© Sunshine Urbaniak
Peel-and-Eat Shrimp
Growing up I loved peel-and-eat shrimp, and I could never get enough it. Whenever I’d order a shrimp cocktail at a restaurant it felt like a tease. Five shrimp, that’s it! I could’ve ordered three more, easily. Fast forward to today and I’m still the same—can’t get enough of peel-and-eat shrimp. It’s much more affordable to make them at home so I worked out the perfect recipe to produce deeply flavored shrimp with a spicy cocktail sauce that I know you’re going to love.
Most recipes out there tell you to boil some salty water, throw in some Bay season and call it a day. Sorry, but that doesn’t cut it for me. I actually cook the shrimp in what I would consider a watery soup broth. I add carrot, onion, celery, peppercorns, bay leaf, garlic, salt, and of course lemon to 4 qt. of water and bring to a boil—and I keep boiling it for about 10 minutes to really infuse the water with all the flavors of the vegetables and spices. It’s this brine in which you cook the shrimp in that tenderizes and flavors the shrimp meat beyond your belief. It’s finger-licking good.
Now, let’s talk cocktail sauce. If you’re going to make really flavorful shrimp you need a cocktail sauce that can stand up to all that flavor. Mine is just that. To the ketchup, I add fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chili garlic sauce, fresh garlic, lemon juice and lastly lots of horseradish. This cocktail sauce has a real bite. Obviously adjust the horseradish to your taste. I prefer just enough heat to make your nose run a little. Enjoy!
Peel-and-Eat Shrimp
Servings: 4-6
AuthorSunshine UrbaniakCategoryDinnerTotal Time35 minsINGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Mix together all the cocktail sauce ingredients into a bowl and set aside while shrimp cook. Both the cocktail sauce and shrimp can be made a day ahead.
Make sure the shrimp is defrosted and at room temperature. Fill a large stockpot with 4 qt. of water and add to it all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, put the lid on and continue to boil for 10 min. Prepare a colander in the sink to drain the shrimp. Drop the shrimp in and cook for 3 min. Pour the pot into the colander and immediately cool the shrimp by running cold water over them. Once cool to handle, separate the shrimp into a container and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours before serving.
Ingredients
Directions
Mix together all the cocktail sauce ingredients into a bowl and set aside while shrimp cook. Both the cocktail sauce and shrimp can be made a day ahead.
Make sure the shrimp is defrosted and at room temperature. Fill a large stockpot with 4 qt. of water and add to it all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, put the lid on and continue to boil for 10 min. Prepare a colander in the sink to drain the shrimp. Drop the shrimp in and cook for 3 min. Pour the pot into the colander and immediately cool the shrimp by running cold water over them. Once cool to handle, separate the shrimp into a container and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours before serving.
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