Grand Marnier Cranberry Sauce (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my cranberry sauce set? ›

One possibility is that you may not have used enough sugar: Sugar helps the sauce firm up, so be sure to use the full amount called for in a recipe. Another possibility is that the cranberries need to boil for longer, releasing their pectin and ensuring a jelly consistency.

In lieu of granulated sugar, try genuine maple syrup. It's already liquid so it will stir right into the cranberry sauce, lending it a gentle sweetness. If you don't have maple syrup (pancake syrup WILL NOT do, y'all), try honey or a more neutral sweetener like agave syrup, brown rice syrup, or even simple syrup.

Adding a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or orange zest, a tablespoon of chopped candied peel, or even a splash of juice to your canned sauce will brighten flavors and bring in some homemade flavor.

Grand Marnier—a rich, amber-colored cognac-based liqueur flavored with Haitian bitter orange peels, spices, and vanilla—is combined with freshly squeezed orange juice, butter, sugar, and orange zest. The sauce is excellent as a glaze for chicken or pork, or as a dessert sauce over fruits or plain cake.

If you have followed these instructions, and for some reason the sauce still won't gel, add 1 envelope of unflavoured gelatin to the sauce and bring to a hard boil, stirring frequently.

Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled. Cranberry sauce will thicken as it cools.

"Instead, start by stirring in one tablespoon maple syrup and one teaspoon of a sweet drink like apple juice, orange juice, or fruity white or red wine. Add more to taste. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt (in small amounts, it intensifies sweetness)."

And one last overlooked remedy for cranberry sauce: a pinch of salt. While you won't taste it, salt helps equalize the sweet-tart flavor of your cranberry sauce while making it a better pairing for the rest of your savory sides and, of course, the turkey.

If the sauce is too sour, add more sweetener.

If you find the recipe as written is a bit too tart, keep adding honey 1 tablespoon of honey until you reach your desired sweetness.

Cranberry sauce can be served either as a gooey liquid or as a solid jelly. The jellied version is solid enough to retain the shape of the container in which it's placed whereas the sauce version is much more fluid.

Why is jellied cranberry sauce canned upside down? ›

According to Ocean Spray, that's intentional: It creates a seamless serving experience. The cans are “filled and labeled upside down with the rounded edge on top and the sharp can-like edge on the bottom to keep the jelly whole,” an Ocean Spray spokesperson told CNN Business.

Because Grand Marnier comes in a dark bottle, Schmuecker says, you can never really tell how much is left. Thus, it became popular among bartenders because it was a bottle their bosses could never really monitor all that closely. (“It was a great way to kinda hide what you're drinking,” adds Bernadyn.)

Grand Marnier is crafted using a unique blend of premium cognacs sourced from the finest distilleries in France, along with the zests of tropical oranges. The cognacs and oranges are carefully blended and aged in oak barrels for up to 25 years, resulting in a liqueur that is unmatched in complexity and flavor.

Grand Marnier plays well with a variety of ingredients because of its richness and flavor—brown spirits, fresh fruits, coconut anything, sparkling wine." Salt and savory herbs are a refreshing contrast to the luscious citrus, and it marries well with the sweetness of an aged rum.

The sauce will thicken as it cools. If you want a cranberry mold that holds its shape, continue to boil the mixture so that more pectin is released from the fruit, additional water evaporates, and the sauce becomes thick enough to set into a firm gel.

My cranberry sauce is too sweet now that I taste it. How do I fix it? Add a splash of red wine or apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt to lessen sweetness.

What to do if the cranberry sauce is too thin or loose. If you inadvertently added too much water, simply bring the cranberry sauce back to the stove top and bring it to a low boil, cooking it down just a bit to help thicken it up.

Pectin helps "glue" the plant cells together, keeping their tissues firm. And in cooked cranberries as well as in other fruit jams and jellies this pectin can help stick the cooked fruit together to form a solid jelly.