Orange Blossom Ale Cranberry Sauce
Jackie Dodd-Mallory
(Senior Editor)
I could get really cheesy about this. I could even call it CranBEERy sauce. But I’m not going to do that, because, that would be lame.
And I respect you too much for obvious puns. Drunken cranberry sauce? Boozy? All of those overused descriptors miss the point, and the fact that high heat burns off alcohol.
A light ale, with a strong citrus note, like Buffalo Bill’s Orange Blossom Ale, lends a beautiful balance to the strong acid of cranberries that you usually see sitting around your Thanksgiving table. I won’t even speak to those of you whose only preparation for anything Cranberry related is the use of a can opener to dispense a hideously ridged gelatinous mass of phallic shaped berry-adjacent matter onto a crystal serving dish.
Other things we won’t be speaking of today: the sound that thing makes when it comes out of said can.
Clear your head of all thoughts tin related and focus on a sweet and tart taste of a cranberry sauce with back notes of an American Pale Ale. You’ll thank me for the reprieve.
Orange Blossom Ale Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup Pale Ale with citrus notes do not use an IPA, too much hop. I used an Orange Blossom Ale
- 4 cups Cranberries
- 1 tbs fine orange zest
Instructions
- Put it all in a sauce pan and allow to simmer over medium low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. The longer you cook, the thicker it becomes.
Comments
Andrea Thompson November 21, 2016 um 5:33 pm
I’m making this for Thanksgiving. How long will it stay good in the refrigerator? I’d like to make it a day or two ahead if I can.
Jackie November 21, 2016 um 5:47 pm
It should be good for two days without a problem.
Jennifer Correa December 2, 2019 um 2:59 pm
I made this for Thanksgiving with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It was a big hit. I think my cranberries may have been extra juicy though, because my sauce wasn’t thickening up. I added some cornstarch dissolved in water, and that did the trick.
Debbie November 17, 2023 um 5:56 pm
I used Sam Adams Octoberfest this year. I’ve been making this for at least 5 years and EVERYONE loves it.
I have no problem making it almost a week ahead…it jut gets better as it sits 🙂