How To

How to Make Cranberry Orange Sauce

Contributor

By Christina Hamlett
eHow Contributing Writer

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(2 Ratings)

Cranberry sauce has long been a tradition at Thanksgiving tables across America. Here's a mouthwatering recipe that will kick-start the flavor and provide a nice complement to your holiday bird.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Stove
Medium sized saucepan
Wooden spoon for stirring
Storage container with lid
One 12 oz bag of frozen cranberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons orange zest
1/2 orange juice (w/o) pulp

How to Make Cranberry Orange Sauce

Step 1

Empty bag of thawed cranberries into a medium-sized saucepan. Pour in orange juice and add sugar and orange zest.
Step 2

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to gently stir until the consistency is similar to that of jam. (This will take about 20-25 minutes)
Step 3

Transfer the mixture to a storage container with a tight lid. Place in the refrigerator. The ingredients provided will yield approximately 2 cups of cranberry orange sauce.
Step 4

Serve cold. For a warmer version, reheat by pouring the sauce into a heat resistant bowl. Place the bowl in a stove-top pan with about 2 inches of simmering water.

Tips & Warnings

Orange zest is a wonderfully convenient invention because it keeps your fingertips from being chewed up if you're using a regular grater on the skin of an orange. If you're a glutton for such punishment, however, you can substitute a medium-size orange and stop when you've reached 4 tablespoons.
Fresh cranberries from a local farmers' market will work just as well as frozen ones. Preparing them for cooking, however, takes a tad longer because you'll need to rinse them thoroughly in a colander first to make sure you've removed all the stems.
Any holiday meal is going to take lots of preparation and the more things you can do in advance, the easier your life will be. This cranberry-orange sauce can be prepared 3-4 weeks in advance and seems to absorb even more of the orange flavor while it's biding its time in the refrigerator.
In the event you have some of this sauce left over after Thanksgiving (and there's a good chance you probably won't), dollop a bit of it on top of some cream cheese spread on a cracker. It's a great marriage of flavors.

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