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Shrimp cocktail platter with chilled poached shrimp over ice around a bowl of homemade cocktail sauce with lemon wedges

Easy Shrimp Cocktail With Homemade Sauce

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Large shrimp gently poached in lemon and bay leaf water, chilled in an ice bath, and served with a sharp homemade cocktail sauce made from ketchup, horseradish, lemon, Worcestershire, and a dash of hot sauce.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Servings: 8 servings (about 4 oz shrimp + 2 tbsp sauce)
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Calories: 127
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 lb raw shrimp large, peeled and deveined, tails on
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 0.75 cup ketchup
  • 3 tbsp prepared horseradish
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 0.25 tsp hot sauce

Method
 

  1. Make the sauce: stir the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire, and hot sauce together in a small bowl. Taste, add more horseradish if you like it hotter, then cover and refrigerate.
  2. Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water and set it near the stove.
  3. Add the water to a large pot. Halve the lemon, squeeze the juice into the water, and drop in the lemon halves and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 2 minutes.
  4. Turn off the heat. Add the shrimp, stir once, and let them sit in the hot water for 3 to 4 minutes, until pink and opaque all the way through and 145F.
  5. Drain the shrimp and move them straight into the ice bath for 5 minutes to stop the cooking.
  6. Drain well and pat dry. Refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
  7. Serve the shrimp over ice with the cocktail sauce and lemon wedges.

Nutrition

Calories: 127kcalCarbohydrates: 8.4gProtein: 23.3gFat: 0.7gSaturated Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 182.6mgSodium: 388.5mgPotassium: 403.3mgFiber: 0.6gSugar: 5.7gVitamin C: 10.4mgCalcium: 90.8mgIron: 0.8mg

Notes

Poaching off the heat is what keeps the shrimp tender; they overcook quickly at a hard boil. For smaller shrimp, start checking at 2 minutes. Use no-sugar-added ketchup to trim the sugar. Nutrition is calculated per serving from the listed ingredients and may vary with brands and substitutions.

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