I like cranberry sauce with turkey (and with pork and game of any kind), but the traditional recipe — cranberries, sugar, vinegar, maybe some citrus — tastes to me like it’s missing something.
That something is a little bit of spice, in the form of fresh ginger and dried mustard. Ginger wakes up the palate, and the dried mustard adds a sharp pungent note. The dried cranberries have a more concentrated flavor than the fresh ones, and cranberry juice reinforces the flavor. Rather than using a high-acid vinegar like white wine or champagne vinegar, I like to use a mellow vinegar like cider vinegar complemented by a dash of fresh lemon juice at the end.
Cranberry Mustard
Makes about two cups. This recipe can be made up to a week in advance.
Ingredients
¼ cup Colman’s Dry Mustard¼ cup water
Lcup cranberry juice
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 cup dried cranberries
Juice of ½ lemon
Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together dry mustard and water. Place the cranberry juice, cider vinegar, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the dried cranberries and cook for 30 minutes until the fruit is very soft and the sauce is thick.
Whisk in the mustard mixture and cook 5 more minutes. Add the lemon juice and cool.
Transfer to a container.Refrigerate until ready to use.
