Yield: 3-4 Cups
4 cups fresh cranberries
1 Tablespoon grape seed oil
2 shallots, minced
1/2 cup minced ginger
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Kafir lime leaf, julienned
1/4 stalk lemongrass, chopped
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2-1/2 cups water
Special equipment:
Smoking basket or prepared pie tin*
Cheesecloth
Rinse cranberries under cold running water. Rub cranberries dry with towel then toss with grape seed oil and spread out in a smoking basket or prepared pie tin* Place in the smoker when you smoke the turkey.
Melt butter in a small pot, and sweat shallots and ginger until tender and aromatic. Add smoked cranberries and cook for 1 minute. Wrap Kafir lime leaf and lemongrass in cheesecloth to make a small sachet and add to the pot. Add sugar, rice wine vinegar and 1-1/4 cups of water to the pot. Bring mixture to a boil, then let simmer gently for 1/2 hour until mixture resembles compote. Add remaining water if mixture becomes too thick. Season with pinch of salt and cool completely. Remove sachet. Stuffing can be made up to three days in advance. Cover properly and refrigerate.
*If you don’t have a smoking basket or perforated aluminum tray, a pie tin works great as a smoking basket. Using a fork, poke as many holes as possible to allow smoke to flow through, but not so large that cranberries fall through.