Cranberry Sauce

Better late than never, it may seem odd to bring you a recipe for cranberry sauce post Christmas day, however there is a method to my madness as this relates to my next post: Cranberry & White Chocolate Pie.

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This is the same sauce that I make every year in the run up to Christmas, it’s sweet, tart & spiced (& contains alcohol just for good measure). I honestly cannot imagine my Christmas turkey without its sweet partner in crime. Admittedly I even forgot to make the brussel sprouts this year (Christmas is busy!) but this can be forgiven, lack of sauce however, cannot.

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I always make a double quantity of this ruby condiment, some for feasting with Christmas dinner & endless servings or turkey & stuffing sandwiches up until new years. The rest is reserved for experimenting, mainly due to that fact than when you get right down to it, cranberry sauce is essentially a jam in disguise (I have Cranberries in abundance at this time of year, I love them).

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So better late than never, here’s my trusty recipe for a flavourful cranberry sauce. I like my cranberry sauce heady, it’s bitter-sweet with a little bit of spice, not something that will simply meld into the rest of your dinner unnoticed but it’ll hold its own, undeniably cutting through your turkey & gravy.

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CRANBERRY SAUCE

Ingredients:

  • 160g light muscovado sugar
  • 100 ml orange juice
  • 250g cranberries
  • 1 star anise
  • 50ml port or red wine (or another 50ml orange juice if you’d prefer to keep it alcohol free)
  • 30-50 ml boiling water

Method:

  • Place all of the ingredients into a large saucepan
  • Slowly melt the ingredients together before bringing to the boil, at this point the cranberries will begin to make a popping sound as they burst
  • Leave the mixture to simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes, after which the cranberries will have burst & the mixture will have started to thicken & become pulpy
  • If you prefer your sauce a little less chunky then use a masher or a fork to mash up the cranberries until smoother & set aside to cool a little
  • Once cooled, stir through enough of the boiling water to reach the consistency you like (I like mine a little thicker but still smooth enough to spread into some sandwiches on Boxing Day)
  • Decant into a clean, sterilised jar & leave to completely cool

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