by: Kate McMillan
Cook Time
8 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Yield
Serves 6–8
Total Time
8 minutes
Prep Time
20 minutes
Yield
Serves 6–8
summary
A classic shrimp cocktail is a must on a seafood tower. We’ve made this a little more fun by doing a second dipping sauce in addition to the beloved classic cocktail sauce. An herby green mojo sauce brings fresh flavor, not to mention pretty color to the mix. Always serve shrimp cocktail on a bed of ice so the shrimp stays super cold.
ingredients
- Shrimp Ingredients:
- 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tail left intact
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ yellow onion
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Classic Cocktail Sauce Ingredients:
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 4 shakes Tabasco sauce
- Mojo Sauce Ingredients:
- 1 cup packed fresh cilantro
- ½ cup packed fresh parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 jalapeño, ribs and seeds removed
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
directions
- Prepare an ice bath by filling a large bowl with cold water and plenty of ice. Set aside.
- Add 8 cups of water to a stock pot and set over medium high heat. Add the onion (no need to chop it), the bay leaf, salt and pepper. Once the water is boiling, add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are bright pink and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Strain the shrimp and immediately submerge them in the ice bath. Let them sit until they are completely cooled, about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to the refrigerator until ready to serve, or at least one hour until good and chilled.
- To make the cocktail sauce, mix the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, worcestershire and Tabasco sauce in a small mixing bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To make the mojo sauce, add the cilantro, parsley, garlic, lime, jalapeño and olive oil to a blender and puree until smooth. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- To serve, pile the shrimp on a bed of ice on a seafood tower with the two dipping sauces on the side.
notes
You can make the shrimp and both sauces a full day ahead and refrigerate until serving.
To cook the shrimp, season the water. This flavored cooking water is called a court bouillon and adds so much flavor to the shrimp.
By immediately submerging cooked shrimp into an ice bath you are doing two things: stopping the cooking before they get rubbery and helping to keep that nice bright pink color.
To make the cocktail sauce spicier, add more horseradish and/or Tabasco to taste.
To make the mojo sauce spicier, use a serrano instead of a jalapeño. Or, include the ribs and seeds from the jalapeño.
