Roots of the Recipe — the story behind this sauce
Cocktail sauce was born in the saloons of Gold Rush San Francisco. In the 1860s, oysters were cheap and plentiful, and they were served in a glass — an “oyster cocktail” — under a pungent sauce of ketchup, horseradish, and hot sauce. In 1889, a San Franciscan visiting Delmonico’s in New York made the papers teaching his fellow diners how to build one, and the idea traveled east. As the oyster beds gave out, shrimp took their place in the glass.
The recipe was first standardized in print in 1919, in Victor Hirtzler’s Hotel St. Francis Cook Book, and it has barely changed since: ketchup or chili sauce, horseradish, lemon, Worcestershire. The optional Heinz chili sauce in the recipe below isn’t a variation — it’s the other original base. (Britain’s pink prawn-cocktail sauce, Marie Rose, is a mayonnaise-based cousin. Same glass, different sauce.)
Ingredients
Method
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.
- Taste for horseradish or lemon juice adjustments.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes to bring out the flavors.
- Serve cold (or room temperature) with shrimp, oysters, or other seafood.