# For Canadians - your traditional/typical Thanksgiving menu? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 13, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845 "2020-10-13T03:34:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/1 "2020-10-13T03:34:40Z")
Started wondering today what my northern neighbors consider the traditional or typical Thanksgiving dinner. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/2 "2020-10-13T03:43:24Z")
Roast turkey, with stuffing and gravy, mashed potatoes, and tiny peas. It was very yummy! (No fancy side dishes, we are just two people!) Followed by pumpkin pie with whipped cream, with tea. (As we are in Ontario, we were directed to have only our household, no one outside of it invited in. It was different for a lot of families for sure! Everyone I know followed the directive, but I did wonder if such a thing would fly South of the border.) ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/3 "2020-10-13T03:45:35Z")
So the typical menu is somewhat similar to ours in the US? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/4 "2020-10-13T03:51:08Z")
Very much so, with some regional differences thrown in, of course! ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/5 "2020-10-13T04:03:48Z")
Very similar to the US. I like to cook and often try new variations. But the traditional thing is usually roast turkey, cranberry sauce, sage stuffing, gravy, two roast vegetables (often carrot and Brussels sprouts), some form of potato, dinner rolls and (pumpkin) pie. The diner version uses canned cranberry sauce, canned gravy, boxed stuffing and frozen peas ‘n carrots. It’s okay, but _fresh gravy made properly is ambrosia_. In Quebec, toutiere and wine are required. I like to use squash, perhaps for the soup course. Some like to use Pillsbury croissants. I bake my own bread, usually. Some substitute baked ham, lamb, tofu, duck or chicken for the big bird. I tend to like spicier versions of sides with added jalapeño. Their are many good recipes in the Epicurious Cookbook, Bobby Flay’s Mesa Southwestern Cookbook and from America’s Test Kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/6 "2020-10-13T04:43:59Z")
The only U.S. Thanksgiving foods (as seen on TV) that seemed exotic to me as a kid (in Canada) were yams with mini-marshmallows and “green bean casserole”, whatever that is. No doubt there’s someone in Canada that considers those dishes a holiday tradition, but not in my family. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/7 "2020-10-13T04:45:00Z")
I haven’t had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner in ages. Given the menu that others have described, (and which I remember well, from my younger days) it’s too much trouble for just one person. So, to me, it’s just another dinner. What will I have tonight? I did spend my day at the local racetrack, which offered a turkey, potatoes, stuffing, veg, cranberry sauce, and gravy dinner. I saw people eating it, and it looked like the kind of dinner you’d get at the racetrack. No thanks. I’ll warm up some chili that I made the other day. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/8 "2020-10-13T05:59:47Z")
Green (string) beans baked in a cream-of-mushroom sauce, usually made with Campbell’s soup. Believe it or not, it’s quite tasty! ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/9 "2020-10-13T11:58:23Z")
A coworker of mine, originally from Canada, wasn’t sure his family ever celebrated Thanksgiving, but described a harvest dish cooked in a large pot with “salt meat on the bottom, and layers of vegetables on top, all boiled together” that he thought might have been a Thanksgiving dish. He seemed to be under the impression this was a traditional meal (they ate it every year) but wasn’t really sure. Does this sound familiar to anybody? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/10 "2020-10-13T12:11:17Z")
Jiggs’ Dinner, perhaps? Salt meat definitely sounds like something from Newfoundland. > **[Jiggs' Dinner for Beginners](https://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/trip-ideas/travel-stories/jiggs-dinner-for-beginners)** > > Jiggs Dinner Cooking, How-to, Newfoundland and Labrador, Dinner, Traditional A Franco-Manitoban friend of mine (from grad school) once brought a dish to a Thanksgiving dinner that was basically plain macaroni with pan drippings poured on it. He said that was a traditional Thanksgiving dish in his family, but no one else was familiar with it. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/11 "2020-10-13T12:11:19Z")
It ain’t a green bean casserole if it ain’t topped with French fried onions. Without that it’s just green beans cooked in Cream of Mushroom soup. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/12 "2020-10-13T12:20:57Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Jiggs’ Dinner, perhaps? Maybe. That was as close as I could come in my searches. It sounds good, and fairly different from the New England boiled dinner I’m familiar with. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/13 "2020-10-13T12:41:23Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > So the typical menu is somewhat similar to ours in the US? Almost exactly. The main difference is that Canadian Thanksgiving is not as much of a major holiday as in the US (that is, it’s a national holiday, but not one with an extra-long weekend and major family get-togethers – that stuff happens at Christmas). In terms of food, for small gatherings, various other things may be substituted for a huge turkey, just as anywhere else. Roast beef, ham, and various other roasts seem to be popular. There are boneless turkey breast rolls of various qualities available, the best of which (from my favourite little boutique grocery) is basically solid white turkey meat. If served with the wondrous store-made cranberry sauce, stuffing, and amazing turkey gravy from the same place, homemade mashed potatoes, veggies, and whatever else, for small parties it makes for a very authentic Thanksgiving dinner with minimal fuss. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/14 "2020-10-13T14:00:40Z")
You mean it’s not “Peameal bacon, Montreal smoked meat or a slice of tourtiere with poutine and bannock on the side, and nanaimo bars and maple taffy for dessert.”? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/15 "2020-10-13T14:22:21Z")
It isn’t. But this would do well should you ever open up the Canadian themed restaurant _Hosers_. Now I’m steamed that I’ve never had “maple taffy”. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/16 "2020-10-13T14:29:27Z")
Believe it or not, I’d actually have competition around here if I opened a Canadian restaurant. There’s a place not too far away named the “[Maple Leaf Diner](http://www.mldiner.com/news.html)” that sells some of that stuff I mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/17 "2020-10-13T15:13:41Z")
Corned beef and cabbage my Nova Scotia mother called their variant of The boiled dinner or Jiggs Dinner. Actually ingredients would vary a little depending on what was to hand. In BC, 1960s, yams/sweet potatoes with marshmallows and green bean casseroles were common. It wasn’t French-fried onions that went on top, but French’s fried onions out of a can. ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2020, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-canadians-your-traditional-typical-thanksgiving-menu/922845/18 "2020-10-13T15:41:35Z")
He just followed up on our conversation, unsolicited, to send me this recipe as very similar to the dish in question: > **[Bouilli or pot au feu québécois - The FoodOlic recipes](https://thefoodolic.com/2017/06/02/pot-au-feu-bouilli-quebecois/)** > > Bouilli or pot au feu québécois is a traditional beef stew from Québec, Canada inspired by the famous dish 'pot au feu' from France. A simple stew made of root vegetables, beef and pork belly cooked slowly until tender. As a kid, I used to visit my...