Seafood Cocktail Sauce
Printed From: Foods of the World Forum
Category: The US and Canada
Forum Name: The Southeast
Forum Discription: Slow Southern comfort cooking at its best
URL: http://foodsoftheworld.ActiveBoards.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=4217
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 20:28
Topic: Seafood Cocktail Sauce
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Subject: Seafood Cocktail Sauce
Date Posted: 03 October 2014 at 14:44
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Many years ago, Bob Hester ran a waterfowl camp at Mattamuskeet, North Carolina. While the food was generally superlative, the highlight was the oyster roasts conducted by an old gentleman named Tom Burrus. Tom was a shuckin' fool, and I don't think there was anyone who could eat those "aysters" as fast as he got 'em out of the shells. Tom made his own cocktail sauce; the best I've ever eaten. I prevailed upon him to share the recipe, for which I'm forever grateful. And, while I've shared it, in turn, with others I've been reluctant to post it, because the ingredient list is composed of a bottle of this and a jar of that. And, unfortunately, the sizes of these bottles have changed through the years. Recently I made a point of converting the recipe to more consistent quantities. One thing to keep in mind: You can halve or double the recipe. Any further in either direction, however, degrades the flavors. And even half the recipe makes a lot. But it freezes well. Tom Burrus' Cocktail Sauce 1 gal ketchup 1 qt vinegar Juice of 6 lemons 1 bottle (8-10 oz) A-1 sauce 1 bottle (4-6 oz) hot sauce 1 jar (3-4 oz) prepared horseradish 1/2 cup sugar 2 tsp salt Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold. ------------- But we hae meat and we can eat And sae the Lord be thanket |
Replies:
Posted By: Hoser
Date Posted: 04 October 2014 at 01:26
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Copied and pasted Brook....thank you. It sure sounds good...think I'll do a half recipe and try it out. You didn't specify the type of vinegar, so I'm thinking cider vinegar would be just the ticket?
------------- Go ahead...play with your food! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 04 October 2014 at 01:59
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Tom Burrus used white vinegar, Dave. I've made it both ways, and can't say as I have a distinct preference. ACV makes it slightly sweeter. But whether you can actually discern it is an open question. It might just be psychological; you know ACV is sweeter, therefore you taste it as sweeter. Also, while I haven't done it, there's no reason you couldn't can this sauce; not with all that acid. I'd say hot pack it in pints or smaller, then boiling water bath for 15 minutes. ------------- But we hae meat and we can eat And sae the Lord be thanket |
Posted By: Hoser
Date Posted: 05 October 2014 at 02:16
That's what I was thinking as well Brook....when you have a recipe that makes over a gallon of sauce, it only makes sense to can it. I'll check all my reference material, but I'm quite sure that 15-20 minutes in a boiling water bath ought to do the trick. ------------- Go ahead...play with your food! |
HistoricFoodie wrote:Posted By: Hoser
Date Posted: 05 October 2014 at 03:34
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Brook...would I be correct in assuming he used a #10 can of ketchup? I know it's not quite a gallon(13 cups), but the other ingredients were more or less a whole bottle. What's your take on that? ------------- Go ahead...play with your food! |
Posted By: HistoricFoodie
Date Posted: 05 October 2014 at 06:29
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Half the recipe is what I usually make, Dave, and wind up both freezing a bunch and giving a bunch away. Even a half recipe makes quite a bit of the sauce. A typical seafood cocktail uses what? A couple of tablespoons? I never actually saw Tom mix it. I wrote down the recipe as he dictated it to me. In those days, almost all condiment bottles were standard sizes, which is no longer true. So, when Tom said "a bottle of horseradish," I knew exactly what he meant. Ketchup was available in one-quart bottles, back in the day. At a guess I'd say he merely used four of them; probably actually buying it by the caseload. That said, a #10 would be more than 20% less ketchup, which might make the other flavors overpowering. So be prepared to adjust by adding more ketchup as necessary. FWIW, I checked with the Ball Blue Book, and similar sauces (catsup, chili, barbecue, etc.) have pretty much the same ratio of vinegar;tomato product. That is, one cup vinegar to one quart tomato. So Tom's recipe should be perfectly safe. All the BBB sauces process for 15 minutes. Just proving again that it's better to be lucky than smart.  ------------- But we hae meat and we can eat And sae the Lord be thanket |