In a meal that’s packed with fat, salt, and a fair amount of cream, cranberry sauce offers your mouth a place to rest and reset. The acid in the tart berries cleanses the palate, while the sugar in the sauce heightens the savory notes in your turkey and dressing by way of contrast. There’s nothing wrong with the back-of-the-bag recipe, but as folks who are dedicated to changing the way you cook, we can’t help but zhuzh.

I usually doctor mine with a splash or two of Campari, an Italian bitter aperitif with lots of gentian (the bittering agent), clove, rhubarb, and orange peel—all flavors that work beautifully with cranberries. I’ve also been known to mix in a spoonful of umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum) paste, to give the sweet-and-tart sauce a briny note that adds a bit of savory complexity.

I knew I couldn’t be the only one who put their own spin on cranberry sauce, so I reached out to some of Milk Street’s culinary experts, who shared their favorite ways to elevate (or completely transform) the holiday classic.

Matthew Card, Creative Director
My cranberry sauce is typically a bag of cranberries, pinch of salt, sugar to taste, a couple of coins of ginger and a star anise pod or two. No more—strong stuff. I cook it fast and hot to preserve as much acidity as possible while breaking down the texture. Ginger and star anise add some complexity without clashing with all the simple, brown flavors on the table. It functions like the relish—a contrasting element—that it's on the table to be. Also, there are flavor compounds in the star anise that amplify the flavor of browned meat, which makes that bland turkey taste better!

Courtney Hill, Recipe Developer
I don't love cranberry sauce because I find it's too sweet and too tart, so I'll add a hefty pinch of black or white pepper and a sprig of rosemary to bring in some savoriness to balance. This also helps tie the cranberry sauce into the other flavors on the table.

Rosemary Gill, Director of Education
I make a fresh, tart-sweet relish that pairs well with turkey, duck, and chicken. The celery and cumin add a savory note lacking in many overly sweet cranberry sauces.

Quarter a tangerine, remove the seeds, but keep the rind on. Put tangerine segments, a couple cups of cranberries, 1/2 a cup of pomegranate seeds, and about a teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl with ¼ cup sugar, a couple of stalks of finely minced celery, a teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, and ½ a teaspoon of salt. Let sit 15 minutes. Taste and add more sugar, a teaspoon at a time, and salt as needed. Cover and refrigerate up to three days. Transfer to serving platter using a slotted spoon to reduce the amount of liquid.

Christopher Kimball, Founder
Believe it or not, I just use the recipe on the back of the bag, but add a bit of salt. That’s it. Takes 15 minutes and you are good to go.

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