Impress the family with homemade cranberry sauce!

[Fritzo]

I learned to make a caramelized cranberry sauce from the chef of a Radison hotel some 20 years ago, and I've made it every year since. It's a great treat, inexpensive. easy to make:

- In a large stainless steel or anodized frying pan, caramelize 4 cups of sugar

If you've never caramelized sugar, simply pour the sugar into the pan on med-high heat. It will eventually melt and turn into a dark brown, thick liquid. DO NOT use a utensil to stir...shake the pan back and forth.​

- When the caramel starts to boil, add 16 oz. of fresh cranberries and shake the pan until they're all coated.
- Let simmer for a minute or two, then add a few splashes of a deglazing liquid. Suggestions are: port wine, white wine, brandy, spiced rum (my favorite), or apple cider.
- Peel and chop 1 LG apple and add to the sauce. Use a sweet, crisp apple such as a fuji or a honeycrisp.
- use a cheese grater and grate the zest from an orange into the sauce
- cut that same orange in half and squeeze the juice into the sauce (be careful no seeds get in!)
- add 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
- add a pinch of salt and simmer the sauce until it's a little thicker than maple syrup, then pour into a bowl.
- let it cool for at least 2 hours before serving, or (better) make it 2-3 days ahead of time and let it sit in the refrigerator, just bring it up to room temp. before serving.

The cranberry sauce has a beautiful deep red color,with the white apples giving a contrasting highlight, and the walnuts supplying some texture. This should yield about 2-3 cups, or enough for 4-6 people.

Enjoy!

 

[DrPizza]

Awesome! Thanks. Nothing I hate more than cranberry jello from a can. That should be a big improvement for Thursday.

 

[BladeVenom]

I like them plain, sugar, water, and cranberries.

 

[Anubis]

how tart is this? the main reason i don't like homemade cranberry sauce is the tartness

i enjoy the jelly like stuff in the can

 

[GoodRevrnd]

This is pretty damn close to the way my family has always made it. This is a very good cranberry sauce. I don't know how tart this specifically is, but ours always stays pretty tart still. You can always add more sugar until it's finally sweet enough for you.

 

[Fritzo]

how tart is this? the main reason i don't like homemade cranberry sauce is the tartness

i enjoy the jelly like stuff in the can

It's fairly sweet actually. You can add some grapejuice while it's cooking to make it sweeter.

Also, be careful not to burn it. Caramel goes from perfect to burned quickly.

 

[HomerSapien]

Crock pot 2 bags of fresh cranberries (well, fresh for a desert) with some sugar and water. Like everything else from the crock pot, it is sensational and smells wonderful.

That recipe does sound good.

 

[yhelothar]

I made Alton Brown's recipe last thanksgiving. I still have some leftover in the fridge.

 

[BladeVenom]

I made Alton Brown's recipe last thanksgiving. I still have some leftover in the fridge.

Start one of those, "I ate **** will I be OK?" threads.

 

[Howard]

I made Alton Brown's recipe last thanksgiving. I still have some leftover in the fridge.

I tried his recipe but it was way too sour for me. Last time I bought frozen cranberries I used the recipe on the package and it surprisingly turned out very well.