Mom's Cranberry Sauce

by Emily White November 7, 2023

A real conversation that happened between my mom & I:
Me: Mom can you teach me how to make your cranberry sauce?"
My mom: Yes, but it's written right on the bag of cranberries...
Me: No, way. Why is yours so different from any of the others I've had?
My mom: It isn't?
Me: Well just show me anyways.
My Mom: (proceeds to do nothing the bag says and changes everything about the recipe and still claims it's what the bag says)

My mom's cranberry sauce is citrusy, it's has a texture unlike others and it's TANGY. It's the condiment I want all over everything on my plate on turkey day because, as we all know, everything is pretty one note in flavor and texture. My mouth craves depth and variety. Maybe it's the Taurus in me? My mom's cranberry sauce brings brightness & texture to the table by using half the amount of sugar as most recipes and she leaves the orange rind on the orange. Yes, she uses the whole orange! Sound familiar? There is no cooking involved. It's all just pulsed in the food processor keeping the flavors fresh, almost relish-like.
Make sure to make it a day ahead or at least the morning of so it has time to sit and marinate in it's juices- this is key!
Here's how to make the best cranberry sauce!

*you will need a food processor
*make a day ahead or morning of

Ingredients
12 oz bag of fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 medium orange

Directions
1. Rinse cranberries and pat dry. Pick out any soft mushy ones, toss the bad ones.

2. Cut the orange into quarters and deseed. Place into food processor and pulse a couple times till the orange has broken down slightly.

3. Dump the cranberries and sugar into the food processor with the orange and pulse still you get a relish like consistency. Careful to not over pulse, you want a light crunchy texture.

4. Place your cranberry sauce into a bowl or jar and refrigerate till it's go time. When it is time to serve, mix up any of the juices and serve.

I know there are a lot of opinions on cranberry sauce. A lot of personal preferences. And this is mine. It's absolutely not traditional. It's 100% my moms recipe that she is in denial about. And I am SO happy to share it with you. Hope you try it. Maybe have your families recipe and this one as a second option?!
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Emily