Your Grill Is The Key For More Flavorful Shrimp Cocktail

When thought of separately, the words "shrimp" and "cocktail" are seemingly incompatible: a many-legged ocean-dwelling crustacean and a chilled alcoholic beverage couldn't be more at odds with one another. Yet, when paired together, the two words conjure up a mid-century delicacy that's still popular on many menus in the United States today. Whether it's an appetizer at a red leather-boothed steakhouse or enjoyed as a snack dining al fresco on a summer afternoon, you usually know exactly what to expect when ordering a shrimp cocktail. Plump, juicy poached shrimp are chilled and served alongside a tomato-based cocktail sauce, sometimes given an extra kick with added horseradish. While the original dish is lovely, it's time to bust out that grill for a more flavorful shrimp cocktail.

Although we love our classic shrimp cocktail recipe, there's always room for experimentation and variation. Rather than poaching shrimp in a mildly flavored bath, grilling shrimp imparts a smoky, charred depth of flavor that's impossible to replicate in a pot on the stove. Shrimp cook rapidly on a hot grill, meaning less time in the kitchen for you, as well as less hassle dealing with ice baths and drying off the shrimp. Simply throw shelled, deveined shrimp on a hot grill for one to two minutes per side, then let them cool off before transferring them to the refrigerator to chill fully before serving. As a bonus, the grill will leave those classic char marks on the shrimp, which makes for a striking visual presentation compared to normally poached shrimp. 

While you can add flavorings to the water you poach shrimp in such as herbs, lemon juice, and wine, there's only so much flavor you can imbue into the shrimp through poaching, especially in the short amount of time that the shrimp take to fully cook. A perk of grilling over poaching is that you can marinate the shrimp in any flavor you like before cooking them. Marinating ahead of time is an easy, hands-off way to impart more flavor into the shrimp, like garlic, herbs, and lemon zest (however, be wary of marinating the shrimp in any acid, like lemon juice, for more than just a few minutes as it will begin to cook the shrimp, similar to what happens with a ceviche). 

While cocktail sauce can take any flavor direction you can imagine, we're big fans of this quick three-ingredient version when you're in a pinch. If you want to double-down on the grill action, you can add an extra layer of flavor by slicing lemons in half and grilling them, cut side down, before squeezing the juice into your cocktail sauce. We highly doubt you'll have any leftover, but just in case, you can use any extra grilled shrimp to make an over-the-top bloody mary or even a super-garnished michelada.