Smoked, dried cranberries?

[ArnieM]

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?

[RossP]

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

[deb415611]

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

[ArnieM]

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.

[RossP]

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.

[ArnieM]

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.