Growing up I was never a fan of cranberry sauce. I always thought of it as that can shaped Jell-O that comes out in one piece. I didn’t start to like cranberry sauce until I started making it for myself. Back at a restaurant I worked in we did Thanksgiving to go and that’s where I learned the true beauty of cranberry sauce and how easy it is to make for yourself. No more can shaped log of cranberry Jell-O around here!
Cranberry sauce is so much easier to make than you would think. Cranberries are high in pectin naturally so you don’t need any thickeners or any special ingredients. The most difficult thing about working with cranberries is that they are extremely tart which means you need to add sugar to get that sweet and tangy flavor. It always takes so much more sugar than I think is needed to get to that right flavor!
To make my cranberry sauce all you need is one medium sized sauce pot. No special equipment, no exotic ingredients, just simple every day ingredients and items. Making the sauce is a simple as putting all of the ingredients into your pot turning the heat on medium, and letting everything boil together. It’s really that simple!
Now I said you don’t need any special equipment but truthfully there is one thing that you should have if you don’t already in your kitchen and that is a micro plane. You want to make sure to get all of that delicious zest off of your orange because that gives a spectacular flavor. The zest is where all of the orange oils are. Once you fully zested your orange and put that into your pot cut that orange in half and squeeze all of the juice into there as well. I like to leave some cranberries whole or partially whole to add some nice texture so be sure to stir the pot while it’s cooking so that some of the cranberries burst open and make the jelly and some stay more firm for texture.
You need to allow the cranberry sauce to cool down in the refrigerator for at least an hour until it’s fully chilled, but the great thing about cranberry sauce is that it can be made up to a week before you’re planning to serve. I always try to make the day of my event as easy as possible so I will tend to make the cranberry sauce at least 2 to 3 days before Thanksgiving so that I have one less thing to worry about the day of. When you’re ready to serve, plate up in your favorite bowl and you can garnish with a little bit more orange zest if you’d like or keep it plain. However you serve it, I can guarantee you won’t be going back to canned cranberry sauce after this!
Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Ginger
Equipment
- 1 Sauce Pot
Ingredients
- 6 Cups Fresh Cranberries
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 1 ea Orange Zest and Juice
- 1 ea Cinnamon Stick
- 1 tsp Ginger Paste or Fresh Grated Ginger
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a medium sauce pot and cook over medium heat.
- Cook until the cranberries burst, about 7-10 minutes, being sure to stir occasionally.
- Once most of the cranberries have burst, turn your heat to low and let the cranberry sauce simmer for an additional 5-10 minutes to make sure all the sugar is dissolved.
- Cool your cranberry sauce in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight. This cranberry sauce can be stored for up to a week in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
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Looks good!