Sweet Leftover Cranberry Barbeque Sauce
In my quest to discover new and interesting ways to use my Thanksgiving leftovers, I decided to get creative with my leftover cranberry sauce last year. So we’ve already used our leftover cranberry sauce to make some Scrumptious Leftover Cranberry Bread and Leftover Stuffing and Cranberry Cookies. What about singling out the cranberry sauce and making it the star of a new meal, or two, or three!
The perfect way to do that is by making it into a new fantastic sauce that can be used on just about anything, even if it’s hamburgers for the evening, chicken fingers, chicken on the grill, barbequed meats, steak, pork chops, or even oven baked potatoes. So that’s exactly what I created. I was searching for a sauce in which I could include cranberries, that complemented many of our traditional dinner dishes around here.
The one kind of sauce that made sense was barbeque sauce. Next to ketchup and ranch, barbeque sauce is one of the main items in many of our meals. It goes well with everything, even shrimp and mashed potatoes, and therefore has made it to a place of honor on our dinner tables.
In this recipe, I attempt to take this already delicious condiment and make it that much better by injecting a sweetness reminiscent of the holidays, to keep the flavor and the joy that comes with the holidays lasting that much longer.
Whether you use leftover fresh or frozen cranberries in your sauce, or leftover cranberry sauce from your big holiday meal, this is not only a great way to get rid of leftover food in your fridge from Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it gives you an amazing addition to your regular meals that you may wish to incorporate into your dinners for the rest of the year.
Even better, by removing the cranberries, you are left with a delicious but simple homemade barbeque sauce to use in all of your barbeque dishes from here on out. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cranberries, (or cranberry sauce)
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/2 cup organic ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon oregano
Cook Time
Instructions
- Add your cranberry sauce, orange juice, honey and sugar to a medium saucepan.
- Over medium heat, bring them to a slow boil and stir.
- Cook for another 10 minutes or so until the color starts changing to a darker shade and taking on more of a bbq sauce consistency.
- As the color starts changing, add in your ketchup and apple cider vinegar.
- Cook a few more minutes, stirring frequently. Finally, add in all of your spices and finish your 10 minute cooking time.
- You will want to taste a little to make sure you enjoy the flavor, and adjust as needed. Cool completely before using, and store in your refrigerator for up to a week.
Nutritional Information
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 tablespoon | |
| Calories | 20 |
| Calories from Fat | 9 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 1 g | 2% |
| Saturated fat 0 g | |
| Carbohydrates 3 g | 1% |
| Sugar 2 g | |
| Fiber 0 g | |
| Protein 0 g | |
| Cholesterol 0 mg | |
| Sodium 80 mg | 3% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
The first time I made it, this recipe actually turned out better than I expected. It made our same ole turkey sandwiches delicious once again, just with a different twist.
One of our favorite meals is pulled pork or shredded chicken sandwiches bathed in barbeque sauce. We wondered just how amazing this might be with shredded turkey and cranberry barbeque. Wow! It was amazing. It was a whole different way to eat our Thanksgiving leftovers in a delicious tried-and-true way. This was a hit at our last dinner party for friends. We will be making this again!
In order to cut back a little on the sweetness of the sauce, you can simply add in a little bit of Worcestershire sauce to your mixture. If you don’t have honey on hand, you can simply substitute additional coconut sugar instead. I highly suggest adding whole berries to this sauce, if you don't already have them in your cranberry sauce, as it really makes it just that much better.
Whole cranberries can be purchased at the grocery store, but only in the fall around this time of year. In order to enjoy all of these wonderful holiday leftover recipes all year long, grab a few bags of cranberries when they are available at the store and keep them in your freezer until you are ready to use them.
This way, you can have not only this delectable sweet cranberry barbeque sauce whenever you’d like, but you can also enjoy Scrumptious Leftover Cranberry Bread, Leftover Stuffing and Cranberry Cookies, and any number of delicious cranberry recipes. I would love to know how you ended up using this delicious recipe in your meals!
© 2013 Victoria Van Ness
