Cocktail sauces

This past weekend I ate at the Roadfood reviewed Halibut's in Portland, OR.  My chowder, halibut and sweet potato fries were all excellent, but the item I will probably remember most is the homemade cocktail sauce.  This stuff was incredibly strong and undoubtedly heavy on the horseradish.  The only other place I have had anything similar is the shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo's Steakhouse in Indy.

 
While the cocktail sauce at St. Elmo's is more of a quick sinus cleaner, the stuff at Halibut's is like a 2" x 4" to the forehead, with a pain that lingers.  You know, in a good way.  I loved it!
 
Any other places out there with memorable homemade cocktail sauces?

One of the places that I worked for about 30 years ago made their own. From the best of my recollection there was horseraddish (not the creamy one), Chili
sauce (heinz) Celery that was food processed to a fine mince w/juice,Worcestershire sauce and I think there was some lemon juice..not sure about that among the rest of the ingredients. This was wisked together and allowed to blend overnight.   This wasn't like the stuff that you buy in a bottle or that sweet ketchupy stuff the early Red Lobster's served, this stuff as you say would clean the sinus's. Need to dig this one out, my dad brought this up over a month ago. 

That is the recipe that I use as well, except I add onion, precessed with the celery. Of course  with lemon added. The trick is to find really fresh prepared horseradish and add it to taste. (my taste is to add a lot) The Heinz Chili sauce is a must.

Ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, celery seed,  black pepper: all in proportions to suit your taste. The only food we ever use it on is shrimp.

Cheers, John  

The only packaged cocktail sauce  worth eating is Gold's  Extra  Spicy. This must be kept refrigerated (even at the store at the seafood  dept.) as there are no preservitives added. The ingredients are: tomato  paste, horseradish, vinegar, sugar, salt, onions, lemon  juioce and spices.
 
I buy mine at the Stop &  Shop  supermarkets.  retail  is $1.99 for a 9oz jar.

Mine is just catsup and horseradish. The trick is to use just enough horseradish so that your forehead sweats, your eyes water and your nose runs. I put out lemon wedges with it.

I love a homemade cocktail sauce heavy on the horseradish. My favorite seafood restaurants  place the ingredients on the table and let you stir up your own. Essential are ketchup, horseradish, Bruce's hot sauce or Tabasco, and Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire sauce. Lemon is also a nice addition. I can't bear a sauce that is too sweet.

I don't remember chopped onion in ours, I know we used it in the tartar sauce though. The sauce was salted with grill salt like just about everything else that required salt. It was a combination of salt,msg,onion powder,and pepper which I'm sure contributed somewhat to the taste. Tabasco, the real stuff was used at one time, but not while I was there. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

I'm certainly on the heavy horseradish side of the table. Rarely do I find one with enough kick in a restaurant's cocktail sauce but how you describe "the stuff at Halibut's is like a 2" x 4" to the forehead, with a pain that lingers.  You know, in a good way." makes me want to drive out there now.

Mine is:

 Hienz Chili Sauce, fresh grated horseradish, the juice of 1 lemon, a dash or two of Lee & Perin, celery salt or seed ground, fresh cracked black pepper, and a dash of Dijon mustard.

David O.

If you can still breathe after taking a dip, it's not made right  hahahah
Pam

DawnT


I don't remember chopped onion in ours, I know we used it in the tartar sauce though. The sauce was salted with grill salt like just about everything else that required salt. It was a combination of salt,msg,onion powder,and pepper which I'm sure contributed somewhat to the taste. Tabasco, the real stuff was used at one time, but not while I was there. I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

No one should EVER put MSG in ANYTHING. Especially cocktail sauce

The Best Cocktail Sauce on The Planet can be found at my house anytime seafood is in the area. I never measure anything and make the sauce based on the quantity of the sauce that is needed for the size of the consumers and amount of the seafood involved. I NEVER measure anything - I go strictly by taste:
 
The Ingredients,(NO SUBSTITUTES) involved include:
Start wit,
FRESH SQUEEZED Lemon Juice
HEINZ Ketchup
ADD
Super Hot Horseradish - I like Fresh Ground, Coarse Cut, GOOD -N- HOT,  from Silver Springs Foods, Eau Claire, WI 54702 
http://www.silverspringgardens.com/
 
Crystal Hot Sauce from Baumer Foods
http://www.baumerfoods.com/
 
L & P Worcestershire  Sauce - NO Substitutes
http://www.leaperrins.ca/
 
OPTIONAL- TonyChachere's Seasoning
 http://www.tonychachere.com/
 
AAAAAAEEEEEEE!!! Dat Som Good Sauce, I Guar--on--tee!
 
QUALITY INGREDIENTS MAKE QUALITY COCKTAIL SAUCE!!

hunt's ketchup so it turns pink,a capful of lemon juice and as hot of a jar of horseradish as I can find. if it doesn't sizzle your sinus's, then the horseradish isn't worth having.

Harry Caray's in Chicago was pretty good, but the best part was an extra spoonful of horseradish in the center of the cocktail sauce, so if you wanted to make it spicier you could.  Homemade recipe is just ketchup, horseradish, and worchestershire.

No wasabi?

jabber811-
Thanks for the tip on Harry Caray's cocktail sauce.  Next time there, I will make sure to order something that uses it.

I make the Barefoot Contessa's version and it's one of the best I've ever had:  1/2 cup catsup, 1/2 cup Heintz chili sauce, 3 TBS. horseradish, lemon juice, couple of dashes of Lea and Perrins, and Tabasco.

Thanks to all for this useful information and recipes. 

I made my own sauce for the first time using the Cajun ketchup X1 gave me with the Harry Carey dollop of extra horseradish in the middle.  The best cocktail sauce I've ever had.  Bobbi will make the next batch and try to one up me.

I hope you'll all excuse my ignorance, bt I've never heard of "dill sauce". Can someone describe it to me and perhaps give a brand name?

Cheers, john  

John, where did you see "dill sauce"?

Michael Hoffman


Mine is just catsup and horseradish. The trick is to use just enough horseradish so that your forehead sweats, your eyes water and your nose runs. I put out lemon wedges with it.

I just posted in Tarter sauce, and I suggested using NO SALT ketchup for cocktail sauce..
Its tastes better to  me, more like tomato. The salt masks the good flavor
You would think otherwise.

Yes lots of horseradish is what I usually use, but you can also put in cayenne pepper
and, or Habenero pepper. Maybe a little green cut up Jalapeno.
What I usually do is just take a bite of the habenero to get it going.

Probably why most recipes call for Chili sauce instead of catsup.

DawnT


Probably why most recipes call for Chili sauce instead of catsup.

I have not fooled any with chili sauce. Seems to me it has more
peppery taste. I just like the hot, which has little flavor with the amounts used.
A less hot pepper will have more taste having more quantity.
What I'm saying is I just like the taste of ketchup rather than chili sauce.

The OP posted a picture of what looks more like salsa. I guess you could use salsa if
you wanted. Its just every bite is different, since its not finely cut.

I use ketchup, lemon juice, a bit of Louisiana hot sauce, like Crystal, and plenty of horseradish.  My 7 year old son loves it with shrimp!

Are we talking about the condiment called chili sauce Gregys or are you thinking about some sauce that contains chili peppers like Crystal,Frank's,or Tabasco sauce ? Chili sauce as per the condiment made by Heinz and others contains no pepper of any kind, not even ground,black pepper. It's basically similar to catsup, but made with tomato puree, has lemon juice and dried onion instead if onion powder. I don't even know why they call it Chili sauce.

 Ha! My Swedish Grandma used Heinz Chili Sauce as Taco Sauce! no seasoning in the ground beef either......

For those of you making your own cocktail sauces, are any of you grating your own horseradish from root? If so do you have a problem with the cocktail sauce congealing?

Mine seems to turn to jello within hours of mixing it up. The combination of Heinz ketchup and fresh grated horseradish does it for some reason.

I've been making mine this way for ten or fifteen years:
 
1/2 cup Ketchup
2 Tbsp Prepared Horseradish
1 Tsp Tabasco Sauce
1/8 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground, coarse
Juice of one medium lemon
 
Combine ingredients. 
 
(No, I don't actually measure the black pepper.  That's about 10 twists of my pepper grinder)