Follow these easy tips and steps on how to boil shrimp to make the perfect shrimp cocktail. Also included are detailed instructions on how to peel and devein shrimp.
Shrimp cocktail is flavorful, healthy, and delicious! Make it at home today!
"Love this recipe. Shrimp comes out perfect every time. I add the old bay seasoning to the water along with lemon and the beer (I like Corona)."
★★★★★-BigPapa
I never recommend pre-cooked frozen shrimp. They loose their flavor from the thawing and pre-cooking process. When defrosted, they can be rubbery.
This is why I always cook my shrimp from raw. Peeling, deveining, and boiling shrimp is easy to do at home.
The biggest mistakes people make when cooking shrimp are over-cooking the shrimp and not flavoring the broth.
Follow these steps and tips for perfectly boiled shrimp for shrimp cocktail! I hope you enjoy! Xoxo -Katie.
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Watch how to boil shrimp cocktail
Ingredient notes and substitutions
To boil shrimp for shrimp cocktail, you will need the following ingredients:
- Shrimp: Peeled and deveined shrimp, unless you are making "boiled peel and eat shrimp." (Keep the shells if you are peeling them!)
- Beer: Plain water is flavorless. I prefer Corona Light for the light citrusy flavor. You want to pick a beer that is not over powering. The beer is meant to compliment and add to the shrimp flavor, not take away from the shrimp flavor. If you do not want to use beer to boil shrimp, substitute beer with water and add half of a lemon.
- Old Bay Seasoning: Some people cook Old Bay Seasoning in the broth. I like to toss the shrimp in the Old Bay Seasoning at the end for the full flavor.
*Full recipe with ingredient measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
Time Saving Tip
It is cheaper to buy shrimp with their shells on. However, if you want to save time and the work effort, buy peeled and deveined shrimp.
Steps to boil shrimp
Follow these easy steps on how to boil shrimp to make the perfect shrimp cocktail!
- Peel and devein shrimp. (If you want to make "peel and eat shrimp," skip this step.
- Add the shrimp peels to a large stock pot. This will add flavor to the shrimp broth.
- Add one beer to stock pot. Then fill pot with water ¾ of the way.
- Bring broth to a boil.
- Add shrimp. Cook until done, about 2-3 minutes depending on size. They are done when the tails curl and the skin is pink. Take them out immediately when done.
- Strain immediately under cold water, just long enough to take the initial heat off the shrimp and remove the pot water.
- Quickly toss Old Bay Seasoning over the shrimp.
- Quickly seperate shrimp from shells that were in the stock onto ice. Chill until ready to serve.
Note: To make shrimp cocktail, serve with cocktail sauce. You can use store bought or easily make it homemade. You can also serve it with a delicious homemade mustard sauce for a different twist!
How to peel and devein shrimp
Follow these easy steps to peel and devein shrimp:
- If the head is attached to the shrimp, remove the head. Starting at the head end, go underneath to the leg side of the shrimp and break away shell.
- Pinching the shell tail tip to keep it in place, remove shell to tail tip. If removing the tail, pinch the very back of the tail right above the tail fins and pull the tail tip off. This prevents any breakage of the tail end of shrimp.
- Using a sharp pairing knife, cut shrimp down the middle back of the shrimp to expose the vein. Careful not to go too deep (about ¼ in deep).
- Use the pairing knife to pull out the grey vein. You can run shrimp under cold water if any pieces of the vein does not easily remove.
How to Peel and Devein Shrimp Video Tutorial
What size shrimp should you use for shrimp cocktail?
I like the 21-25 shrimp per pound count. They are a nice size and are still sweet. You can go bigger. However, the extra large giant size are not as sweet as the smaller size.
How to quick thaw frozen shrimp?
Submerge frozen shrimp in a large bowl of cold water. Thaw shrimp 15 to 20 minutes until completely thawed.
For more shrimp recipes, try:
Please leave me a comment below if you use these steps to boil shrimp and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your shrimp cocktail on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
How to Boil Shrimp for Shrimp Cocktail
Ingredients
- 2 pounds uncooked shrimp
- 12 ounces beer
- Old Bay Seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Peel and devein 2 pounds shrimp. (If you want to make "peel and eat shrimp," skip this step.
- Add the shrimp peels to a large stock pot. This will add flavor to the shrimp broth.
- Add 12 ounce beer to stock pot. Then fill pot with water ¾ of the way.
- Bring broth to a boil.
- Add shrimp. Cook until done, about 2-3 minutes depending on size. They are done when the tails curl and the skin is pink. Take them out immediately when done.
- Strain immediately under cold water, just long enough to take the initial heat off the shrimp and remove the pot water.
- Quickly toss Old Bay Seasoning over the shrimp.
- Quickly seperate shrimp from shells that were in the stock onto ice. Chill until ready to serve.
- Serve with lemon slices and cocktail sauce.
Video
Notes
Notes:
- If you do not want to use beer to boil shrimp, substitute beer with water and add half of a lemon.
- If using frozen shrimp, submerge frozen shrimp in a large bowl of cold water. Thaw shrimp 15 to 20 minutes until completely thawed.
BigPapa says
Love this recipe. Shrimp comes out perfect every time. I add the old bay seasoning to the water along with lemon and the beer (I like Corona).
Janet Hall says
Love the flavor of this recipe! I’ve been doing them wrong for many years. Never too late to change to the best recipe. Thanks #forkstale
Hayley Dhanecha says
What an informative post with so many tips and tricks on How to boil Shrimp, sharing it with my friend who loves her shrimp!
Heidy says
These tips and recipe to make a shrimp cocktail look outstanding, and I am looking forward to making this today since I have all the ingredients on hand minus 1, I think!!! Have a great night! I will let you know how it turns out!
Heidy
Loreto and Nicoletta says
This is a great shrimp cocktail! I am totally with you on buying uncooked shrimp and getting some love and flavor into those lovely ocean gems. I like to toss my cooked shrimp in a pit of vinegar and capers. Just adds another dimension of flavor! Thanks! Now I am so craving shrimps cocktail!
Kushigalu says
Thanks alot for all the tips and tricks. Never tried boiling it like this before. I will have to try it this way soon.
Brianna says
These shrimp turned out so moist and flavorful! Old Bay is the best shrimp seasoning.
Linda says
Shrimps in beer? Definitely a yes for me and yay for more shrimp cocktail.
Liz says
My dad LOVES shrimp cocktail so I was glad to find exactly how to prepare the shrimp! Thanks!
Heather says
I love shrimp cocktail as an appetizer when I eat out, but have never tried making it myself! Boiling with beer sounds amazing and your tips make it seem super do-able at home.
Marie says
Shrimp cocktail is such a timeless appetizer! The deliciousness of the dish a hundred percent depends on whether the shrimps are properly cooked so I love your super clever, helpful tips! I bet they'll save us from lots of rubbery shrimp cocktails!
Allyssa says
Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make recipe! It's really helpful and it really turned out great! I highly recommend this!
Anaiah says
Never tried boiling shrimp with beer before! This shrimp cocktail recipe turned out great and you were right, it was soo much more flavorful than if I were to use water.