Shrimp Cocktail

I've talked before how grocery sales run in cycles, usually about 12 weeks apart.  This is the time of year shrimp (frozen: raw, cooked, shrimp ring platters) tend to go on sale and stay on sale for the most part until the end of the year.  The reason for this is the higher demand for shrimp during the holiday entertaining season.  We enjoy shrimp year round so this is the perfect time to stock the freezers. 

Shrimp cocktail is usually served in a chilled seafood cocktail glass or on a bed of lettuce when ordered in a restaurant.  The serving size normally is 6 to 8 good sized shrimp surrounding seafood sauce.  The grocery stores sell frozen shrimp rings as well that only need to be thawed and served in the tray provided.

At home I serve shrimp cocktail simply on a plate surrounding a small jar of homemade  seafood cocktail sauce, sometimes on a bed of leaf lettuce but often not.   Pictured is thawed tail on 36/45 shrimp served as an appetizer.  The numbers refer to how many shrimp per pound so in this case there were 36 to 45 shrimp per pound.  This is a nice appetizer size but is also nice for garlic shrimp or adding to a quick stir fry.  Since the shrimp is already cooked it can be served cold or just warmed through making it rather versatile for appetizers and other quick dishes.