Mexican-Style Shrimp Cocktail

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: Mexican coctel de camarones bears little resemblance to American shrimp cocktail. Rather, this cool, elegant appetizer marries tender shrimp with chunks of fresh tomato, cucumber, avocado, and onion, all in a gently spicy, tomato-based sauce. To start, we used a tried-and true test kitchen poaching method to ensure that our shrimp were both flavorful and perfectly cooked: We simmered them in seasoned water for about 10 minutes, then took the pot off the stovetop and covered it so the shrimp could gently finish cooking without risk of drying out. Since the vegetables are eaten raw, we only needed to determine the best way to cut them. We liked the textural contrast of ½-inch chunks of cucumber, tomato, and avocado; the onion we chopped fine. As for the thin sauce, we stuck with tradition and combined Clamato juice, which provided robust seafood notes, and ketchup, which gave the sauce a sweet-savory flavor and allowed it to nicely coat the shrimp and vegetables. Just a splash of lime juice and hot sauce rounded out our boldly flavored, full-bodied base. Look for Clamato juice next to the tomato juice in the grocery store. If you can’t find Clamato juice, substitute a combination of 1½ cups V8 juice, ½ cup water, and 1 teaspoon sugar. Serve in individual goblets or
glasses with homemade chips.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 1½ pounds medium shrimp (41 to 50 per pound), peeled, deveined, and tails removed
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, stems reserved
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tomatoes, cored and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into ½-inch pieces
• 1 small red onion, chopped fine
• 2 cups Clamato juice
• ½ cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted, and cut into ½-inch pieces

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine shrimp, 3 cups water, cilantro stems, peppercorns, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt in large saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp are pink and firm to touch, 8 to 10 minutes (water should be just bubbling around edge of saucepan and register 165 degrees). Remove saucepan from heat, cover, and let shrimp sit in cooking liquid for 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, fill large bowl with ice water. Drain shrimp into colander, discarding cilantro stems and spices. Immediately transfer shrimp to ice water to stop cooking and chill thoroughly, about 3 minutes. Remove shrimp from ice water and thoroughly pat dry with paper towels.
3. Mix tomatoes, cucumber, onion, Clamato juice, ketchup, lime juice, and hot sauce together in serving bowl. Stir in shrimp, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Shrimp cocktail can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours; let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.) Stir in avocado and chopped cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.