Accounting for Taste

Here’s a fun party appetizer with a kick. While the original recipe calls for 1 pound of extra-large shrimp, we included 1 1⁄2 pounds (noted below), in order to serve 6 guests (while maintaining the amounts of the other ingredients). And we assembled it all in one party dip bowl as opposed to individual martini glasses.

The gorgeous plump shrimp get a double dose of flavor with a quick poach in a lemon and shrimp shell-infused broth, followed by a brine in olive juice. Jarred cocktail sauce is infused with gin and vermouth to serve as a “dirty” dip for the flavorful shrimp. Serve it with more olives on the side (we skewered ours) for a celebratory appetizer.

It was a great hit, everyone went back for seconds until there were none left. And for a variation, use vodka instead of gin for a vodka dirty martini.

Dirty Martini Shrimp Cocktail

Servings: 6
Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

1 1⁄2 lb. extra-large unpeeled raw shrimp
4 cups water
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
1 lemon, zested
1/4 cup manzanilla olives plus 1 1/2 cups brine from jar, divided (from 2 [10-ounce] jars)
1 (8.75-oz.) jar cocktail sauce
2 Tbsp. dry gin
2 tsp. dry vermouth
Chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, optional

Directions

Peel and devein shrimp, leaving tails intact. Place shells in a large saucepan; set shrimp aside.
Add water, garlic, and peppercorns to the large saucepan with the shells. Zest lemon and set the zest aside. Halve lemon and squeeze juice into the water mixture, then add the lemon halves to the saucepan. Bring to just a boil over high, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer. Cook, uncovered and undisturbed, to infuse liquid, about 10 minutes. Remove and discard only the shells.
Prepare an ice bath and place it next to the stove. Add shrimp to the simmering water and poach on low heat, stirring often, until shrimp are bright pink and just turn opaque, 5 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp from poaching liquid using a slotted spoon; immediately place in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Stir together shrimp and olive brine in a medium bowl. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, stir together cocktail sauce, gin, and vermouth in a small bowl. Arrange 3 olives on a cocktail skewer. Divide cocktail sauce into 4 martini glasses, hang 3 to 4 shrimp around the edge of a martini glass. (Or, as shown above, assemble all in one container.)
Sprinkle with lemon zest and, if desired, chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

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Adapted from a recipe by Breana Lai Killeen for Food & Wine