Holiday Cranberry Sauce
For many years, I thought I didn’t like cranberry sauce. Then I realized I actually just didn’t like the canned slab-o-jelly that gets dumped on a plate, sliced and served as the annual Thanksgiving afterthought.
But one day it occurred to me – cranberry sauce should be really yummy. I mean, cranberries… good. Sugar… good. Heady holiday spices like cloves, cinnamon, and allspice… good! So I found a recipe, made some adjustments, and this delicious cranberry sauce has been a holiday favorite in our family ever since.
Special Equipment
- Spice bag or tea strainer to contain the spices – I use a tea strainer ball that I bought at Wal-Mart
Holiday Cranberry Sauce
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- 12 oz (about 4 cups) fresh cranberries
- 1½ cups water
- 10 whole allspice berries
- 10 whole cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2 cups sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Sort through the cranberries and remove any stems or mushy berries. Combine the berries and water in a medium saucepan. Put the cloves and allspice in a spice bag, and add to the saucepan along with the cinnamon sticks. Turn the heat to medium.
- When the water is simmering and the berries are starting to burst, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the sugar and salt and increase heat to medium. Bring back to a simmer, then continue simmering for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in the orange juice. Let the mixture cool for about 10 minutes, then remove the spice bag and fish out the cinnamon sticks.
- For whole berry sauce, use a potato masher to smash the berries to the desired consistency. For a smoother sauce, use your immersion blender, food processor, or blender to process the mixture until you reach the desired consistency. For a very smooth sauce, pour the mixture through a mesh strainer. Transfer to an air-tight container and chill for at least 8 hours before serving.