Or maybe the other way around.
I was thinking of trying this tomorrow. Starting out with fresh cranberries. Most recipes say to put them in boiling water for 30-60 seconds until the skins pop. Drain, cool and dry. Some say freeze 'em for a couple of hours.
Then I'd put them in the OBS at 140-150 with about 40 minutes of apple. From there, it's probably another 12 hours or so to dehydrate them.
Has anyone tried any thing like this?
Oh that sounds so good, smoked Crassins. Up here in British Columbia we have
Cranberry fields everywhere. I will have to give that a try. Thanks for the idea.
Let me know how they turn out.
Ross
Arnie,
that sound like it might be good.
I usually put dried cranberries (craisins) in my stuffing and I bet it would add another flavor to the stuffing.
Deb
Here's what I've learned so far. Put the berries into the boiling water until the skins just start splitting - no longer. You don't want to cook 'em. Drain and rinse in cold water. That was the second batch. The first batch went a bit too long.
If you end up with any berries that haven't split, hit 'em with the back side of a spoon. They have to be open to dry properly. I'll be doing mine for about 20 hours at 140 in the OBS. Gee, a dehydrator would be nice.
My dish for the ICB is going to be savory so I didn't add any sugar. You can always do that if you're gonna eat 'em by the handful.
I snuck one (OK, two) out after about 9 hours. Not dried yet. Very tart with a nice smoke flavoring. I'm going to do them for about 20 hours of drying time.
Are they done yet, Are they done Yet
How did they turn out?
I may have to go down to the local cranberry fields
to get me some fresh berries.
RossP - They turned out like, well, dried cranberries. The smoke added a nice flavor. Most people would probably like them sweetened. I had one berry where the skin didn't split and I missed crushing it. It was plump and tasty but certainly not dried - I ate it.
I only did enough berries for the ICB entry I did. They were on sale and I have several packages in the freezer so I'll probably give it another shot before Thanksgiving.