Boozy Cranberry Sauce

Hi everyone!  I’m sitting here in our kitchen….not the one in my house, but our commercial kitchen.  Did I not tell you that I have one?;)  Yep, we (Gourmet Rooster) are teaming up with the company that packs for us (cooks and bottles for us).  We are now co-owners of Mrs. Auld’s Gourmet Foods.  Do you make a sauce, salsa, jam, dressing, muffin mix, etc. that is fantastic and must be introduced to the world?  Call me.  We can make it happen. 

Enough about my new business…..are you ready for Thanksgiving?  Do you have a cranberry sauce recipe yet, or are you planning on plopping one out of a can?  Don’t.  Unless you really like that stuff, which I kind of do.  But, I have a recipe for a quick and easy cranberry sauce that is also a bit different.

Do you know what a Madras is?  Cocktail wise?  It is vodka, cranberry juice and orange juice.  I call this cranberry sauce my Madras Cranberry Sauce.  It used to be called my Sea Breeze Cranberry Sauce until I found out that is vodka, cran and grapefruit juice.  Whoops.

 

For my recipe, I use a bag of cranberries, which is 12 ounces.  I also use sugar, citrus flavored vodka (orange is fine), mandarin oranges and the zest of an orange.

I use fresh cranberries in this recipe.  Don’t let them intimidate you.  And for crying out loud, don’t eat them raw.

 

I start by reducing my vodka.  This is to concentrate the flavor and burn off the alcohol.  I try to stay away from giving my kids alcohol. 

I boil about 1 ½ cups of vodka until it reduces down to 1 cup.  This happens surprisingly fast, like in about 3 minutes.

Once the vodka is reduced, I add the sugar and bring that to a boil.

 

Then, in goes the cranberries.  This will come back to a boil, and then it simmers for about 10-15 minutes.  The cranberries will start to pop and the mixture will thicken.

 

While the mixture is simmering, I zest my orange into the pot.  No, this isn’t a one handed job, but someone had to take the picture.

Don’t zest the white part.  That is bitter.  And gross.

 

When the cranberries have about 5 minutes left, I add the drained mandarin oranges.  I add them towards the end so they don’t break up too much.  I like the oranges to stay whole.

 

I serve mine with some walnuts on the top for crunch, but that part is up to you.

 

This recipe is simple, easy and delicious.  The cranberries and orange go so well together.  This sauce is sweet and tangy, with a bit of bite from the vodka.

You can even give this away as gifts.  It makes about 3 cups, so you will have enough for 3 8 ounce jars, give or take a little bit.  I gave mine away.  It is just the four of us for Turkey Day, so we won’t be eating 3 cups of sauce.

Have a great Thanksgiving and I will talk to you all next week!

Madras Cranberry Sauce

1 ½ cups citrus vodka

1 cup sugar

12 ounces fresh cranberries

15 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained

Zest  of one orange

Bring vodka to a boil, over medium high heat.  Once the vodka has reduced by half, about 3 minutes at a full boil, add sugar.  Bring mixture to a boil and add cranberries.  Bring to a boil again and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until thickened.

While mixture is simmering, add zest to pot.  When mixture is halfway done, add drained oranges.  Mix well.

Makes about 3 cups