Plump, cold shrimp dunked into zesty cocktail sauce. It’s not for nothing that it’s been an iconic dish for over a hundred years.
I’ve been making shrimp cocktail right and left. When the weather is unbearably hot, it’s the only thing I want to eat. Ice-cold shrimp with tangy, sinus-clearing cocktail sauce is the perfect cure for hot and humid days. Like most people, I also love breaking this out at parties. There’s something so chic about a big tray of the biggest shrimp you can find spread out over crushed ice with a coupe glass filled to the brim with that ruby red sauce. It just screams opulence to me.
I made a beautiful tray of shrimp cocktail for my Galentine’s Day party, and one of my favorite memories from that night is when the last few attendees and I housed two pounds of shrimp by ourselves in the span of about 15 minutes. It’s that good.
One thing about me, though, I will never buy shrimp cocktail at a restaurant. I remember going out to eat recently and saw a few shrimp cocktails making their way to various tables, and I swear there were four shrimp hanging off the cup. Four! That’s the same number of shrimp I snack on while I’m arranging the platter to serve them. It’s so much more economical to make it at home, and it’s so easy to make that it’s worth the effort to whip up a big batch. If you have leftovers (doubtful), throw them on a salad the next day.
What you need
- Shrimp: I prefer to make shrimp cocktail with the biggest shrimp I can find. Colossal or jumbo shrimp are my go-to. You can make them with medium or large shrimp if you like the smaller size or if you’re serving them with crackers. You’ll just need to adjust the poaching time accordingly. Just be sure that you’ve thawed the shrimp completely. For the best flavor, I recommend buying shell-on shrimp and peeling them yourself. EZ-peel, needle-deveined shrimp makes the work much, much easier!
- Court bouillon: You’ll make a simple poaching liquid known as court bouillon (court is pronounced without the t). This is made with just water, bay leaves, celery, onion, garlic, black peppercorns, and the shrimp shells. Traditionally, you’d use white wine in the broth, but I skip that.
- For serving: I keep it classic with just cocktail sauce and lemon wedges. You can also serve them with a sleeve of Ritz crackers for a little bit of salty richness.
How to make it
Step 1: Prepare the shrimp.
Peel the shrimp and reserve the shells. Add the shrimp to a large bowl with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Refrigerate until needed.
Step 2: Make the court bouillon.
Combine water, shrimp shells, bay leaves, celery, onion, garlic, and black peppercorns in a large pot and add a hefty amount of kosher salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Strain the broth into a large bowl and discard the solids. Wipe out the pot and return it to the stove.
Step 3: Boil the broth.
Return the broth to the pot and bring it to a boil.
Step 4: Poach the shrimp.
Once the broth is boiling, turn off the heat and immediately add the shrimp. Cover the pot and let the shrimp poach for 4 to 8 minutes (depending on the size of your shrimp) or until they are opaque and reach 140ºF. The shrimp should be curled into a soft C shape, not a curlicue, as that indicates they are overcooked. One thing to keep in mind is that if you’re using BIG shrimp, they will immediately reduce the temperature of the water. Depending on how well your pot retains heat, you may need to turn the heat to low and let a little extra steam finish cooking them for 1 to 2 minutes. Just be gentle with the heat, as you can very quickly end up with rubbery shrimp.
Step 5: Give them an ice bath.
As soon as the shrimp finish cooking, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a very icy cold water bath to stop the cooking process.
Step 6: Serve them up!
Fill a coupe glass with cocktail sauce and place it on a large platter. I like to add crushed ice cubes to my platter and arrange the shrimp on top. Serve with lemon wedges.
Shrimp Cocktail
Equipment
Ingredients
Shrimp:
- 2 pounds colossal shrimp (peeled and deveined; shells reserved; see Note 1)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Court bouillon:
- 8 cups water
- 1 yellow onion (peeled and quartered)
- 3 ribs celery (with leaves if possible; ribs cut into thirds and leaves roughly chopped)
- 1 head garlic (halved crosswise)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
For serving:
- Cocktail sauce
- 1 Lemon (cut into wedges)
Instructions
Prepare the shrimp.
- Transfer the peeled shrimp to a large bowl and season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Toss to coat and refrigerate until needed.
Make the court bouillon:
- Combine 8 cups water with the onion, celery ribs and leaves, garlic halves, and bay leaves. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon black peppercorns. Add the reserved shrimp shells and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl and discard the solids. Wipe out the pot and return it to the stove.
Poach the shrimp:
- Pour the strained broth back into the pot and bring to a boil. As soon as the broth comes to a boil, turn off the heat, add the shrimp, and cover the pot immediately. Allow the shrimp to poach for 4 to 8 minutes, depending on the size of the shrimp. See Note 2.
- As the shrimp poach, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl.
- As soon as the shrimp reach 140ºF, use a slotted spoon to transfer them to the ice bath for just a few minutes.
Prepare the platter:
- Fill a coupe glass with cocktail sauce and place it on a large platter. Arrange crushed ice around the coupe glass.
- Once the shrimp are cold to the touch, use tongs to arrange them on top of the ice. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve:
- Arrange the lemon wedges around the shrimp and serve.
