This is how the decision to make cranberry sauce from scratch came to be. We were watching "Food Network Thanksgiving something or other" and apparently cranberry sauce baffles the masses. I admit, I didn't know how to make it, but after watching an elaborate display of douchebaggery, [The Now Former Male] spoke up:
him: we should try making that
me: it can't be that difficult if those two morons can do it
the next day
him: I got some cranberries and cranberry juice
me: okay, and?
him: let's make cranberry sauce
me: oooh! yes! smooth or chunky?
him: you know I love cranberry so I'm gonna say chunky
me: done deal
Had I known it was this easy, I would have done this years ago.
Most recipes call for water. We decided to up the anty and use cranberry juice instead. I think the only thing I'd do differently next time is add another half a cup of sugar because this came out a tiny bit more bitter than I like, but [The Now Former Male] loved it and I have a bit of a sweet tooth. However, it did go extremely well with turkey as it was so maybe there would be no change.
THE NIBBLES:
Ingredients
2 bags fresh cranberries
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups cranberry juice
You can reduce this by half if you have a smaller brood to feed.
Pour the cranberry juice and sugar into a pot and bring to a boil. Rinse and drain the cranberries (I found a few bits of twig-like items and some mushy berries so I'm glad I took this step.) Pour cranberries into the boiling sugar juice combo. Bring back to a boil. The skins on the berries will start popping and cracking open almost immediately. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will look like this:
Turn the heat off and let the berry mix cool for a few minutes.
If you want smooth cranberry sauce:
Take a wire mesh strainer and put it over a bowl. Gradually pour the cranberry mixture through the strainer and use a large spoon to mash the berries against the strainer. Scrape off the outside of the strainer as you go to collect the yummy bits. Repeat until you've done this to the entire pot.
Let bowl cool to room temperature then set in fridge for several hours.
If you want chunky cranberry sauce:
Once you've turned the heat off, take a potato masher and smash the berries. Don't pulverize them, just smash them a bit. It should only take 6 or 7 smashes to achieve the desired consistency. I did not want any whole berries so I ran a spoon through and anytime I found a whole one, I pushed it against the side of the pot to pop it.
Pour into bowl and let cool to room temperature, then set in fridge for several hours.
And just like that, you have cranberry sauce. That's it. 20 minutes of minimal effort.
We opted for chunky:
