Classic Cocktail Sauce

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How do you make your front-runner cocktail sauce ? Just catsup and horseradish ? possibly evening just ketchup and hot sauce ? Chances are if you are here, you ’ re besides looking to take it up a notch. good news is that it is one of our easy recipes.

angle of homemade cocktail sauce surrounded by shrimp
You might besides be one of those people that never truly thought about, fair got the grocery shop adaptation. The best cocktail sauce is about to come your way !

Cocktail Sauce Recipe

classical Cocktail Sauce is more than just ketchup and horseradish. For many, the arrant blend has a few more ingredients to form a balanced sauce worthy of complementing the best seafood. Besides read on for why this can be transformed into a cocktail sauce without horseradish !
But the cocktail sauce you get at ( some ) restaurants tastes unlike. It has a little more umpire. Pizzazz. Your homemade Cocktail Sauce can besides be this good with your own special customizations or start with our prize winning recipe.

shrimp dipping into homemade cocktail sauce

Where Does It Come From?

Cocktail sauce was invented by celebrated british chef and television receiver personality, Fanny Cradock, and primitively made to serve with a prawn cocktail. The list, therefore, was the “ sauce of the cocktail ”. And what we know today as the celebrated Shrimp Cocktail, deemed the ultimate of fancy appetizers and hor dourves. I think I might go second to referring to it as a Prawn Cocktail. It sounds therefore a lot more twist .

What Makes This One Different?

My recipe includes the basic building blocks for any cocktail sauce, although some cooks prefer to use a chili sauce in stead of or in addition to ketchup. We use a few more items to amplify the overall season. then we suggest letting it sit. Yep- let that bowl of good marry into beautiful flavors. After you get your basic sauce perfected, then you can start getting crazy with early concoctions, like my Balsamic Cocktail Sauce that I serve with Balsamic Steamed Shrimp .

Ingredients for Cocktail Sauce

The list is little, but mighty .

  • Ketchup- Commercial ketchup is often sweetened. You can also make your own or buy an unsweetened version. I honestly like the sweet and spicy flavor combo, so I use good old Heinz. Some folks also want to use tomato paste, but it is often too thick and too tomato-y.
  • Prepared Horseradish- Horseradish is actually root, similar to wasabi, but is fibrous and tends to dry our very fast. To prevent, this, it is placed in a brine, usually vinegar based, to preserve it. You’ll find that different brands also have different pungencies and brine recipes, so test them out or taste test the one you are using and add more or less depending on how spicy you like it. My husband would use more horseradish than ketchup if it was up to him! If you can find fresh horseradish, more power to you, but it is challenging to work with.
  • Fresh Lemon Juice– Fresh citrus is always packs more natural flavor. Bottled is slightly muted. If you are craving that fresh lemony flavor, also opt to add a few grates of lemon zest to the mix.
  • Worcestershire Sauce– The most mispronounced ingredient in the English language is also the one that gives this sauce a bold and heady flavor.
  • Hot sauce- I use Franks for a spicy kick, but take it up a notch with Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce or omit it for a milder version.
  • Fine Sea Salt- If you follow us, you know we like to coarse salt, but for this recipe it won’t have time to dissolve and integrate, leaving you with salty crunchies. Fine sea salt works best, opposed to an iodized table salt which can leave a metallic aftertaste.
  • Black Pepper– Make sure it is a fine grind so you don’t get peppery crunchies. Freshly ground will be the best for peppery flavors. White pepper can also be used, but will be a tad milder.

Mix all of the component together in a belittled bowl, cover and allow to chill and marry for at least an hour. Stir again and serve !
You can make it your own cocktail sauce with other variations. We ’ five hundred love to hear some in the comments section.

overhead of plate of shrimp with cocktail sauce

Cocktail Sauce without Horseradish

Yes, it can be done, but you will besides be missing one of the key elements. If you distillery want a piquant sauce, bivalent or even triple the hot sauce . If you equitable want a seafood sauce that offers a nice complement to shrimp, keep it the lapp just without horseradish.

hand holding up a shrimp with cocktail sauce

What To Use Cocktail Sauce On

Since its invention, cocktail sauce has since been added as a staple to many seafood dishes beyond precisely shrimp cocktail- some tied call it prawn cocktail sauce. very it can be used on any of your favored seafood .
Fried pisces, pisces sticks, oysters and clams, fried and steamed prawn, sometimes even crab cakes steamed and fried crabs .
I even like mine with hush puppies, but don ’ t tell anyone, that is sooo taboo. I ’ meter not a huge sports fan of Tartar Sauce, although I ’ ve been told I make a good one, so anything that normally pairs with tartar gets cocktail sauce !
You can even use it to build Bloody Mary ’ randomness ! pair it with some vodka, tomato juice and a lemon chock and you ’ ve got a slamming cocktail. If ketchup is the ultimate condiment, then this sauce is its close cousin. possibly even a sibling.

angle of homemade cocktail sauce, lemons and steamed shrimp

Storage & Make Ahead

This sauce is actually better when you make it ahead of fourth dimension. The trouble is that it gets a little gluey. Allow it to come to come to temperature for 15-20 minutes and give it a good stir before serving .
It will stay fresh in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 workweek .
Can you freeze cocktail sauce? You can freeze cocktail sauce, but it I ’ ve very rarely hear of it being done. If you do, freeze it in modest batches in sandwich bags or even an ice block tray so you can equitable defrost a little bite for dipping when needed.

Classic Cocktail Sauce is more than just ketchup and horseradish. Come see how to make a spectacular, restaurant quality sauce in just 5 minutes! #cocktailsauce www.savoryexperiments.com

More classic sauce recipes:

Creamy Horseradish Saucehorseradish cream sauce with chives

Creamy Horseradish Sauce comes together in less than 5 minutes with a sour cream base, tangy horseradish, this is a winner that will rival any steak sauce!

Remoulade for Crab Cakesspoon with remoulade sauce on it

Get ready to try your new favorite sauce! This EASY Remoulade for Crab Cakes will take your seafood game to the next level.

Mushroom Sauce for Steakbowl of mushroom sauce

Homemade steak sauces don’t get any better than this Mushroom Sauce! Not only does it taste great on steak, but you can add it to many other things, too!

Classic Cocktail Sauce is more than just ketchup and horseradish. Come see how to make a spectacular, restaurant quality sauce in just 5 minutes! #cocktailsauce www.savoryexperiments.com

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Best Cocktail Sauce

classical Cocktail Sauce is more than just ketchup and horseradish. Come see how to make a spectacular, restaurant quality sauce in just 5 minutes !

Prep Time 5 mins

Total Time 5 mins

Servings: 1 cup

Calories: 293 kcal

Read more: Fetal Duck Egg

Author: Jessica Formicola

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1-2 tablespoons prepared horseradish or more if you like it hot
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Dash of finely grind black pepper

Instructions

  • Combine the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire, hot sauce, salt and pepper.
  • Stir well. Sauce can be served immediately or chill for 1 hour for best results.
  • If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings.

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