Truly the Best Shrimp Cocktail Recipe Ever
Look, I know it’s a little ridiculous to call a recipe “the best,” buuuuttttttt this recipe is seriously THE BEST shrimp cocktail recipe ever. The poaching method gives the shrimp a wonderful, delicate texture and flavor, and the sauce has a hint of gin in it, so. Don't miss it.
Calories: 122kcal
Ingredients
For the cocktail sauce
- 1 cup (272 grams) ketchup
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 ½ teaspoons (12 grams) prepared horseradish, drained well
- 1 teaspoon good gin
- ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
For the shrimp
- 2 pounds (907 grams) unpeeled colossal shrimp
- 8 cups 1(900 ml) water
- 1 cup (237 ml) dry vermouth or white wine
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt divided
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small onion sliced
- 4 fresh tarragon sprigs
- 1 lemon halved
Instructions
- In small bowl, mix together the ketchup, lemon juice, horseradish, gin, Tabasco, celery salt, and sea salt. Chill until ready to serve. Stir in parsley right before serving.
- Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails attached. You can refer to the video for visual cues on how to do this.
- Place peels into a large pot. Add water, vermouth or wine, 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt, peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves, onion, tarragon, and lemon.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let sit 30 minutes more, then strain broth through a fine sieve into a fresh pot.
- Bring stock to a boil, then remove from heat. Add shrimp and cover tightly. Leave for 3 to 4 minutes, until just opaque throughout (still off the heat — the shrimp "poach" in the residual heat and remain amazingly tender).
- While the shrimp poach, fill a large bowl with ice water and the remaining tablespoon kosher salt.
- Transfer shrimp to bowl to stop the cooking and chill thoroughly. They will firm up a bit as they cool.
Notes
- Start with shell-on shrimp since you'll use the shells to make the poaching liquid. The size is up to you, but the bigger the better, within reason and budget. Shrimp sizes in the U.S. are labeled numerically according to how many shrimp of that size constitute a pound. The ones pictured here are U/10-15, meaning there are 10 to 15 shrimp per pound. Naming conventions vary, but this puts them in the colossal to super-colossal range.
- I like to use dry vermouth, but a good dry white wine also works well.
- Fresh tarragon really adds a lot to the flavor. If you can't find fresh, it's okay to substitute two tablespoons dried.
- Prepared horseradish is grated horseradish that's been mixed with vinegar and salt. It comes in a bottle but is not the same as horseradish sauce, which is creamy and not what you're looking for here. Drain it well before adding to the mixing bowl.
- Celery salt is ground celery seed mixed with salt. If you only have ground (or even whole) celery seed at home, don't go out and buy a new bottle. Use a 2:1 ratio of salt to seed. If the seeds are whole, you can grind them in a spice grinder or bash them with a mortar and pestle.
- There's just a teaspoon of gin in this recipe, but it really works magic. That said, if you don't do gin, just leave it out.
- You can absolutely make this recipe in advance, and I always do. That's what makes it feasible if you're cooking a lot for a party. You can cook the shrimp up to a couple of days in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge. (I usually wrap in paper towels and put in a gallon zip top bag.) The cocktail sauce keeps well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week — just stir in the chopped parsley shortly before serving.
- Leftovers can be stored the same way, for up to a week total. I like to put out half the cocktail sauce at a time so that any leftovers won't have been sitting out and dipped into.
- After cooking the shrimp, the poaching liquid makes a delicious, light broth for a small batch of soup. For me, this is often just the ticket the day after a party. Or you can freeze it for up to a year. Think about adding some ramen or rice noodles, plenty of veggies, and maybe a couple of tablespoons of miso paste. Or use it as the base for shrimp bisque, or in risotto.
Nutrition
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.4g | Protein: 17.2g | Fat: 1.3g | Fiber: 0.1g