In this recipe:
- A spiced cranberry sauce that's savory first, sweet second
- Orange, chipotle, and baking spices with caramelized Demerara sugar
- Staged cooking for texture—some berries break down, some stay whole
- Why cranberry sauce should be more than Thanksgiving obligation
- What to drink alongside
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The Story
Cranberry sauce gets treated as a Thanksgiving obligation, often on the table only because it's supposed to be there. I internalized that from a pretty young age and usually avoided it. Why eat something no one actually wants?
But this year I had a change of heart and volunteered to make it myself. If cranberry sauce has to be on the table, shouldn't it be great?
The problem: I couldn't find a recipe that felt right. Most were either too simple or too sweet. What I had in mind had depth and complexity, with only enough sugar to balance the acidity and enhance the aromatics.
So I wrote my own. It was excellent on the Thanksgiving table—perfect with turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes. Also surprisingly good the next morning with breakfast potatoes and eggs. The dish only gets better as time goes on and the flavors mingle.
Now I'm planning to make it again for Christmas, embracing fresh cranberry season until its very end. It's that good.
Spiced Cranberry Sauce
Makes about 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- Salt
- 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder
- Juice and zest of 1 orange (about 1/4 cup juice and 1-2 teaspoons zest)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 12 oz fresh cranberries
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the aromatics. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5-7 minutes. Add ginger and continue stirring, another 3 minutes.
- Caramelize the sugar. Push shallot mixture to the side. Add Demerara sugar to the middle of the pan and let it caramelize until the sugar starts to melt, 3-4 minutes.
- Bloom the spices and deglaze. Stir in allspice, nutmeg, and chipotle powder and briefly bloom the spices (30 seconds or so—you'll smell them wake up). Add orange juice, water, and vinegar to deglaze, scraping up the caramelized bits. Add 8 ounces of the cranberries (a little more than half) and the cinnamon stick.
- Boil, simmer, reduce. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer. Cook until cranberries burst and sauce begins to thicken, 7-8 minutes.
- Second addition. Add remaining 4 oz cranberries and simmer until they just burst, 3-4 minutes more.
- Finish. Stir in orange zest, a fresh grating of nutmeg, and a few cracks of black pepper. Taste and adjust salt and sugar as needed. (I went with one additional tablespoon.) Remove from heat and discard cinnamon stick.
- Cool and serve. Refrigerate until ready to serve. It keeps well for a week.
Why It Works
A few techniques make this different from standard cranberry sauce recipes.
Caramelized sugar in the pan
This is a technique I picked up from Jamaican oxtail stew recipes—I've since learned it's fairly common across Caribbean cooking. You caramelize sugar directly in the pot before building the sauce. It gives depth—the sugar develops toffee and caramel flavor beyond just sweetness.
You can remove the shallots from the pan first for a cleaner process (better if you're making this at scale or in a restaurant setting where you need a repeatable batch process). But for a single batch at home, just push the shallots aside and let the Demerara do its thing.
Staged cranberry cooking
Adding berries in two batches gives you textural contrast: some cook down completely and release their pectin to thicken the sauce, some still hold their shape and burst when you bite into them. It takes three extra minutes and makes a real difference.
The spice mix
Allspice, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, chipotle—these give the sauce depth and complexity so the sweetness has something to do other than just taste sweet. The chipotle is subtle; you're not going for heat, just a faint smokiness in the background. If anyone identifies it as chipotle specifically, you've gone too far.
Vinegar
A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar keeps the sauce from tipping sweet. Cranberries are already tart, but vinegar adds a different kind of acidity—brighter. It's the difference between a condiment that cuts through rich food and one that sits on top of it.
What to Drink With It
We spend a lot of time at Casamara thinking about what makes a good pairing—with food, but also alongside food. The philosophy is straightforward: drinks and condiments both support the main meal, not become the meal themselves. This cranberry sauce does that. So does what you're drinking.
For the holiday table, I'd reach for Onda. It's our Sicilian-style botanical soda—sage, rhubarb, chinotto, lemon—and it has more body than our other flavors, driven by the herbaceous character. That makes it especially good for pairing with rich, heavy holiday food. The sage-rhubarb profile complements the spiced cranberry without competing with it.
Cold, over ice or not, served in whatever glass you have.
If you're hosting and want options for guests who aren't drinking alcohol, the dinner party guide we published earlier has a more comprehensive breakdown. But for this meal, Onda is where I'd start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I make this ahead?
A: Yes—it actually improves after a day or two in the refrigerator as the flavors meld. Make it up to a week ahead and store covered in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before serving, or serve cold.
Q: How long does it keep?
A: About a week refrigerated. The vinegar and sugar act as preservatives. You can also freeze it for up to three months.
Q: Can I use frozen cranberries?
A: Yes. Don't thaw them first—add them frozen and add a minute or two to the cooking time. Fresh cranberries are widely available through December, so you have time.
Q: Is cranberry sauce just for Thanksgiving?
A: No. Most people think of it as Thanksgiving-only because it's treated as obligatory rather than something worth making well. But cranberry season runs through December, and this recipe is good enough to make all season long.
Q: What can I serve this with besides turkey?
A: Prime rib, pork, chicken, duck, cheese boards, mashed potatoes, breakfast potatoes and eggs (highly recommended), or anywhere you'd use chutney. It's a condiment—use it with any American holiday dinner staple.
Q: Why add the cranberries in two batches?
A: Texture. The first batch cooks down and thickens the sauce; the second batch holds its shape and gives you whole berries that burst when you bite into them. It takes an extra three minutes and makes a noticeable difference.
Q: Is this very spicy?
A: No. The chipotle adds depth before it adds heat or smoke. At 1/8 teaspoon you won't identify it as "spicy"—it just adds complexity. If you're sensitive to heat, you can omit it entirely and the sauce will still work.
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