Cranberry sauce is a holiday must. This cranberry sauce sweet and tart with the right about of bright citrus to complement your holiday turkey.
We have an ongoing debate in my house; freshly made cranberry sauce or canned jellied cranberries at Thanksgiving? I sit on the freshly made side. My mom and sister, jelly. To me, fresh made tastes better. I actually don’t get the appeal of the canned kind. It is shelf stable cranberry jello. Yeah, no thanks. I’ll take fresh bits of fruit simmered with sugar with a hint of orange.
This recipe is super simple and only 4 ingredients. It has big cranberry flavor that tastes great with turkey but also tastes amazing on waffles, pancakes and, my favorite, peanut butter sandwiches. Why would anyone ever buy or serve stuff out of a can?
Traditional Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 orange juiced and zested
- 1/4 cup water
- pinch of salt
Instructions
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In a bowl, mix cranberries and sugar.
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In a small pot, add water, orange juice, orange zest, and cranberries. Bring to a hard boil, about 2 minutes then reduce heat and bring to a simmer.
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Stir until the sugar dissolves.
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Stir in salt.
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Continue to stir and cook the cranberries until they are soft and burst about 10 minutes.
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Turn heat on low and simmer until cranberries are thick and stick to the back of a spoon.
Recipe Notes
You can substitute whiskey or orange liquor for water.
Tips for cooking:
- Make sure you use the correct size pot. If you use too large of pot you risk burning the cranberries.
2. Make sure cranberries are coated with sugar. This will help the natural pectin in the cranberries thicken the sauce.
3. Watch your cranberries, they can boil up and over very quickly!
So what type of cranberry sauce do you prefer with your Thanksgiving meal?
Hey Duck! Just a quick question. The instructions say to mix the cranberries and sugar. Then it says in step 2 to add them in the pot with the water and orange. Then in step three it says to add the sugar and salt. I’m confused – isn’t the sugar already mixed with the cranberries?
I updated the recipe to be clearer.
1. Cranberries and sugar mixed.
2. Put ingredients in pot (without salt)
3. Bring to boil and then reduce to simmer
4. Add salt
5. Stir until cranberries pop
6. Simmer until thick