During the holiday season, it’s easy to find pre-cooked shrimp cocktail with sauce already prepared at your local grocery store. But preparing your own shrimp cocktail is easy to do and tastes so much better. I like to use raw jumbo shrimp (at least 16-24 count per pound) that has been peeled and deveined, with tail-on.
For the Shrimp:
- 2 Lbs Raw, peeled & deveined shrimp
- 1 Lemon, cut in half
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tsp peppercorn
- 4 bunches fresh parsley
- 1tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 T Old Bay
Instructions:
- Add 8 cups of water to a large saucepan and mix in all ingredients except the shrimp.
- Over high heat, bring the water to a boil for 2-3 minutes to incorporate the spices.
- Add the shrimp and immediately turn off the heat. Let the shrimp cook until they turn pink, about 3 minutes.
- Do not overcook.
- Once pink, quickly remove the shrimp into a colander, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Place the shrimp on a platter of ice and serve with cocktail sauce.
Cocktail Sauce:
- 1 C ketchup
- 1/4 Chorseradish
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 tsp Worsestershire
- Dash Hot sauce
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
Combine all ingredients and refrigerate until ready to use. I like my sauce a little spicy. For a milder sauce, you can reduce the amount of horseradish.