Retro Prawn Cocktail Shooters (Printable Version)

Succulent prawns paired with a tangy, flavorful sauce served in stylish shooters for parties.

# Needed Ingredients:

→ Seafood

01 - 16 large cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on

→ Cocktail Sauce

02 - 6 tablespoons ketchup
03 - 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
04 - 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
05 - 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
06 - ½ teaspoon hot sauce (e.g., Tabasco)
07 - ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
08 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Garnish

09 - 1 small lemon cut into wedges
10 - 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives or parsley
11 - Optional: lettuce leaves or microgreens for base

# Preparation Steps:

01 - In a small bowl, combine ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir thoroughly and adjust seasoning as needed.
02 - Refrigerate the cocktail sauce for at least 15 minutes to let flavors meld.
03 - Optionally, place a small piece of lettuce or a few microgreens at the bottom of each shot glass.
04 - Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of cocktail sauce into each shot glass.
05 - Hang two shrimp over the rim of each glass, tails facing outward for easy handling.
06 - Sprinkle fresh chives or parsley atop the sauce and place a lemon wedge alongside each shooter.
07 - Serve immediately, keeping chilled until ready to enjoy.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • They look fancy enough to impress but are deceptively simple to pull together, which means you can actually enjoy your own party instead of stress-cooking.
  • The homemade cocktail sauce tastes nothing like the bottled stuff—that horseradish and Worcestershire combination gives you a sauce that lingers and surprises in the best way.
02 -
  • The horseradish needs to be the prepared kind from a jar—fresh horseradish root is a completely different beast and will absolutely overpower everything, which I learned the hard way by being too clever.
  • Those fifteen minutes of chilling time isn't just a suggestion; it's when the sauce actually becomes sauce instead of just a bowl of things that happen to be in the same place.
03 -
  • Buy prawns that are already cooked and peeled but have the tails still attached—this saves you the work and gives you that presentation element that makes them feel special.
  • Don't be shy with the Worcestershire and horseradish; these ingredients are what separate a memorable sauce from something forgettable, and they're bold enough that they won't disappear into the background.
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