Original Recipe: Cranberry Sauce – The Bite

Welcome back to The Bite, Sheepshead Bites’ weekly column where we explore the foodstuffs of Sheepshead Bay. Each week we check out a different offering from one of the many restaurants, delis, food carts, bakeries, butchers, fish mongers, or grocers in our neighborhood. If it’s edible, we’ll take a bite

Today The Bite takes a break from the restaurant scene and hits the kitchen. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I’m busy putting together our annual feast, so I thought I’d share a recipe with you. This is my version of cranberry sauce. It’s extremely simple to make and tastes nothing like the canned version. Once you try it, you’ll never go back!

CRANBERRY SAUCE

• 1 12oz bag of cranberries, washed. Stems and bad berries removed.
• 1 cup of water.
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar.
• 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice.
• Pinch of salt.

Heat water and cranberries in a thick non-reactive pot and over medium heat until boiling. Add cinnamon, cloves and allspice and mix in thoroughly. Return mixture to boil and cook for about 20 minutes.

Stir frequently and do not allow mixture to burn. The berries will pop and break down forming a thick paste. Stir very frequently towards the end.

Remove berry mixture from heat and mash with an old fashioned potato masher, or use the back of a heavy spoon. I like my berries completely crushed, but if you can leave some whole if you prefer.

Return berry mixture to heat and mix in sugar and pinch of salt. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook for about 2 minutes.

The berry mixture will be very shiny and look and feel like melted jelly. Carefully pour mixture into a bowl. Be very careful when transferring the cranberry sauce to the bowl. It is very hot and will burn if it hits your skin. Refrigerate until firm – about 6 hours.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

For more original recipes, check out our sister site Bensonhurst Bean’s weekly feature Bensonhurst Kitchen!