork, like for example chicken, it then become referred to as cretonnade.
Beavertails
This is the perfect dessert to have after an enjoyable meal as what food connoisseurs advises to travelers that "no trip to Canada is completer without trying a beavertail".
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| Photo Credit: Beavertails Halifax |
The Beavertail is simply a deep-fried dough dipped in peanut butter and topped with Nutella, banana, and Reese’s Pieces. Crispy and gooey on the mouth, you can choose to add additional toppings to make it more filling.
Caesar
Cocktail
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| Photo Credit: Spice Trekkers |
This is a cocktail with a slide typically consisting of prawns, onion rings, burgers, hotdog, roast chicken and more. Also known as Canada's national cocktail, the Caesar Cocktail which is a mixture of vodka and clamato juice and spiced up with Tabaco and Worcestershire sauce also doubles as a filling brunch choice.
