Homemade Cranberry Sauce in under 15 minutes

It just wouldn't be thanks giving without cranberry sauce, especially to put on my Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. But for some reason, many people still buy the canned stuff. Fresh cranberry sauce is so easy to make its crazy. Best part, you can either make it ahead, freeze it until Thanksgiving, or if you make it fresh and freeze the leftovers. It’s a win-win recipe. Best part it takes only takes 15 minutes to make and 30 minutes to cool. Done and done. It takes longer than that to find it in the grocery store.

One of the nice things about this recipe is that it’s very customize-able to your family’s pallet. In this version I've use honey, orange juice and crystallized ginger. But I have made it in the past with a sweet white wine and apples, which is also delicious.  By using fresh cranberries, the sauce still gets a jelly like consistency because when  the cranberries pop open during cooking, they release pectin, which is a natural way to make jelly or jams. 

Once you try this recipe, you'll never go back.

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

 

2 oranges Juiced and zest

1/2 cup honey

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 tsp. salt

2 or 3 pieces of whole crystallized ginger, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 12 oz. bag fresh cranberries or roughly 4 cups if you pick your own

In a sauce pot, combine the juice and zest from the orange, honey, cinnamon stick, salt and ginger and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the mixture is simmering, add in the cranberries and bring it to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, cover with a tight fitting lid and lower heat to a simmer. Stirring the mixture occasionally. You’ll  start to hear the cranberries begin popping. Cook for about 15 minutes or until you think all the berries have popped open. Remove from heat, take out the cinnamon stick, and stir the mixture. Taste; if it is too tart, you can add in some more honey (or sugar) 1 Tbsp. at a time. You can serve this dish warm, at room temp, or refrigerate and serve cold. It’s delicious anyway you serve it.

Freezing - If you’re making ahead of time, you can either keep in the fridge or freeze. If you are going to freeze, place in a freezer safe container, place plastic wrap on the sauce then place the lid on to prevent freezer burn. This mixture will expand so be sure to leave enough head room about 1/2 inch. Or you can freeze using the ice cube method. But be sure to remove from the Ice cube trays when frozen and place in a labeled freezer bag with all the air squeezed out to prevent freezer burn. The cranberry sauce will remain slightly soft even when frozen. This is because of the pectin. It’s normal, you didn't do anything wrong. 

Thawing- You can just take out and thaw on the counter until you are ready to serve, or in the refrigerator if you prefer it cold. If you want to serve it warm, place in a sauce pot, add 1/4 cup orange juice bring to a simmer. Stir together and serve warm.