Cranberry Sauce Two Ways

This may sound a little strange, but one of my favourite parts of a big turkey dinner is the cranberry sauce.

Cranberry Sauce

Sure, I like the main event. The turkey, squash, brussel sprouts, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy and especially the dressing, but I LOVE cranberry sauce.  For me, every fork full of turkey and dressing is always covered in gorgeous, ruby-red, cranberry sauce.

Yes, you can buy canned cranberry sauce in the grocery store, but, don’t. Honestly, it is so easy to make and tastes so fresh, you will never go back to canned. Plus, you will impress all of your guests when they find out your cranberry sauce is homemade.

Here’s all you do:

Cranberry Sauce

Rinse and sort through cranberries. Occasionally you will find little stems or leaves that you will want to remove.

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In a saucepan, pour in sugar and water and stir to combine.

Bring to a gentle boil and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until all the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear. (You have just made a simple syrup.)

Cranberry Sauce

Add cranberries and continue the gentle boil until the cranberry skins start to pop. (You will hear them pop.) This will take about 5 minutes.

Cranberry Sauce

With the back of a wooden spoon or spatula, press the cranberries against the side of the pan to crush, but also leave some whole.

Cranberry Sauce

5.0 from 2 reviews
Cranberry Sauce Two Ways
 
Serves: 2 cups
Ingredients
  • 3 cups (12 ounces/340gms) fresh or frozen whole cranberries
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup water*
  • *1 tsp. orange zest
  • *1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • and substitute ¼ cup water for ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
  1. Rinse and sort through cranberries. Occasionally you will find little stems or leaves that you will want to remove.
  2. In a saucepan, pour in sugar and water and stir to combine.
  3. Bring to a gentle boil and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until all the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is clear. (This is called a simple syrup)
  4. Add cranberries and continue the gentle boil until the cranberry skins start to pop. (You will hear them) This will take about 5 minutes.
  5. Remove from the heat.
  6. With the back of a wooden spoon or spatula, press the cranberries against the side of the pan to crush some, but also leave some whole.
  7. Pour into serving dish and refrigerate.
  8. *For Cranberry Orange Sauce ~ Substitute ¼ cup water for ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice and add 1 tsp. freshly grated orange zest to the sugar/juice/water mixture. Continue as directed.

HINT – Fresh cranberries are only available for a short time during the autumn of the year, so when you see them in the produce department pick up a few bags and toss them in the freezer. They freeze beautifully and you can use them in sauce, muffins, breads and cakes all year round.

Do you make your own cranberry sauce?

What else do you like to make with cranberries?

 

 

Comments

  1. Like you, I love fresh cranberry sauce with our holiday meals. I even love it with “left-overs” and on turkey/chicken sandwiches. I use a potato masher to crush the berries leaving enough of the berry to make it “saucy” and not a mash.

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