Cranberry sauce is a cousin to cranberry relish and is served in most American homes during Thanksgiving. Although in my family growing up we normally ate the canned, store bought stuff on Thanksgiving, I like this recipe a lot more. Orange juice and orange zest give this dish more depth of flavor and as this dish is made in a slow cooker, it is by far the easiest Thanksgiving side dish I’ve ever made. In order to prepare, place all of the ingredients in a slow cooker for 7 hours on low, allow to cool and serve.
Besides ease, I love this dish because it frees up space on the stovetop (one less pot that needs to cook), can be made in advance and is easily transportable. Although the amount of sugar in this recipe seems excessive, the sugar helps offset the tart flavor of the cranberries and helps the dish set properly. I’ve tried it with less, but it’s simply too tart and not sweet enough for my American palette.
If you live in Norway, fresh American cranberries can normally be found in nicer grocery stores beginning in late October, early November. Some stores also stock frozen American cranberries, if fresh is unavailable.
- 400 g (2 cups) sugar
- 250 ml (1 cup) orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 380 g (about 4 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries
- Add all ingredients except the cranberries to the slow cooker, and turn on low.
- Stir the mixture until the sugar dissolves almost completely. This should take ca. 2 minutes.
- Add the cranberries and cook on low for 7 hours.
- After 7 hours, turn the slow cooker off and allow the cranberries to stay in the slow cooker for another hour.
- After an hour, place the cranberry mixture in a container and place in the fridgerator. Allow to cool until cold, then serve and enjoy.
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