Prepful
Bright & Tangy Cranberry Orange Sauce
Deep ruby-red, jeweled with whole and half-popped berries suspended in a glossy, spoonable gel, flecked with orange zest. It hits tart first, then rounds into warm citrus and spice with just enough sweetness to keep you going back for another spoonful. Ten minutes of work makes a sauce that tastes nothing like the can and everything like the holidays.
Ingredients
Makes 33 tbsp · about 4 tbsp per serving
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 150g
- 1 tbsp orange zest 6g
- ½ cup fresh orange juice 120g
- ¼ cup water 60g
- 1 strip orange peel 4g
- 1 cinnamon stick 2g
- 12 oz fresh cranberries 340g
- ¼ tsp kosher salt 2g
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter 14g
Steps
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Step 1
Zest the orange over a small bowl until you have 1 Tbsp. of zest, then juice the orange to get ½ cup; set both aside. With a vegetable peeler, cut one 2-inch strip of peel from the orange, leaving the bitter white pith behind.
- 1 striporange peel
-
Step 2
In a medium saucepan, rub the sugar, orange zest, and salt together with your fingertips until the sugar smells strongly of orange and looks damp and sandy, about 30 seconds. This blooms the citrus oils so the flavor runs through the whole sauce instead of sitting on top.
- ¾ cupgranulated sugar
- 1 tbsporange zest
- ¼ tspkosher salt
-
Step 3
Add orange juice, water, the strip of orange peel, and the cinnamon stick to the saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely, about 2 minutes.
- ½ cupfresh orange juice
- ¼ cupwater
- 1 striporange peel
- 1cinnamon stick
- ¾ cupgranulated sugar
-
Step 4
Add the cranberries and return to a lively simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until you hear the berries begin to pop and most have split but a quarter still hold their shape, 8 to 10 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat the moment it looks like loose, chunky jam — overcooking turns it to dull paste.
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Step 5
Fish out the orange peel and cinnamon stick with tongs and discard. Stir in the butter until it melts and the sauce turns glossy. Taste and adjust: a squeeze more orange juice if it's too sweet, a pinch of sugar if it's aggressively tart, a pinch of salt to sharpen the fruit.
- 1 striporange peel
- 1cinnamon stick
- 1 tbspunsalted butter
- ½ cupfresh orange juice
- ¾ cupgranulated sugar
- ¼ tspkosher salt
-
Step 6
Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 2 hours — it thickens to a spoonable gel as it chills. Serve cold or at room temperature alongside roast turkey, chicken, or pork. Keeps refrigerated up to 1 week; bring to room temperature and stir before serving.
Nutritional info
Per serving · about 4 tbsp (63 g)
Estimated nutritional value per serving. Not medical advice. Learn more.
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