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Juicy, jumbo shrimp are poached with fresh herbs and served cold with lemon wedges or a zesty homemade shrimp cocktail sauce for the perfect appetizer!
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Infusing shrimp with savory herbs delivers next-level flavor.
- Technique: Quick cooking and an ice bath are the secrets to perfectly tender shrimp every time.
- Recommended Tools: Kitchen shears are perfect for removing shells easily and safely.
- Serving Suggestions: Add a platter of crostini with a quick and easy tapenade or bruschetta topping and a crisp, white wine.
Ingredients in Shrimp Cocktail
- Shrimp: Raw jumbo shrimp (16-20 or 21-25 per lb) work best for shrimp cocktail as they are easier to eat (peel the shell but keep the tails on for easy handling). Deveined shrimp are the easiest to prepare. Thaw frozen shrimp overnight in the refrigerator or a zippered bag submerged in cold water, changing the water every 30 minutes or so. Avoid using the microwave since the shrimp may thaw unevenly or start to cook.
- Broth: The broth is infused with fresh thyme, parsley, celery, peppercorns, and bay leaf, creating a fragrant base that gently flavors the shrimp. Adding kosher salt and lemon enhances the natural seafood taste, making every bite light, zesty, and delicious.
How to Make Shrimp Cocktail
- Put celery, seasonings, and water in a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer.
- Add peeled shrimp and half the lemon to the water, remove from the heat, and cover.
- Once cooked, transfer them to a bowl of ice water.
- Drain and serve (full recipe below).
Storing Shrimp Cocktail
- Shrimp cocktail can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and kept in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Leftover shrimp should be stored separately from the cocktail sauce and lemon wedges in a covered container or zippered bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Shrimp can be turned into a creamy, cheesy dip served with crackers or on a slice of garlic cheese toast.
- Freezing isn’t recommended since the texture won’t be the same once the shrimp are thawed.
Love Shrimp?
Did you enjoy this Shrimp Cocktail? Leave a comment and rating below.
Shrimp Cocktail
This shrimp cocktail platter is full of flavor and makes the perfect party appetizer!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds jumbo shrimp
- 2 ribs celery
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lemon divided
- cocktail sauce for serving, optional
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan ⅔ full with water. Add celery, salt, thyme, parsley, peppercorns, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes (while you prepare the shrimp if needed).
- If your shrimp have the shells on, you will need to remove the shell leaving the tail intact. To prepare shrimp, cut the top of the shrimp shell along the back all the way down to the tail. Remove the shell leaving the tail in place. Place a small knife under the black vein and remove and discard it. Repeat with remaining shrimp.
- Add shrimp and half of the lemon to the simmering water. Immediately remove from heat and cover.
- Let rest, covered, until shrimp are pink and firm, about 3-4 minutes for jumbo shrimp.
- Fill a medium bowl with ice water. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to the ice water until completely cooled.
- Cut the remaining lemon half into wedges and serve with the cooled shrimp and cocktail sauce. Shrimp can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before serving.
Notes
Jumbo shrimp should show 16 to 20 per pound on the package.
Jumbo shrimp need 3-4 minutes to cook through. Smaller shrimp may only need 2-3 minutes.
The ice bath stops the shrimp from overcooking, keeping it tender and juicy. Don’t skip this step!
Keep leftover shrimp in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 86 | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 214mg | Sodium: 713mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Party Food, Seafood, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I make this all the time with fresh shrimp. It’s amazing
Stacy, fresh shrimp sounds perfect for this—bet it adds so much flavor! Love that it’s a regular in your kitchen.
Excellent recipe! I only have one thing to add… never buy ‘fresh’ shrimp, because so-called fresh shrimp have already been frozen at sea and defrosted before sale. Because of this, you have no way of knowing how long it has been since the shrimp were defrosted. Purchasing frozen shrimp, which were frozen soon after being caught, you have the freshest shrimp available. Unless you live close to where fishing boats dock, and can purchase directly from a dock fish market, always buy frozen and defrost them yourself for the best quality shrimp.
Glad you loved it! Thanks for the tips on buying frozen.
What can I say? Delicious! My teenage granddaughter tasted one and said, Dad, come over here and have this shrimp…it actually tastes like shrimp!” Thanks so much for helping to make our Christmas Eve dinner a success!
And I used frozen, raw shrimp … defrosted and cleaned…the best!
Yay! So happy everyone loved the shrimp cocktail Barbara!
If using frozen shrimp, why are you cooking. It is already cooked. Can’t you just defrost it?
Not all frozen shrimp comes cooked, if it is precooked then yes you would only need to defrost it!
No receipes for the cocktail sauce? Cooking Shrimp is a no brainer…. It’s all about the Sauce
We use this cocktail sauce recipe. Enjoy!
Hello. You say you can use fresh or frozen shrimp when you start. If frozen, do you thaw before putting in full boiling water or straight in while frozen. Mine are frozen and already deshelled and deveined with tail on.
Hi Craig, If using frozen shrimp we recommend running under cold water to thaw before adding to the saucepan.
In one place it says drop the shrimp and lemon into simmering water , cover and remove from heat cook for a few minutes, and then at the end it says make sure the water is at a full rolling boil before putting the shrimp in Why the 2 different methods??
Apologies for the confusion Yvonne. The water should be boiling before adding the shrimp to allow the flavors into the poaching liquid. Once it has boiled, it should be reduced to a simmer. As soon as the shrimp are added it should be removed from the heat to keep them from overcooking. I hope that helps.