My step-mom told me about this quick and easy recipe for cranberry relish a few years ago and I’ve been making it every Thanksgiving since then.
She tore the recipe out of a magazine called Domino. Now Domino is no more, but this great cranberry sauce lives on!
The beauty is in its simplicity—three ingredients and some water.
I’ve halved the original recipe, because I didn’t need 24 ounces of cranberry sauce. That’s a huge bowl! This simple recipe is just enough.
Cranberry-Clementine Relish
One 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries
One clementine (I use two.)
One cup of sugar
3/4 cup water
Wash the cranberries, remove any stems and throw out any squishy berries.
Strain and put in a medium pot.
Slice the clementine in half through the equator and then into razor-thin slices. Seriously, cut it as thinly as possible.
Add the clementine, water and sugar to the cranberries.
Stir and heat on medium to a boil.
After it reaches boiling, let it boil for a few seconds until you can tell the berries are starting to burst.
Reduce heat to simmer and let simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Use a metal spoon, because this may stain anything wooden or plastic.
Most of the cranberries should burst. Sauce with thicken a bit as it cools.
You can make this a day or two in advance and stored tightly covered in the refrigerator.
This is really a simple jelly, which is why it tastes as good the day after Thanksgiving on the sandwich you make out of leftover turkey and stuffing.
Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!
Want a super-fantastic cranberry relish with a real wow factor? Check out my friend Susan’s Cranberry-Orange-Apple-Walnut Relish!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Anne!
I am so sorry that your father and step-mother had to cancel and your son will be making fancy coffee drinks all day. (Not stalking you – but read your comments on Chloe’s blog). I guess this means you will have a few less dishes to wash after the meal.
Enjoy the Macy’s Day parade in your PJ’s. We will be at a Family 5 mile “Turkey Trot” fun run tomorrow morning and then cooking and gorging our faces in the late afternoon. Somewhere in between all that will be a football game or two!
We decided to go on to D.C. and visit the Smithsonian anyway.
Good day–nice weather, no crowds.
Traffic was heavier than it usually is on Thanksgiving, but it was still better than a regular day in D.C.
I wouldn’t have thought it would be so simple! Thanks for sharing!
It has to be simple if I’m going to cook it!
Really, it’s a basic jam. You’re just heating fruit and sugar water until it gels.
The thin sliced clementine peels become tender and candied, with no bitterness like an orange peel would have.
I thought cranberry sauce took forever! Now I will make my own next year 🙂 Thanks.
It really is easy and I think it tastes good, unlike the canned stuff.
I don’t get the appeal of the canned.
Is it possible to buy cranberries in the summer in the States? I’d really like to cook some when we are back there….none to be had here except in the can….. : (
Thanks for an easy recipe!
fern
Hmm, I’ve only ever seen them fresh in the store at Thanksgiving. I wonder if they are sold at other times in the northeast where they grow.
So I need to put in a request for a friend to buy me a bag and freeze it along with the Girl Scout cookies she buys every year and sticks in the freezer? I am off to make that request now before I forget! Thanks Nota!
fern
That’s a great idea! Have her get you some candy cane Joe-Joes from Trader Joe’s too.