Peel-and-Eat Boiled Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce
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Ready to dig in? These Maryland-style boiled shrimp are packed with flavor—peel, eat, and enjoy a hands-on seafood feast!
One of my family’s favorite summer traditions is heading to seafood shacks, where we sit around brown paper–covered picnic tables and dig into peel-and-eat shrimp, blue crabs, and crab cakes. Even better is recreating the experience at home with a backyard seafood boil. Boiled shrimp are quick, easy, and so much fun to eat. I love making them Maryland-style—simmered in beer and Old Bay, with homemade cocktail sauce on the side. Cooking shrimp in the shell locks in flavor and moisture, and it means less work for the cook!
Boiled shrimp pairs nicely with cornbread, fresh corn salad, or any number of summery corn dishes.
“This is the best Maryland-style spiced shrimp I have ever had, and I’m from MD!”
What You’ll Need To Make Peel-And-Eat Boiled Shrimp With Cocktail Sauce
- OLD BAY: Adds a signature blend of bold, zesty spices that perfectly complements the shrimp. The primary spices in Old Bay are celery salt, red and black pepper, and paprika.
- BUTTER, BEER & WATER: These work together to create the flavorful cooking liquid for the shrimp. Butter adds richness, beer lends a subtle malty note, and a bit of water dilutes the beer flavor slightly so it doesn’t overpower the shrimp.
- EXTRA-LARGE SHRIMP: Meaty enough to hold up to boiling. I like frozen, deveined shrimp — they’re usually cleaned and flash-frozen right after being caught. Unless you live near the coast, “fresh” shrimp at the fish counter is often previously frozen anyway, so you’re better off buying frozen and thawing at home.
- KETCHUP, PREPARED HORSERADISH, LEMON JUICE & CAYENNE: The building blocks of a great cocktail sauce. Ketchup gives you a sweet-tangy base, horseradish adds that signature spicy kick, lemon juice brightens everything, and a pinch of cayenne brings just enough heat to keep things interesting.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Heat the cooking liquid. Combine the beer, water, butter, and Old Bay in a large pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
Step 2: Boil the shrimp. Add the shrimp, turn the heat down to medium, and cover with a lid. Cook for 3 to 6 minutes, stirring once so they cook evenly, until the shrimp are pink but still tender. Be careful not to overcook!
Step 3: Make the sauce. Combine the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Step 4: Serve. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a platter. Serve hot or cold with beer, cocktail sauce, and plenty of napkins. Enjoy!
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Ingredients
For the Shrimp
- 2½ tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup beer
- 1 cup water
- 2 pounds extra large shrimp (26-30 per pound), shell split and deveined, thawed if frozen
For the Cocktail Sauce
- 6 tablespoons ketchup
- ½ tablespoon prepared horseradish (see note)
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
For the Shrimp
- Combine the Old Bay, butter, beer, and water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp, turn the heat down to medium, and cover the pot with a lid. Cook, stirring once, for 3 to 6 minutes, or until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the broth and transfer to a serving platter. Serve hot or cold with cocktail sauce.
For the Cocktail Sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
- Note: Prepared horseradish can be found in the refrigerator aisle at your supermarket.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 220
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Sodium: 344 mg
- Cholesterol: 259 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is beyond fantastic!!! I cannot believe how delicious and easy this is!! It should have a thousand five star reviews! It will be a staple in my family for a very long time to come! Thank you for another amazing recipe. Your recipes make my family very happy!
😊
Can I use fresh shrimp that still have the head on?
Sure, Addie. Enjoy!
Hi Jen, is there anything suitable that could subsitute for the beer … or not really?
Sure, Raye, you could substitute fish or veggie broth, or even water. Hope you enjoy!
Made this for my family over the weekend and since then they all keep asking when we can have it again. Everyone agrees it should be on the menu at least once a week. Thanks, Jenn!!
I did not however have the ingredients for the homemade cocktail sauce so used a bottled version. Next time I want to try the real thing, but I’m having trouble finding the recommended horseradish. The only Boar’s Head I could find was for Horseradish Cream. Is this the same thing or do I need grated horseradish without the additional ingredients.
Glad to hear the shrimp were a hit! Yes, there is a difference between horseradish cream and plain jarred horseradish. This is the kind of product you’re looking for. Hope that clarifies!
In my grocery store, horseradish is in a jar in the refrigerated section. I find it near the eggs. Maybe you could try looking there.
This recipe was incredibly easy and was delicious. Shrimp were very tender and tasty. Thanks for sharing
Jenn: went to an oyster party, and prepared this easy recipe to bring along. Gone like that! Fabulous, thanks. Tom
How to devain & still have peel & eat
Hi Kathy, look for shrimp that are marked “Shell Split and Deveined” or “EZ-peel shrimp.” These will have been deveined but still have the shell on them. Enjoy!
Are these readily available say at Publix or Whole Foods? I also want to make sure the shrimp are from USA not from Asia.
Hi Sunny, I really don’t know – I’m sorry. You may want to call the stores ahead and ask to keep from running around.
So good! Brought us back to our college years in Maryland. I added a bunch of chopped garlic to the broth to punch up the flavor even more. I served in a large bowl with the broth so people could have as much or as little sauce as they wanted to mop up with crusty French bread.
When I make my shrimp with Old Bay I just use Old Bay and beer no sense in adding more water cuz the beer already has water in it and I make my cocktail sauce with horseradish and ketchup takes it up a notch
Next time I will skip the water! Add more beer!
I’ve done a lot of recipes from this site and they have all been successful; but this one was definitely the easiest recipe with the biggest payoff so far! So simple and so tasty. I especially like that it uses ingredients that we would normally have around the house and can throw together quickly on a school night, yet the recipe is special enough to serve to guests.