Sous Vide Shrimp Cocktail

The best way to prepare chilled shrimp.

Picture stolen from the internet.

I love shrimp cocktail (who doesn't) and I know my wife does because she ordered 5 of them one night.  Making chilled shrimp at home used to mean buying precooked shrimp -- either cold or frozen.  Not anymore.  Use your sous vide rig to make kick ass chilled shrimp.

Disclaimer; I advertise this as a shrimp cocktail recipe and showed a picture of the typical chilled shrimp with cocktail sauce, but on the day that I was taking these pictures I had extra avocados and some thousand island dressing and no cocktail sauce so my application was a bit different...

You'll need;

• 1- 2 lb frozen raw peeled shrimp (tail on)
• salt and pepper
• butter
• cocktail sauce
• chopped celery (if you are gonna dress this up)

Begin by thawing the shrimp in a big bowl of cold water.  Left on the counter this will take at least 30 min.  In the fridge it'll be maybe 2 hrs.  BTW, these frozen raw shrimp, as well as individually quick frozen (IQF) fish are the best way to get excellent quality on a budget.

Once thawed, pat them dry and season with salt and pepper.

Place in a single layer in your vacuum bag(s) with a pat or two of butter.

Vacuum seal and put into a 135 for 40 minutes up to a 140F water bath for 30 minutes.   The lower temperature yields my preferred softer shrimp and 140 gives my wife's snappier shrimp.  Try the low one once just to see if you will be a convert.

When it is done use an ice bath to give your shrimp a quick trip through the danger zone. You can put them in the fridge or just leave them in the ice bath -- depending on when they are needed.

When you are ready to plate, cut open the bag and dry the shrimp once again.

If you are making traditional shrimp cocktail, put a bit of celery in a martini glass and top with cocktail sauce.  Hang 4 to 6 shrimp around the edge. Serve with crackers and a lemon wedge.

Picture stolen from the internet.

If you are making shrimp and avocado salad then plate some shrimp and a commensurate amount of sliced avocado.  Add a dollop of 1000 Island dressing.