Dirty Martini Shrimp Cocktail

It’s the perfect pairing: dirty martini shrimp cocktail with a dirty martini. Your night can’t get better than this. Hate gin? Try our batch Manhattans.

But all jokes aside, shrimp cocktail gets a little upgrade. Toss your shrimp in olives, lemon juice, parsley, and olive oil and serve with a long cocktail hour before dinner.

P.S. Flavorful poaching water is crucial to a flavorful poached shrimp, but most importantly, it needs to be as salty as the sea. 

Dirty Martini Shrimp Cocktail
serves 4-6 people

shopping list —

for the shellfish poaching liquid —

• 6 grams bay leaves

• 75 grams mustard seeds

• 35 grams coriander

• 20 grams allspice

• 7 grams cloves

• 1 grams red pepper flake

• 1 gallon water

• 1 qt white wine

• 3 each lemons, cut in half

• kosher salt to taste 

for the dirty martini shrimp cocktail —

• 1# 16/20 raw shrimp*

• castelveltrano olives — or some lovely green olives

• 1/2 bunch parsley

• 1 lemon, zest & juice

• olive oil

for the cocktail sauce —

• 3 cups tomato ketchup

• 1 oz horseradish, prepared

• 2 limes, zest & juice

• 2 oz worcestershire

• 4 each garlic cloves

• 2 ea shallots, sliced

• 2 tbsp gin — or to taste

• salt

• freshly cracked black pepper.

equipment —

• cheesecloth

• saute pan

• heavy bottom pot

• sieve

• parchment lined sheet tray

steps —

for the shellfish poaching liquid —

1. Toast all the spices.

2. Place spices in a cheesecloth tied with butcher’s twine to make a sachet.

3. In a large pot, combine the water, white wine, lemons, and the sachet.

4. Season the water heavily with salt (as salty as the ocean - but really).

5. Bring it all to a boil.

to poach — 

1. Once the court bouillon is boiling, add the shrimp to the pot and give it a stir. The shrimp take about 3-5 minutes to cook, depending on the size. You can test one by pulling it out of the poaching liquid and cutting the tip of the head off. If it’s opaque and no longer raw, pull them out of the poaching liquid or drain them in a clean colander.

2. Either cool them off on a parchment-lined sheet tray in the refrigerator or in an ice bath. If using an ice bath, don’t let them sit in the water for too long.

for the cocktail sauce —

1. Add the horseradish, lime zest and juice, Worcestershire, garlic cloves, and shallot in a blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Pour the blended mix into the ketchup and stir. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and allow to sit overnight in the refrigerator.

3. The next day, use a whisk to break up the cocktail sauce and add the gin to taste.

for the dirty martini shrimp cocktail —

1. Halve or chop the olives. Chop the parsley.

2. In a bowl, add the olives, lemon zest & juice, parsley, and a good amount of olive oil to cover. Season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Mix together.

   *P.S. A little chili flake might be good here, too:)

3. Toss in the shrimp and mix to get in all the crevices. Serve with the cocktail sauce.

*Confused about what the numbers mean when buying shrimp? They’re used to tell you the size and about how many shrimp are in a pound. For instance, there are 16 to 20 shrimp in a pound when buying 16/20s, so these will be larger than say 21/25s, etc. Oftentimes there’s a U in front of the number, and it means a similar thing (i.e. U10 means under 10 shrimp per pound).