As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases linked in this post, at no charge to you. When you purchase items I've linked here, you help support my blog; thank you :)
Vegan/Gluten-Free/Dairy-Free/Nut-Free
Skill Level: Beginner
Yield: About 2 cups of sauce
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Equipment Needed:
The Recipe:
This recipe is by James Peterson...when they're this good, they don't need tweaking ;)
Ingredients:
2/3 cup ketchup
2/3 cup Sriracha
1/4 cup grated horseradish
1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Procedure:
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Seriously, that's it.
To Serve: Typically if I am serving a pound or more of shrimp at a get-together, I will mound them on a chilled platter with a dish of cocktail sauce in the middle and a few lemon wedges along the sides for color. However, if my husband and I are enjoying a late-night shrimp snack, I will often serve shrimp cocktail as pictured on the right, in a martini glass. It makes me think of old-school supper clubs and Frank Sinatra songs :)
Adjusting for your diet: This is a SPICY one, so if you're not big on spice, cut back on the horseradish, hot sauce, and/or Sriracha.
Tips:
I love shrimp, but overcooked shrimp are rubbery and not super appealing to me. When planning to eat my shrimp with this cocktail sauce, I prefer to let the sauce shine and do not season my shrimp at all. I pat them dry after peeling and deveining, add about 1 tablespoon olive oil to my nonstick skillet, heat to medium high and let the oil get nice and hot. Add the shrimp in a single layer, taking care not to crowd them too much (depending on how much shrimp you are cooking, you may need to cook in batches). Cook, undisturbed, until you can see the edges of the shrimp that are touching the pan just starting to turn pink (this will only take a minute or two). Use a tongs to flip each shrimp as you see them changing color. Cook the second side for another minute or two (make sure the whole shrimp has turned pink and no gray remains), then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up excess oil. If cooking in batches, repeat with remaining shrimp. True shrimp cocktail should be cold, so chill cooked shrimp before enjoying.
I use bottled horseradish (NOT horseradish sauce...) in this cocktail sauce recipe because I haven't ever seen fresh horseradish root at any of my grocery stores. The bottled version is just ground horseradish preserved with a little salt, water, and vinegar. If you can get your hands on it, I'm certain fresh would be the way to go.
I typically use Frank's Red Hot as my hot pepper sauce of choice, but I have made this with a very special bottle of hot sauce my husband got as a gift and it was amazing. It was Pappy & Company Bourbon Barrel Aged Pepper Sauce (the Pappy & Company website has some really fun foodie gifts for the bourbon-lover in your life).
I use Heinz ketchup; I think it's balance and sweetness works well in this sauce. However, I'm sure any brand of ketchup would more than suffice! Other ketchups, such as Hunt's are known to be more acidic; if you use one of those you may find you need to cut back on the lemon juice to balance.
The Story:
Hands down, this is my most-requested recipe. Shrimp cocktail feels and sounds so decadent to me that I'm almost embarrassed at how easy this recipe is.
This recipe comes from the cookbook Sauces, by James Peterson, and it's one of those quintessential cookbooks that I feel like should be on everyone's cookbook shelf. If you were into the Hulu show The Bear (I was obsessed), a fun fact is that it's one of the cookbooks that can be seen in Carmen's apartment in Season 2.
This sauce is INSANELY hot; it will put a big, bad fire in your mouth. But then you'll go back for another swipe with your next shrimp...because DANG it was good. The contrast of the cold shrimp and the big spicy sauce is so perfect. There are so few recipes that a) I don't tinker with at all and b) don't call for any salt and I'm not tempted to add any; this is one of those gems. I hope it will become your new dirty-easy-little-secret :)
Happy tasting!
Comments