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Super easy, flavorful, and fun this Shrimp Cocktail Recipe is a go-to appetizer for any time of the year. Minimal ingredients and time make it the perfect treat.
Around this time of year there are tons and tons of get-togethers! From family and friends to work parties, there is an endless need for dishes that can please a crowd.
One of our favorite foods is seafood! What better than a classic Shrimp Cocktail Recipe, how about one with a twist!
Adding white wine while cooking these gorgeous shrimp really adds a lot of flavor and is sure to please everyone at the party!
With various vegetables, seasonings, and flavors the shrimp are boiled to perfection and served with our homemade cocktail sauce.
This really is a unique recipe that you absolutely do not want to pass up, especially if you are a huge seafood lover like I am.
We get so many requests for this recipe and living by the ocean makes it easier for us to have access to fresh seafood, so this is one recipe we always bring to gatherings.
Some of our other favorite easy appetizer recipes we have on our site include: Baked Cream Cheese Wonton Cups, Crostini and Bacon Bombs.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With fun and delicious flavors, everything works well together.
- The addition of wine to this really makes it amazing.
- You can double this recipe to serve more people.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW):
Dry white wine
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Old bay seasoning
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Pepper
Shrimp
Cocktail sauce for serving
Lemon wedges for serving
HOW TO MAKE A SHRIMP COCKTAIL RECIPE:
- In a large stockpot, add the wine, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, old bay, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Add water until it is 3/4 of the way up the pot. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, uncovered.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
- Add the shrimp and stir them into the pot. These only take a couple minutes to cook, you know they are fully cooked when they rise to the top of the water and are a bright white color on the inside, up to 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture and discard the veggies. Serve warm or place in the fridge until cold. Serve with lemon wedges and your favorite dipping sauces like cocktail sauce or aioli.
WHAT KIND OF WINE IS BEST FOR THIS?
We use a dry white wine for this recipe, so any of your favorites will work. We usually use a chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc.
WHY DO YOU LEAVE THE TAILS ON?
Leaving the tail on is the best practice for a couple of reasons. First of all, it looks better.
The presentation is really important because you eat with your eyes first. The tail sort of completes the appearance of the dish.
It also serves the practical purpose of a handle, giving people something to grab onto when they pick the shrimp up. This is perfect for gatherings.
Unless you are making a dish where the shrimp is cooked into it, we usually leave the tails on for these reasons.
WHAT IS THE BEST SHRIMP FOR SHRIMP COCKTAIL?
We prefer raw, fresh shrimp if we can get it, if not then frozen uncooked peeled and deveined shrimp with the tail on is what we like to use.
Otherwise, the shrimp that are unpeeled but easy to peel is preferred for this recipe. Get what you can, but these are what we like to use.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored in airtight container or ziptop bag this will last up to 4 days in the refrigerator. I do not recommend freezing already cooked shrimp.
The cocktail sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will last up to 1-2 weeks.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Use your favorite dry white wine for this recipe.
- This can be doubled to serve more people.
- You can use store-bought cocktail sauce or use the recipe linked above.
- We like to use fresh shrimp, see above on our favorite options.
- This is great served with lemon wedges and some lemon juice squeezed over the shrimp.
If you want a flavorful and classic appetizer with a twist, then you need to make this Shrimp Cocktail Recipe ASAP!
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this SHRIMP COCKTAIL RECIPE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!
Drunken Shrimp Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1 small white onion peeled and cut into 4ths
- 3 medium carrots cleaned and cut into large chunks
- 2 celery stalks cut into large chunks
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 Tablespoons old bay seasoning
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 large pounds shrimp peeled, deveined, tails on
- Cocktail sauce for serving
- Lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- n a large stockpot, add the wine, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, old bay, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Add water until it is 3/4 of the way up the pot. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, uncovered.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
- Add the shrimp and stir them into the pot. These only take a couple minutes to cook, you know they are fully cooked when they rise to the top of the water and are a bright white color on the inside, up to 5 minutes.
- Strain the mixture and discard the veggies. Serve warm or place in the fridge until cold. Serve with lemon wedges and your favorite dipping sauces like cocktail sauce or aioli.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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These shrimp look amazing Dana! We just had plain ole shrimp cocktail for Thanksgiving and some scampi the other night. I guess shrimp is on the menu again this week 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
Maria
What a neat snack for a holiday party!
Thanks for joining the Link Up this week!
Oh, I love the flavours in this shrimp cocktail. Thanks for sharing at Simple Supper Tuesday.
I see MANY drunken shrimp in my future
WoW and YuMmY! This is what I am talking about 🙂 Looks delicious and perfect for all your holiday parties. Thank you for linking up to Moonlight and Mason Jars!
I love how you stepped up shrimp cocktail… sounds really delicious.
Hi Dana! I’m stopping in from Let’s Get Real today. My family has shrimp cocktail every Christmas Eve, but we are so boring. We just have plain shrimp. Your druken shrimp is sure to wake up our party this year. It is also a great conversation starter.
This Louisiana girl can appreciate this. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from #LOBS.
Looks like the perfect appetizer for my New Year’s Day party! Thanks! Pinned! Visiting from My Favorite Posts Show Off Weekend…..
OMG yum! These look amazing! Pinning, and thanks for sharing at my link party!
I am featuring you on the Tasty Tuesday Blog Hop tomorrow… make sure you come grab a “featured button!”
http://www.momontherunx2.net/tuna-patties-mushroom-sauce/
Julia @ Mom on the Run x2
Co-host of Tasty Tuesday Blog hop with Anyonita Nibbles
This looks awesome! I am featuring you tomorrow on Made in a Day! Thanks so much for linking up!
Oh my goodness, this looks delicious! I hope we get a chance to try this recipe this weekend 🙂
This looks so great! What changes would I make if I wanted to make peel & eat?