Cranberry Sauce: The Sharp Contrast That Makes the Dish

Making your own cranberry sauce rather than using store-bought allows you to control the sweetness level and achieve the "delicious" sharpness the judges praised. The combination of orange zest and juice brightens the cranberries, while the modest sugar amount (1/3 cup for 1.5 cups cranberries) keeps it tart enough to cut through the rich, fatty sausage. This technique of pairing sharp fruit with fatty meat is a hallmark of British cooking—think apple sauce with pork or redcurrant jelly with lamb. The contrast isn't just flavor; it's textural relief in every bite.