Cassis Cranberry Sauce

This delicious liqueur, otherwise known as black current liqueur can be found at most liquor stores. It will be in the same section as other liqueurs. Ribena or any other black current concentrate, can be found in some of the major grocery stores. I actually buy it regularly at Costco. Same great taste as the liqueur only it's a 1/4 of the price (and of course no alcohol). If you cannot fine either, you could just add a bit more orange juice. You will not end up with the same result but it will still be very nice.

Really nice twist on cranberry sauce the orange juice and creme de cassis really gave a nice tast without losing the wonderful taste of the cranberry itself,try it out its really good.

i didn't have cassis, but neverless, it's very tasty! i just made it, and can't wait to serve it.

I would love to make this, but we can't have any citrus at Thanksgiving. My sister in law is breastfeeding and her baby daughter breaks out in a horrible rash with ANY citrus. I would appreciate any substitute. Thank you!

The orange just adds a bit of orangy flavor and a bit of acid. I'd suggest replacing the acid with about 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar and adjusting the sugar a bit if you need to at the end (but I don't think you will need to at all).

I tried this recipe and found that there was a very tarty/bitter after taste. The initial taste is really good but after you swallow it leaves a bitter after taste. I'm pretty sure that its the bitterness of the cranberries coming out. Is there anything I can do to mellow out the bitterness? Should I be buying a specific brand of cranberries or check that they are ripe enough? Thank you.

I would suggest that you simply add some more sugar. If you have made it already, make a simple syrup, which is just equal parts sugar and water. Try 1/2 cup of water and sugar, bring to a boil, stir until the sugar is dissolved fully (careful very hot and can spatter given it's syrupy texture). Then heat up your cranberry sauce and add a bit of the simple syrup at a time until that bitter after taste goes away. It should. And yes.. it's probably because the berries were not fully ripe but they are bitter regardless.

Quick, easy and delicious!

I am wondering if you can freeze this or other cranberry sauces for later use. I am hoping to make cranberry sauce a couple weeks ahead of thanksgiving. I would like to freeze half for Thanksgiving and the other half for Christmas. I also want to know how long cranberry sauce can be kept in the refridgerator?

Yes you can freeze cranberry sauce. It will also keep for quite sometime in the refrigerator. I have some Cranberry Sauce, that I made a while back (over a month ago) and it is still fine.

I love cranberries, so good, wish I can use year round, as I use them in everything (jellies, breads, sauces, drinks) but find them only in the fall. I have been told I can freeze entire bags of cranberries for many months. Can you comment? In making cran sauce, the orange is a wonderful addition, I also add lemon juice, why this works I don't know. In addition, we stew some apples, add those to the sauce, as well as a bit of sweet English sherry. And, a tab of butter. That gives it a wonderful texture, smoothness. I suppose it's a very unorthodox sinful cranberry compote then. Cranberries are wonderful, can "hold their own" and carry off a lot of other tastes.

For sure you can freeze the cranberries. They will last for quite sometime. If you have a vacuum-sealer machine, the cranberries will last even longer in the freezer.

I have always used the recipe on the bag of cranberries and my family has always loved it--now after all these years you have given me an even better recipe. We just love it. Thank you.

My liquor store only sells large bottles of Cassis, is there another option to use?

The recipe states that you can use any blackcurrant flavoring. Ribena is a popular, non-alcoholic brand that is common in many supermarkets. We have substituted this with great results. Happy cooking!

The recipe sounds delicious. I have substituted orange juice for water and have introduced a wee dram of Gran Marnier to the mix. Love this site!!!!

In our house the OJ version of cranberry sauce recipes won hands down. One cup of OJ, cloves, cinammon, a bit of lemon juice, 1 cup sugar (half and half brown and white) - and a tad of fruit liqeur of choice - makes for the best cranberry jam this side of the swamp. We have 6 jam jars of cranberry sauce with 6 different liquer adds, of varying consistency, from saucy to jammy, and it goes good on buttermilk crepes too.

Could I substitute Chambrod for Cassis?

Yes, you can. Chambord, which is a black raspberry liqueur, would be a great substitute.

Thank you, I went ahead and used Chambord instead of Cassis and used lemon juice instead of orange and a pinch of allspice with a cinnamon stick, it is the best cranberry sauce I have tasted!!! Again thank you, and happy Thanksgiving.

Are the cranberries supposed to be "popping"?

Yes they should pop / breakup a bit. Otherwise it will be too chunky and it won't be fully cooked. Joe

Just finished my sauce and I can't keep the fingers out of the yummy stuff. Thanks for a simple, delicious recipe!

As someone who was not familiar with Cranberry sauce, I am wondering the food it is suppose to complement. Turkey and potatoes are served with gravy. The green beans usually have their own flavor. I would appreciate any insight for I don't really have a use for it. I will definitively try this recipe, I was never too fond of the ones that I have tried. Thanks again for your wonderful educational role.

Cranberries go well with many types of poultry, pork and can be combined with many other types of fruits, cheese and nuts. I recommend that you pick up a book called the "Flavor Bible" by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It is an excellent reference book that provides plenty of suggestions on how to pair flavors and what foods go well together. Cheers!

Dear Kimberly, Thanks for the comment...I do have the book and I will check it out. I guess my real confusion is if, when served with turkey, the cranberry sauce is to be used instead of the gravy or combined with the gravy. I find it unusual to have both sauces on the plate to complement the meat. But again, I am not familiar with the tradition. Thanks for your input.

I have to say that I cannot imagine a turkey dinner without gravy or cranberry sauce. Yes, the two are totally different but if a bit of gravy mixes in with a bit of cranberry sauce and they wind up together on a piece of turkey, this would not make me sad. It's a savory/sweet/tart and lovely combination. Cheers!

Dear Kimberly, Thank you so much! I get it. I will be less afraid of mixing them now. Your cranberry sauce recipe opened other possibilities that I did not have with the puree I have tried up to now.

How would this recipe be using Grand Marnier in place of the Cassis?

Grand Marnier and cranberries are friends, so if you enjoy these flavors, by all means, try it out. Because Grand Marnier can be a bit stronger, start with half the amount and taste it before adding more. Cheers!

1. Is the Ribena used straight from the bottle or diluted as per the label? 2. I was only able to find frozen cranberries. Are there any issues or modifications I should be aware of? Thank-you for the great site.

Funny you should ask this today, as I just made this sauce yesterday using frozen cranberries and Ribena straight from the bottle. There was no noticeable difference between the frozen cranberries and the fresh I have used in the past. Cheers! p.s. You are most welcome Matthew and thanks for your kind words!

Thank-you for the quick and helpful response, Dawn. I'm making roast turkey and fixings for my Girlfriend's birthday tomorrow (our first one together), and I'm planning to make this ahead tonight. Matt

You are so sweet Matthew. I am sure your girlfriend will love it! Have a great dinner. Cheers!

After the cranberry sauce is finished, I want to puree the sauce. Has anybody done that?

I have not done this myself, but it should work out just fine. If you are looking for a really smooth consistency, you may want to strain the sauce after you puree it. With that said, it would also be nice just pureed — without straining I mean. Hope that helps. Cheers!

what do you think about blackberry ginger balsamic in place of cassis liqueur?

While I have not tried that particular balsamic, it does sound interesting. Note that if you do decide to use it, it will likely change the color of the cranberry sauce due to the dark color of balsamic — maybe just start with a little bit and adjust as needed. Hope that helps. Cheers!

I didn't think about that thanks Dawn. I only have one shot at making this side dish riight. I thihk I will purchase a bottle of cassis.

If you don't want to use Creme de Cassis, you can also use something like Ribena, which is a blackcurrant concentrate. It's significantly cheaper and it still works really well in the recipe. You should be able to find it in most or at least in many, grocery stores. Cheers!

what section of the supermarket would the ribena be located.? I have called the supermarkets and they do not carry it or ever heard of it.

I've personally had the most luck finding this in eastern European and Russian style markets. A good international market should have it with their drinks, juices and nectars and such. Depending where you live, you may be better off referring to it as "blackcurrant concentrate" so they know what is you are referring to in broad terms. Ribena is a brand name, but there are other similar products on the market. Cheers!

Hi.. Could you give me some directive on hot to make a jellied version if this recipie as a family member likes jellied cranberry sauce. Thx much!

To make the a jellied cranberry sauce, you will need to add a bit of gelatin or pectin to the sauce. If you do an online search "jellied cranberry sauce", so will find quite a few recipes that should help you with amounts etc. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Hi! I did this recipe last year and it was awesome... So it got me thinking i could add orange zest, and maybe grand marnier, but, I'll be honest, am a little intimidated... How much would it change the flavor? Would it work? Any guidance would be appreciated!!

Indeed, adding orange zest and grand marnier would work. In fact, it's even sort of classic. As for the amounts, start with a little, taste and adjust as you like. What does a little mean? Well, start out with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of zest (a little goes along way) and perhaps start with1 to 2 tablespoons of grand marnier and work up from there. In this case, I would omit the cassis. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Thanks Dawn! I was planning on adding the Marnier in addition to the cassis but based on your comment I'll just omit it! I appreciate the quick response. Happy Holidays

No worries Ximena. For the record, you could still try adding some cassis, but it might compete a bit with the GM, and sometimes the best things in life are the simplest. Especially since you will have so many other flavors going on with the whole meal. Happy Holidays!

Hey Dawn, I added 1 tsp of the orange zest and about 1.5 tablespoons of the GM... it rocks! Not as sweet as the cassis one (if memory serves, i think i like that one better) but this is really not bad - a friend who doesn't like cranberries all but licked the plate, Thanks!!!

Yeah, so glad to hear everyone was happy Ximena! Enjoy the lefotvers, if there are any :) Cheers!