Who would’ve thought that cranberry sauce would become such a hot topic?! You know what? I LOVE it. It has been a mission of mine to spread the word about how easy and delicious a homemade cranberry sauce can be. So far, so good. Now it’s high time we give this post a facelift!
Thanksgiving is upon us and it is wonderful. In fact, it is one of my favorite holidays of the year and quite frankly, I’m upset that our society has turned it into Black Friday Eve. Thanksgiving is such a fantastic holiday. Time to reflect on what we are thankful for. Family, friends, corgi companions, love, cheesecake. And it’s the one time of the year you are encouraged to stuff yourself (pun intended) with as many calories as you can before your heart stops. No one looks at you like a madman if you take the gravy boat and pour it over your entire plate.
Now, that being said, one thing I cannot stand to see at a Thanksgiving table is this:
I abhor this. Detest, revile, admonish, castigate, lambaste, vituperate, etc.
Why? Because:
A) It tastes not so good.
B) Making a homemade sauce is easy-peasy lemon-squeezy (literally…lemon)
Here, I show you….
Ingredients
- 3 cups fresh cranberries (one handy-dandy bag)
- 1 cup o' sugar
- Juice & Zest of one orange (hint, zest the orange first)
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/4 c orange liqueur - optional...but let's be honest with ourselves
- 2 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
In a large saucepan, add cranberries, sugar and orange juice. Cook on medium-low heat until cranberries break down (20-25 minutes) If they are hissing at you and bursting open...this means success
Reduce heat to low, add orange zest, lemon zest, ginger & orange liqueur. Simmer for 5-10 minutes
Smush the cranberries with the back of your spoon until you have a lumpy mess (it's a lot prettier than it sounds)
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Fridge & Chill! Can be made DAYS ahead of time.
Oh, and soak that saucepan. It's going to need it.
https://www.kandradventures.com/cranberry-sauce/
If you don’t have a zester, I suggest you invest in one. They are super handy for lots o’ stuff. Zesting citrus, grating cheese, grating chocolate, etc.
All done and all delicious!
How easy was that?!
Makin’ this. My mother is a great (albeit very Southern) cook, but for some reason she likes to pull out the gelatinous blob of canned cranberry sauce year after year. I mean.. just look at it.. all the ridges from the can stay intact. That’s.. unnatural. Blech.
Yay! I thought it made sense to post pre-Thanksgiving in case anyone wanted to make it. Part of my secret plan to abolish canned cranberry gloop 🙂
I’ve never given much thought to cranberry sauce. To me it’s always been that weird, cylindrical substance I pass up every Thanksgiving… something akin to beets, perhaps? But this looks yummy. Maybe I’ll try it too.
I would recommend it. The real deal is far different than the canned stuff. In flavor AND texture. The canned stuff tastes like gelatinous glop and a real cranberry sauce is more like a chunky jam texture.
You and your elitist cranberry sauce can go sit at the kids table! I was raised on the canned stuff and I swear to our founding fathers, if I don’t get a SLICE of cranberry sauce this year, I will drop kick a turkey right in the mouth!
The freedom to practice their religion and eat canned cranberry sauce without fear of persecution is exactly why the Pilgrims stole this land from the Indians. To say anything different is simply un-American!
Is it possible for me “Like” or +1 your reply? Am I playing with fire by mixing social medias?
Just made this, and omg.. it’s bitey and fresh and delicious… I want a turkey to smear this on RIGHT NOW. Noooo excuse for the canned gloop when a fresh sauce takes zero effort to slam together!