This Easy Cranberry Sauce Recipe Is Ready to Use.

Thanksgiving has a reputation for endless pickling techniques, divisive side dishes, and contentious relatives. It’s no surprise that hosting can be stressful. If you don’t have the “Right Stuffing” , that is. This series is all about the Thanksgiving meal, and will help you create dishes that will show up on your table year after year, even if it doesn’t help you cope with the in-laws.

Canned cranberry sauce is a common choice at Thanksgiving—you’ve probably been eating it for years. But have you ever felt a little curious? Have you ever wondered after Thanksgiving, “Can I make cranberry sauce?” Well, you can and you should. (No need to argue about this. If you’re a jelly-in-a-jar kind of person, this article isn’t for you. Or is it?)

The ubiquitous red sauce is a must for any Thanksgiving spread and is remarkably easy to make, but it’s also ripe for a riff. You can easily add a little orange, a little cinnamon, or a little cabernet. All you need is a place to start and a sense of adventure (and a cranberry). Use this easy cranberry sauce recipe as a base and personalize it however you like.

What makes this recipe easy?

Sometimes simple is best, and that’s the case with the following recipe. Just when you think, “What’s next?” the recipe is finished. This cranberry sauce only has three essential ingredients: cranberries, sugar and water. No cornstarch, no sauce, and no fancy thickeners. Fresh cranberries naturally contain a lot of pectin, a soluble plant fiber that is often used in making jam as a thickening and gelling agent. You can buy pectin commercially, but cranberries contain plenty of it. This means this is one part of the Thanksgiving meal you don’t have to worry about.

How to make cranberry sauce

Add three cups of fresh or frozen whole cranberries to a medium saucepan along with the sugar and water. Increase the heat to medium and let the mixture simmer for about 10 minutes. As soon as the mixture boils, start stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, keeping an eye on the process so that the berries do not burn.

The sauce will bubble and the berries will crack and swell. Towards the end of cooking, use a rubber spatula to press the now soft berries to the bottom or sides of the pan to release the juice and pectin. Turn off the heat and let the sauce cool to room temperature and… you’re done. After cooling, the sauce will become thick, tart and a beautiful garnet-red color, with translucent candied fruits scattered throughout. This is a simple but perfect cranberry sauce, and you can enjoy it that way—sweet and tart, simple and proud. Or you can customize it.

Here are some tips for making a more exciting (equally filling) sauce.

How to make your own cranberry sauce

Turn off the liquid. It’s easy to add a twist to this recipe. Cranberries and sugar are non-negotiable (trust me, you need sugar), but liquid is a variable. I can have fun with you. Instead of water, substitute orange juice (or apple juice if you want a milder flavor). For thicker fruit products such as nectars, try a half-and-half mixture of water and nectar, or prepare cranberry sauce as above.

You can also add alcohol, wine or liqueurs to the liquid component. Since alcohol can vary in strength and composition, keep it at about 25% or less of the total liquid. I would suggest using a juicy Pinot Noir or gamay with soft tannins – something that pairs well with turkey. To give the sauce a bitter, herbaceous note, add a little Campari to the sauce .

Season with dry spices. Give cranberry sauce a sophisticated twist by adding whole spices and adding a whole cinnamon stick, dry chilies, cardamom pods, cloves or star anise. For a richer flavor, first add the spices to the pan with all the other ingredients and prepare the sauce as usual. For a lighter flavor, you can add spices immediately after the sauce has thickened and turn off the heat. Let the spice sauce cool. You can take it out after 10 minutes of soaking or leave it there until you serve it.

If you’re using a lot of spices or something small like cloves, you can make a small pouch out of doubled cheesecloth to store them in and take them out after soaking. Place the spices in the center and gather the corners and edges. If you can, tie it in a knot or use a piece of kitchen string to tie the top. Dip this bundle into cranberry sauce to cook or to soak after cooking. You can even use a tea bag if you’re intrigued by the flavor (English breakfast cranberry sauce, anyone?). Once you have reached your desired steeping time, remove the bag.

Add flavorful fresh ingredients. Similar to spices, you can add aromatic ingredients while making the sauce or later when the sauce has cooled. Personally, I prefer to simmer them after the sauce has been removed from the heat. Try adding large strips of orange zest or my favorite, a 1-inch piece of peeled ginger. Store aromatics in large pieces to make them easier to remove.

Add endurance. Extracts can add a subtle warmth and flavor to your cranberry sauce, but they are powerful and can lead to bitter notes (of which cranberry sauce already has plenty), so carefully add half a teaspoon of extract to the cranberry sauce after it comes from the heat. Try vanilla extract, cinnamon extract, or a little almond extract. Let the mixture cool and then taste it. Add more if you like.

Here’s that basic recipe again, just in case. If necessary, it can be cut in half, doubled or tripled. Once the sauce has cooled, serve it at room temperature or package it in a container and store it in the refrigerator for about a week. You can also freeze it for up to three months.

Easy cranberry sauce recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cranberries (about 12 ounces)

• 1 cup of sugar

• 1 cup water (replace with other liquids mentioned above)

• Additional spices, flavorings, juices or aromatics

In a medium saucepan, add cranberries, sugar and wet ingredients. Add any additional ingredients mentioned above that you want to cook at the same time. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once the berries begin to pop and the liquid begins to bubble, crush the berries with a spatula or spoon. After about 10 minutes, when the mixture has boiled and thickened and the berries have all been crushed, turn off the heat. Add any other flavorful ingredients you want to add to the sauce while it cools. Once the sauce is at room temperature, serve or store.

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