This uncooked cranberry sauce recipe from chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and The NoMad, both in Manhattan, is utterly unlike any cranberry sauce or relish or chutney you’ve ever experienced. It’s easy as can be, requires no precious stovetop space before the big meal, and boasts all that lovely cranberry acidity in perfect balance with sweetness. It has a rather unique preparation that not only intrigues us but has us pretty darn fond of it, too. See, the recipe relies on just 3 ingredients. And a stand mixer to beat the cranberries for an hour. Yep, an hour. As in 60 minutes. While you may wonder if your mixer is close to overheating after beating for that long, fear not, ours held out just fine. [Editor’s Note: Sadly, those of us without stand mixers will simply have to do without, as Humm states that a food processor or a handheld mixer just can’t achieve the same textural effect as what you get in the stand mixer. That said, one of our more rebellious testers tried making the sauce in a blender for 15 or so minutes and raved about the results. Tempting, isn’t it?!] Prepare to be dazzled. “It’s really awesome,” says Humm, who shared the relatively healthful recipe with The New York Times Well blog. We couldn’t agree more.–Renee Schettler Rossi
Raw Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries, rinsed and patted dry
- 12 ounces (about 1 2/3 cups) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest, preferably organic
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the cranberries, sugar, and zest on a very slow speed for at least an hour—yes, as in 60 minutes—until the cranberries begin to break down.
- Cover and refrigerate the citrus cranberry sauce for at least a couple hours and up to a couple days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This uncooked cranberry sauce was a HUGE hit amongst everyone. Two people who swore they did not care for cranberries at all devoured it. It was perfect with Cornish hens, the vegetarians at the table gushed that it complemented the vegetarian dishes, and a few folks used it as a jam for cornbread. The first time I made it, I did so in the stand mixer. Although the second time I did it in the lazy way, meaning in a blender on low for about 15 minutes, and it came out just as good, just more “mushy.” But in a good way. Excellent mushy! Of course, half of it disappeared right away as soon as my toddler got her spoon into it.
So simple to make and no splattering your stove or clothes! Our guests raved about this uncooked cranberry sauce. It has a wonderful texture and a bright, crisp cranberry flavor. One hour in the mixer was sufficient. It’s been in the fridge for about 24 hours and still holding together nicely!
This uncooked cranberry sauce was a refreshing take on classic cranberry sauce. The tart was perfectly balanced with sugar and orange zest. I like that it takes full advantage of seasonal cranberries and that it’s so easy to make in the middle of the Thanksgiving cooking storm—one less stovetop burner to worry about. Some traditionalists will like a more cooked down sauce, but the fresh chutney could be used any time of year. I only needed 20 to 30 minutes with mixer, the full hour didn’t change the consistency much. It lasted in the fridge for about a week.
I made this cranberry sauce for yesterday’s feast on Sunday. After 15 minutes on my mixer’s lowest setting (with a towel draped over to catch the berries zinging everywhere!) it was almost completely liquid so I dumped in another bag of cranberries. Did not increase the sugar or zest (ran out of clementines!). That made it perfect. I let the mixer run for another 25 minutes so there was a bit of chunk to the sauce, and it was the star of yesterday’s table! All cranberry pop and tartness, even my husband kept going back for more and he rarely comments. I’m going to stock up on cranberries in the freezer so I can keep making this. What kind of a mixer does Daniel Humm have? My KitchenAid is old (still works!), maybe they have changed the speeds. I can’t imagine going a full hour and still maintaining any texture. This is a 12/10 recipe.
Thanks, Lisa! We’re so pleased to hear that this was such a hit at your Thanksgiving table. We greatly appreciate you sharing your tips and experience with the recipe. This will be very helpful for us and other readers. As for the mixer speed, one of our testers also found that she didn’t need the full time either. It would depend on just how slow your mixer is able to go.
This has become an annual tradition. Great on turkey…and even better as part of my morning yogurt routine. Tip: To keep berries from jumping out of mixer bowl, drape bowl/mixer with plastic wrap.
Bnon, I’m delighted you enjoyed it! Thanks for the tip, too. I use a clean kitchen towel to prevent energetic ingredients from jumping ship.
Using the grinder attachment on my KitchenAid stand mixer with the large hole template I grind 24 ounce cranberries and the orange zest from 1/3 orange, some orange juice and some pineapple tit-bits with lots of sugar. It starts out pink and in 24 hours it’s ruby red and delicious. Adjust sweetness to your taste. The sauce thickens up as the pectin sets up over a couple days.
Thanks for that, Stuart!