Bourbon Barrel Smoked Cranberry Sauce

One taste of this Smoked Cranberry Sauce will change your outlook on this holiday staple. It’s time to take this old classic for a spin.

Even though you are going to smoke the fruit for a bit beforehand, this recipe is very simple and has minimal ingredients. Everything in the recipe are things you normally cook with so there are no surprises.

Change the smoking wood from one batch to another to try some different smoke flavors.

I found an orange wood recently at Dizzy Pig that was going to be my backup for this recipe, until I came across this magical wood from a used Bourbon Barrel. Get back Jack!

🍊 Ingredients 

HoneyCrisp Apple – Using a HoneyCrisp apple pulls the sweet flavors that offset the natural tartness of the cranberries. I learned that this crisp, sweet apple was created in the late 1970’s and finally bore fruit in 1983. It is delicious and we are willing to spend 2-3x the amount of money for these incredible apples. 

Blood Orange – These dark crimson fleshed oranges have a slight raspberry flavor in addition to the orange taste you are used to. Blood oranges are generally in season December – May. Some varieties will come a tad earlier or a tad later. 

Fresh Organic Cranberries – These yummy dark red superfood berries are harvested in the fall and we find them in the stores from October through December for all of our holiday recipes. They are closely related to the blueberries and huckleberries. 

🍎 Instructions 

Step One: Heat the grill to 375 degrees on indirect heat. For the Big Green Egg, I added the plate setter. Add in Bourbon Barrel wood (or wood of your choice). You only need a couple of pieces. 

Step Two: Cut the orange and the apple into quarters and place them on the grill for 30 minutes in the smoke. Reduce this time if you want LESS smoky flavor. 

Step Three: After the orange and apple quarters have cooled, peel the oranges and cut the core from the apples.  Cut them into quarter inch pieces. Spend the time to remove all the seeds and the pith from the orange. 

Step Four: Combine all the ingredients in a cast iron pan and stir. 

Step Five: Remove the plate setter and raise the temperature of the grill to 400 degrees. 

Step Six: Place the skillet on grill for 30 minutes and stir it every ten minutes. You are looking for the cranberries to pop and the sauce should thicken. If it appears too juicy, raise the temperature of the grill a bit and wait another ten minutes.  The higher grill temps are key for the sauce to thicken appropriately.

Step Seven: Let the sauce cool, remove the cinnamon stick and place in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

📌 Expert Tips 

If you want LESS smoky flavor, use a mild wood and reduce the time smoking the fruit on the grill. Another consideration to use less smoke is when you plan on serving the cranberry sauce.  I found that the smoke flavor took time to fully combine with the sauce and the next day, the sauce was even more pronounced.  The same thing happened with my Smoked Potato Salad. Just recognize that the smoky flavor may intensify over time. 

Note: Don’t try to cook the cranberries over indirect heat. It needs the direct heat to bring it to a boil and break down the skin and thicken. If you are using a plate setter for the SMOKING portion of this recipe, remove it before starting to make the actual sauce. 

We chose a mild Bourbon Barrel wood and smoked the fruit for 30 minutes. We like the flavor so cutting it into quarters is great. If you want less of the smoky flavor, reduce the surface area of the fruit by cutting them in half instead of quarters.

Use a pan like a cast iron to hold the heat. I found the best results with this as the cranberries simmered and thickened.

Make this one ahead of time. I made it the day before and it continued to add depth to the flavor profile as it rested. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

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