Cookin' Canuck - Boozy Cranberry Sauce Recipe w/ Port Wine & Cloves (2024)

FAQs

How to jazz up jellied cranberry sauce? ›

Adding a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or orange zest, a tablespoon of chopped candied peel, or even a splash of juice to your canned sauce will brighten flavors and bring in some homemade flavor.

Plating a Can of Jellied Cranberry Sauce

The traditional way of serving jellied cranberry sauce is sliced into rounds. With the column set on its side, slice into ¼-inch thick rounds and then arrange the slices on a serving platter. Serve the slices plain, garnished as desired, or read on for easy upgrades.

A delicious silky sauce perfect for drizzling over a beef roast or wild game. This sauce is a reduction of a tawny port, red wine and beef stock and is perfect for when you're sharing a special dinner.

Canned cranberry sauce is delicious on its own, but there are ways you can dress it up for any meal. Adding fruits like oranges or berries brings different flavors and acidity to the sauce. Folding in crushed nuts at the end adds texture variety.

Cranberry sauce can be served either as a gooey liquid or as a solid jelly. The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid.

The traditional way to serve canned cranberry sauce is to slice the cylinder into rounds and arrange them on a platter.

Health Benefits

Cranberries are also rich in vitamin C and fiber, as well as the metabolism-boosting mineral manganese. And yes, you reap all these benefits whether the cranberry sauce on your holiday table is homemade or canned, jellied or whole-berry.

Cranberry sauce is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled. (You've got enough things on the menu to warm up! Don't make the list longer!) I tend to make cranberry sauce a few days before Thanksgiving and then set it on the table about an hour or two before we plan to eat.

After opening, remove from the can and store tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. We do not recommend freezing cranberry sauce, as after thawing, it may become too watery.

Cranberry sauce will last for two hours at room temperature. Homemade cranberry sauce will last in the fridge for 10 to 14 days. Canned cranberry sauce that has been opened will last up to a week in the fridge.

What alcohol is added to port wine? ›

Port is a Portuguese fortified wine that is made by adding distilled grape spirit, usually brandy, to a wine base. The addition of the high-alcohol spirit stops fermentation and “fortifies” the wine.

Port wine is typically richer, sweeter, heavier, and higher in alcohol content than unfortified wines. This is caused by the addition of distilled grape spirits that fortify the wine, but also halt fermentation before all the sugar is converted to alcohol, and results in a wine that is usually 19% to 20% alcohol.

The best Marsala wines come from the region of Italy where the wine gets its name, the area surrounding the city of Marsala. Unlike sherry and port, Marsala has a unique complexity that sets it apart, and since it is made in both dry and sweet varieties, it the perfect choice for cooking, from sweet to savory meals.

Maple syrup, brown sugar and even honey can make your cranberry sauce more dynamic. And don't forget the spices! Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, citrus zest and star anise all work well with cranberries and can be added while the sauce cooks to infuse your sauce with flavor.

Cranberry Lemonade. Squeeze the lemon and add to soda water and cranberry juice. Combine in a glass and stir! I hope these simple yet tasty drinks have inspired you to whip up your own healthy versions in the kitchen.

If your cranberry sauce comes out tasting too bitter, don't reach for the sugar. Granulated sugar might make the situation worse, especially if you don't have time to reheat the sauce so the sugar can dissolve properly. Instead, reach for another sweetener: maple syrup.