Making Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Making shrimp cocktail sauce is not as difficult as it may sound. You can decide how involved or how simple you want it to be by experimenting with different recipes until you find the one you like best. Whether it is a simple sauce or a spicy shrimp cocktail sauce, there are many shrimp cocktail sauce recipes you can choose from.

The goal of making homemade shrimp cocktail sauce is to provide a tangy, sweet, tomato-based dipping sauce with a bite that will compliment the natural flavors of the shrimp.

Quick and Easy Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
The simplest way to make shrimp cocktail sauce is to mix ketchup and horseradish sauce, add a squeeze of lemon juice, and presto!  You have a dipping sauce for your jumbo shrimp.

Sophisticated Shrimp Cocktail Sauce Recipes
If you want to play around with flavors and textures, you can invest more time in making your sauce. The following recipes use a tomato-base, lime or lemon juice for the appropriate tang, and a biting or bitter-tasting ingredient for that zing you want in every bite.

Fresh Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients You Will Need:
1 to 2 tablespoons grated horseradish root
1 cup fresh tomatoes, cleaned, cored, diced and then pureed
? teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Fresh squeezed juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the ingredients listed above in a food processor and blend briefly. Chill sauce for at least one hour to let the flavors mingle before serving. Use within 48 hours of preparing.

Spicy Shrimp Cocktail Sauce (Not for the Faint of Heart)

Ingredients You Will Need:
1 cup chili sauce
1 tablespoon prepared wasabi sauce
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Fresh squeezed juice of half a lemon

Mix the ingredients together and chill for an hour to let flavors meld before serving.

Serving Suggestions for Shrimp Cocktail
Fill a cocktail glass (a margarita glass or martini glass works well) with ice.  Arrange shelled, deveined, cleaned and cooked jumbo shrimp around the rim of the glass. Garnish with a wedge of lemon. Spoon a generous amount of cocktail sauce into a serving ramekin or custard cup. Serve immediately.