In Atlantic Canada, what boiled dinner with salt beef and vegetables may be served for Thanksgiving?

The story behind the answer

The Atlantic Canadian boiled dinner made with salt beef and vegetables is Jiggs dinner.

Jiggs dinner, also called boiled dinner or cooked dinner, traditionally combines salt beef or salt riblets with potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnip, and greens. The ingredients simmer together, producing both a hearty meal and a flavorful broth. Pease pudding and figgy duff may be cooked in bags in the same pot, and common accompaniments include mustard pickles, pickled beets, cranberry sauce, and gravy made from the cooking liquid.

The dish is especially associated with Newfoundland and is also eaten in other Atlantic provinces. It is commonly prepared on Sundays, but its substantial ingredients and regional importance make it a natural choice for holiday meals, including Thanksgiving gatherings. Leftover vegetables are often fried into cabbage hash, a practical second-day dish related to bubble and squeak.

The name comes from Jiggs, the Irish-American central character of the comic strip Bringing Up Father, whose favorite meal was corned beef and cabbage. In Newfoundland, the term was being used for community dinners and fundraising events by the 1920s and 1930s. Pot-au-feu and Sunday roast are different meal traditions, not the canonical answer.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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