T-Day with The83K: tell the truth—you'd put cranberry sauce on everything if you could.
A guide to cranberry sauce, and some of the many, many ways you can make it even more delicious
After writing almost a month’s worth of Thanksgiving-related posts, I need to confess something: my enthusiasm for turkey, stuffing, potatoes, Brussels sprouts, “yams,” all of it — it’s all just an excuse for me to slather tangy, sweet, bracingly acidic cranberry sauce on everything. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s the first holiday dish I figured out how to do well, or because it’s stupidly delicious. What I know for sure is every bite of Thanksgiving dinner tastes incomplete without it.
If cranberry sauce is part of your Thanksgiving (and while you don’t owe anyone an explanation if it’s not, just know that I am judging you and, goddammit Karen, you can do better), it’s likely you’re probably using some variant on the classic cranberry sauce recipe (which is usually printed on the bag and is perfectly serviceable.) Below, you will find a tastier version of this, a version my family (and possibly yours) has been using for decades — what we’ll call a master recipe for simple, delicious cranberry sauce — followed by a handful of tweaks, as well as some other recipes of note.
I hope your table finds room for one or more of these — and, if you like, a can of the jiggly stuff, if only for nostalgia’s sake — and room on your plate and in your belly for as much of it as you’re craving. Enjoy, friends!
Cranberry Sauce [master recipe]
(for best results, make the day before Thanksgiving)
2 cups sugar
2 cups orange juice
2 12-ounce packages cranberries, rinsed and dried
zest of one orange, minced
Combine sugar and orange juice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and add cranberries. Bring back to a boil. Reduce heat. Add zest and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until all cranberries have popped. Cover and cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Makes 4-5 cups. (I assume you’ll want extra to send home with your guests, as well as a base for some Thanksgiving cocktails, yeah?)
Variations
Holiday spice: after first boil step, add in one or more of the following:
cinnamon
ground cloves
grated ginger
Pomegranate: sub out half the OJ in master recipe with pomegranate juice. After sauce has cooled, stir in a half cup of pomegranate arils.
Almond: prepare master recipe. Add slivered almonds after sauce has cooled.
Dried Fruit: Feel free to lob in some chopped dried apricots, dried cherries, craisins, golden currants, dried figs or prunes immediately after sauce finished cooking. Make sure fruit is chopped relatively finely.
Balsamic: for some complexity and layers of sweetness and acidity, stir in a tablespoon or two of balsamic syrup at the end of cooking master recipe.
Honey and/or Maple: in master recipe, swap out OJ for water, and substitute 1/4 to 1/3 cup of sugar with honey or maple syrup.
Garam masala: during the simmer step of the master recipe, add in a teaspoon or two of garam masala — especially good with ginger and dried fruit (thanks, Aparna)
Additional Cranberry Sauce/Relish Recipes:
Monica’s sweet and savory take: put cranberries in a food processor, along with a little red onion, lime juice, serrano pepper and cilantro. Add 1/4 cup sugar or more and a little salt to taste.
Cranberry Horseradish Relish (thanks, Tony)
Cabernet Cranberry and Blueberry Sauce (thanks, Nora)
Susan Stamberg's Cranberry Relish Recipe (thanks, Geoffrey and a bunch of other folks)
Orange Maple Cranberry Sauce (thanks, Kari)
Of course this cranberry sauce recipe from Cigar Aficionado features bourbon. (thanks, Jim)
Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce (thanks, Lori)
Cranberry-Orange Relish with Ginger (thanks, Ficus)
and finally, my friend Elizabeth’s dad’s recipe for Cranberry Chutney:
1 cup orange juice
12-16 ounces fresh cranberries
1 juice orange, pitted and finely chopped (skin and all)
12 dried apricots, chopped
¾ -1 ½ cups honey
About ½ tsp ground cardamom
Cook orange juice, cranberries, and chopped orange over medium heat until berries begin to pop. Add all other ingredients and simmer about 10 minutes until chutney begins to thicken.
— Theo.
The83K Guide to Thanksgiving:
Why you should consider a non-oven roasted turkey at Thanksgiving
Side Dishes, Pt. 1 — veggies that can stand up to stuffing and pie
Mashed potatoes, three ways
You can do ALL OF THE THINGS — a Thanksgiving how-to round-up
Side Dishes, Pt. 2 — crowd pleasers and weird stuff your guests will love.
Dressing/Stuffing — the undisputed champ of Thanksgiving side dishes
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