Seafood · Mexican
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail (Coctel de Camarón)
Coctel de camarón is the beach-shack classic served in a tall glass all along the Mexican coast: tender shrimp in a cold, tangy tomato and lime sauce loaded with avocado, cucumber and cilantro. Using shrimp that was cooked and frozen right after the catch means a sweet, clean flavor and a no-cook recipe you can make any day of the week.
- Prep20 min
- Cook0 min
- Total20 min
- Servings4
Ingredients
- 400 g pre-cooked baby shrimp, thawed $470
- Optional: 250 g wild-caught large shrimp 21/25, poached 2 minutes and chilled $470
- 1 cup tomato-clam juice or ketchup-style cocktail sauce base (or 3/4 cup ketchup + 1/4 cup cold water)
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup cold shrimp cooking water or chilled agua mineral
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and Mexican hot sauce to taste
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1/2 white onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 serrano chiles, minced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- Salt, saltine crackers and lime wedges to serve
Instructions
- Thaw the baby shrimp in the fridge or in a colander under cold running water, then drain well.
- If using large shrimp, drop them into simmering salted water for about 2 minutes, just until pink, then chill in ice water. Save 1/2 cup of the cooking water and let it cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk the tomato juice or ketchup, lime juice, cold shrimp water, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Season with salt.
- Stir in the cucumber, onion, serrano and cilantro.
- Fold in all the shrimp and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes so everything is very cold.
- Spoon into tall glasses, top with diced avocado and a lime wedge, and serve with saltines and extra hot sauce.
Tips
- Keep everything ice cold: chill the glasses in the freezer for 10 minutes before serving.
- Add the avocado at the very end so it stays bright green and doesn't turn mushy.
