Recipe: Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp cocktail is my Grandmother’s favorite hors d’oeuvre, and it’s always a crowd-pleaser. If you take the time to cook it fresh, rather than buying frozen and defrosting it, your shrimp will have texture — it’ll pop in your mouth, even. You can ask your fishmonger to shell and devein the shrimp if you’re pressed for time.

Shrimp Cocktail
2 pounds medium to large shrimp, shelled and deveined, leaving tails on
Boiling water
Ketchup
Prepared horseradish
Hot sauce
Lemon

Put a big pot of salted water on to boil. Prepare a bowl of ice water and place a strainer on top.

While the water is coming to a boil, peel and clean the shrimp, if you haven’t asked your fishmonger to do so.

Once the water at a rolling boil, add the shrimp. Cook about 2 to 3 minutes, until it’s just pink throughout.

Remove your strainer from the bowl of ice water, pour the hot water through the strainer, allowing the water to fall through and catching all the shrimp. Plunge the strainer with the shrimp into the ice water to stop the cooking. Leave the strainer in the ice water a few moments to cool the shrimp completely. Refrigerate the shrimp.

Combine ketchup, horseradish, hot sauce and lemon juice to taste to make a cocktail sauce.

Arrange shrimp over ice on a platter with cocktail sauce in the center.