It’s hard for me to imagine a roast turkey or chicken dinner without homemade cranberry sauce. Sometimes, I will make the sauce with just cranberries while other times, I will blend flavours as in the case of this Cranberry Rhubarb Sauce which combines the tart cranberries with the equally tart rhubarb. Lovely tang and extraordinarily rich color to this tasty sauce.
This Cranberry Rhubarb Sauce may be made with either fresh or frozen cranberries and rhubarb so it’s possible to make it year-round. This is a good thing because cranberries and rhubarb are not in-season locally together at the same time.
This condiment complements a roast poultry dinner very well. Try mixing it with some mayonnaise for a lovely spread on a cold chicken or turkey sandwich.
I like my cranberry sauces to be very thick and not runny. The secret to making a thick cranberry sauce is to, first, make a simple syrup of water and sugar before adding the cranberries and rhubarb. The trick to getting a thickened sauce is to stir it both while it is cooking and cooling. Stir it plenty during the cooling process – it will appear somewhat watery when it comes off the stove but, by stirring it frequently as it cools, it will thicken well.
This sauce, like my other cranberry sauces, freezes well. I often make up a batch or two at a time and freeze it in airtight serving-size dishes of desired size. To thaw, simply remove the sauce from the freezer and thaw at room temperature for an hour or so (depending on the size of container, of course).
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Cranberry Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients:
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1 cup water minus 1 tablespoon
1½ cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (approximately 6 oz)
¾ cup rhubarb, fresh or frozen, chopped into ¼“ chunks (approximately 3 oz)
2 tbsp peeled apple, finely chopped
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp lime juice (optional)
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/16 tsp ginger
1 star anise pod (optional)
2 tsp finely grated orange rind
Method:
In medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat, bring sugars and water to boil. Boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Add cranberries, rhubarb, apple, and orange and lime juices. Bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat, stirring periodically throughout the cooking process, for about 8 minutes. Add the spices and star anise pod. Increase heat to return mixture to the boiling point then reduce heat to medium-low and continue to stir the sauce periodically while cooking it for another 10 minutes or until mixture thickens.
Remove saucepan from heat and discard the star anise pod. Add orange rind. Stir frequently as the sauce cools to help it to thicken.
Store, covered, in refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for longer storage.
Yield: Apx. 1 2/3 cups
For other Cranberry Sauce recipes, click on the links below:
Zesty Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Cranberry Blueberry Sauce
Red Wine Cranberry Pear Sauce
Cranberry Rhubarb Sauce
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup water minus 1 tablespoon
- 1½ cups cranberries, fresh or frozen (approximately 6 oz)
- ¾ cup rhubarb, fresh or frozen, chopped into ¼“ chunks (approximately 3 oz)
- 2 tbsp peeled apple, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp lime juice (optional)
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/16 tsp ginger
- 1 star anise pod (optional)
- 2 tsp finely grated orange rind
Instructions
- In medium-sized saucepan, over medium heat, bring sugars and water to boil. Boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
- Add cranberries, rhubarb, apple, and orange and lime juices. Bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat, stirring periodically throughout the cooking process, for about 8 minutes. Add the spices and star anise pod. Increase heat to return mixture to the boiling point then reduce heat to medium-low and continue to stir the sauce periodically while cooking it for another 10 minutes or until mixture thickens.
- Remove saucepan from heat and discard the star anise pod. Add orange rind. Stir frequently as the sauce cools to help it to thicken.
- Store, covered, in refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for longer storage.
Recipe Notes
Yield: Apx. 1 2/3 cups
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