Boozy Cranberry Sauce Recipe with Port Wine & Cloves

This fresh cranberry sauce, with port wine and cloves, adds a grown-up touch to your Thanksgiving feast.

Let the Thanksgiving planning begin! Last week I kicked off the holiday cooking with Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Blue Cheese Breadcrumbs. But as we all know, the sweet potatoes are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s the roasted turkey (and how to carve it), the gravy, the mashed potatoes, the green beans, the stuffing and the pumpkin cheesecake. And none of this is complete without a fantastic fresh cranberry sauce.

If I’m making a cranberry sauce for the whole family, then Maple & Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce will be on the menu. The kids eat it by the spoonful…no kidding. However, if I also want a side of something boozy, then this recipe fits the bill. The fresh cranberries are simmered in port wine and cloves, and slightly sweetened with brown sugar.

Boozy sauce = happy turkey.

The recipe:
In a medium saucepan, combine the port wine, water and cloves. Set the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the cloves and discard them.

Stir in the cranberries and brown sugar, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the cranberries pop, stirring frequently. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.

Refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve.

Other recipes with fresh cranberries:

Cookin’ Canuck’s Glazed Cranberry Quick Bread with Crystallized Ginger
Cookin’ Canuck’s Crockpot Apple & Cranberry Sauce with Orange & Crystallized Ginger
Simply Recipes’ Cranberry Glazed Turkey Meatballs
Use Real Butter’s Turkey Cranberry Green Chile Sandwich
Skinnytaste’s Pistachio Cranberry Biscotti

Tagged as: cinnamon, cranberry sauce, holiday, port, recipe, sauce, Thanksgiving, wine