Shrimp Cocktail

The shrimp ring is a holiday gathering staple, and the shrimp cocktail is a touch of class hors d’œuvre.

The choice of shrimp is always a challenge, depending on the end use. For individual shrimp cocktails, I tend to go big; how big? Extra Jumbo, 16-20 count. I’ll go a little smaller for a shrimp ring or platter in the Large range of 31-35 count.

Cooking the shrimp is another challenge; for simplicity’s sake, most people will opt for shelled and cooked shrimp. If one chooses to use uncooked shrimp, a handy table is as follows:

That said since shrimp behave differently, it’s best to ignore rules of thumb, such as shrimp turning pink when done, or floating or curling, etc.

A very quick faq on boing shrimp:

• How long to boil frozen shrimp: Large frozen shrimp need 3 full minutes of boiling time; the texture is better if you thaw the shrimp first.
• How long to boil raw shrimp: Boil raw shrimp for the times in the chart above to ensure doneness.
• How long to boil jumbo shrimp: Raw jumbo shrimp need 3 minutes of boiling time and frozen jumbo shrimp need 4 minutes.
• How long do you boil shrimp in shell: Boiling time is identical for shell-on and shell-off shrimp.

From Wikipedia:

Prawn cocktail, also known as shrimp cocktail, is a seafood dish consisting of shelled, cooked prawns in a Marie Rose sauce or cocktail sauce, served in a glass. It was the most popular hors d’œuvre in Great Britain, as well as in the United States, from the 1960s to the late 1980s. According to the English food writer Nigel Slater, the prawn cocktail “has spent most of (its life) see-sawing from the height of fashion to the laughably passé” and is now often served with a degree of irony.

The cocktail sauce is essentially ketchup plus mayonnaise in Commonwealth countries, or ketchup and horseradish in the United States. Recipes may add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, vinegar, cayenne pepper or lemon juice.

Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce

A holiday gathering staple, plump sweet shrimp, spicy sauce

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine Global

Servings 4 people

Calories 72 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Court Bouillon

• 10 cups Cold water
• 2 ea Carrots Peeled and quartered
• 2 ribs Celery Washed, Quartered
• 1 ea Onion Peeled, Quartered
• 1 ea lemnon Washed, quartered
• 1 bunch parsley Washed, use the stems for this
• 5 sprigs Thyme Fresh
• 2 ea Bay Leaves

Shrimp

• 2 lb Shrimp 16-20 Size (Extra Jumbo)
• 1 ea Lemon Wedged
• Parsley Leaves from above as a garnish

Cocktail Sauce

• 1 cup Ketchup Or Sweet Chili Sauce
• 1 ea Lemon Zest, grated
• 3 tbsp Horseradish See Notes
• 2 tsp Hot Sauce To Taste
• 2 tbsp Vodka Optional
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/4 tsp Celery Salt

Instructions

 

Shrimp

• Prepare an ice bath for the shimp
• In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil
• Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, lemon, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves
• Lower the heat to a simmer, set a cover on top slightly ajar, and cook for 10 to 30 minutes.
• Drop the shrimp into the liquid and turn off the heat
• Cook the shrimp, occasionally stirring until they curl and turn pink, about 2 to 2 1/2 minutes for medium shrimp and 3 minutes for large ones (see the post notes).
• Drain and cool to add to the ice bath
• Cool shrimp, ~ 3 minutes
• Refrigerate until ready to serve

Sauce

• Combine the all in a small bowl.
• Add additional hot sauce or horseradish to taste
• Mix well
• Taste, season, balance flavor
• Refrigerate until ready to serve

Notes

Use the chunky prepared horseradish sauce, and do not use the creamy sauce.

In a pinch, one can add 2 tbsp of this sauce to 2 jiggers of ice-cold vodka, shake with ice, and have a passable bloody mary.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 72kcalCarbohydrates: 19gProtein: 1gFat: 0.3gSaturated Fat: 0.04gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.1gSodium: 632mgPotassium: 319mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 1747IUVitamin C: 26mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Appetizers, Shrimp

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