Thanksgiving Prep Begins

This year I am hosting a big family Thanksgiving dinner.  I like to prepare as much in advance as possible and the cranberry sauce is usually the first thing I make.  I canned it this year since I made it more than two weeks in advance.
 I'll give you the recipe for one batch which makes about 3 pints.  Put 1-1/2 cups of sugar in a heavy pot.

 Add 1 cup of sugar, 4 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks and 1 cup of good port.

 Bring this to a boil and boil it until the sugar dissolves.

 Add 3 cups of cranberries.

 Add the zest of one orange.

 Add the juice from that orange.  Bring it back to a boil.  You will hear the cranberries begin to pop.  Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes until most of the cranberries have popped.  It will look thin but will thicken as it cools.  You can put this in an airtight container at this point and refrigerate it.  If you want to can it, add it to hot sterilized jars, wipe the rims and put the lids on.  Lower them into a pot of hot water and bring it to a boil.  Let them cook at a low boil for 15  minutes then remove them and sit them on a towel.  Let them cool.  You should hear the ping shortly after you remove them from the water.
 This is the best cranberry sauce I've ever tasted.  You can serve the leftovers on ice cream, on yogurt or on oatmeal.

Comments

Nellie said…
Yum! Loving that cranberry sauce!
I love cranberry sauce that includes an orange component!
marsha said…
I've been making this recipe exclusively since you first taught it to me. I forgot about a container of leftovers that I refrigerated last November, and when I discovered it a month ago, it was still delicious!
Anonymous said…
Cranberries grow here too but we don't eat them unless they are mixed in with Lingonberries, I'm pretty sure most people just think cranberries are big lingonbberries here :-) and lingonberries are a must to almost all food here :-)

Have a great day!
Christer.
Leanna said…
Oh, I love homemade cranberry sauce. That store bought garbage just doesn't cut it.
Lady M said…
This look good. I might have to try it. Have you ever made it in smaller quantities??
Jim said…
We always have cranberry sauce in the fridge. This recipe is a MUST try. Sounds and looks delicious!
Guillaume said…
I had almost forgotten American Thanksgiving is coming. I love cranberry sauce. I make my own for Christmas. So dead easy to make.
Anonymous said…
I bet it's that cup of port that makes it so good. Although I've made my own cranberry sauce for years, this year hubby bought a jar made by the food science department at Fresno State University and sold in their farm store. The stuff is unbelievably good. So, no more handmade. I'll let the college kids make mine!
ChgoJohn said…
They should erect a statue to that first cook that combined orange with cranberries. Never thought of preserving cranberries. I do have a few bags in my freezer, though. Cranberry sauce just ain't for turkey, ya know. :)
chickpea678 said…
Those little jars are so pretty filled with red cranberry sauce!