The Easiest Cranberry Sauce

Preparation

If the retro cranberry jelly from the can is essential to your Thanksgiving, then please don’t let us stop you. However, we really can’t stress enough how easy it is to make a superb homemade cranberry sauce. This recipe has a hint of citrus and cinnamon, but it’s really about the cranberries. Here, we use both cooked and whole berries for the perfect texture. This sauce has a nice pourable consistency, but if you prefer a thicker, chunkier result, then feel free to reduce the amount of water by one-third.

1. In a HexClad 2 QT/2 L Hybrid Saucepan, combine the sugar with the salt, 3 cups/300 grams of the cranberries, and 1½ cups/355 ml of water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the citrus zest and cinnamon, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries pop and the sauce thickens slightly, about 20 minutes. 

2. Remove from the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice, orange juice, and the remaining 1 cup of cranberries. Let cool slightly and then scrape into a heatproof serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled—the sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve the cranberry sauce cold or at room temperature.