The Edible Cocktail Created by Prohibition.

Once again, we are going back in time to the Prohibition Era (1920-1933) and the banning of alcohol throughout the United States.  While most legitimate restaurants and bars were suffering the loss of income, illegal bars, called speakeasies, offered clientele liquored drinks and food.  Speakeasies usually did a consistent business due to payoffs of local law enforcement and corrupt politicians.  While barrels of hooch were rolled down ramps into the illegal bars’ basements, local constabulary looked the other way.

All the glassware inside legal bars were gathering dust, and there had to be a way to use them to entice customers back.  In 1806, The Balance and Columbian Repository formally defined the cocktail as a stimulating drink made with spirits, sugar, water, and bitters.  The mid-1800s to Prohibition is considered the "Golden Age" of mixology, where bartenders experimented and developed classic cocktails, many of which are still popular today.  With Prohibition, cocktails made with alcohol were banned, however, foods served with cocktails were not.

Did you ever order fried shrimp, oysters, clams, or any other type of seafood that was fried?  Typically, two sauces are offered, tartar sauce and cocktail sauce.  Cocktail sauce?  There is no alcohol in cocktail sauce, right?  Correct, however, the shrimp cocktail originated in the United States, you guessed it, during the Prohibition Era.  Martini glasses were used to serve the sauce with extra-large shrimp, or oysters, draped over the rim of the glasses.

Initially, cocktail sauce contains five ingredients: horseradish, lemon juice, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce.  Depending on the area, brown sugar, onion powder and/or garlic salt might be added in.

Now wait, is cocktail sauce the same as shrimp sauce?  Again, depends on the area, and what folks call the red, ketchup based, spicy sauce.  Anyone ever go to Long John Silver’s?  The sauce they call shrimp sauce is actually called cocktail sauce in the majority of areas.

Shrimp sauce is mayonnaise based, and while similar seasonings used in cocktail sauce might be added, it is not unusual to have a sauce that is simply a mixture of mayonnaise plus ketchup.  Sound familiar?  Yes, in Utah, this is called “fry sauce”, and happens to be pretty tasty when dipping hot, crispy French fries into it. 

Homemade Cocktail Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup

3 Tbsp. prepared horseradish*

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1½ tsp. hot sauce**

Preparation:

In medium size bowl, combine all ingredients thoroughly; chill until ready to serve.

Makes 1 and 1/2 cups.

Notes:

*Prepared horseradish is a mixture of shredded horseradish root, vinegar and salt; good brands are Bookbinders, Woeber's or Gold's.  If vinegar and salt are not wanted in the sauce, use pure grated horseradish instead, remember though, it will be spicy enough to take your breath away.

**Tabasco is the typical hot sauce used for making cocktail sauce.

 

I have mentioned before that Roy and I enjoy date night on Saturday evenings, mainly with pizza, “finger foods” like Buffalo wings or mozzarella sticks, or anything easy to make and eat while watching a movie.  This past weekend though, in preparation for this article, my maternal grandmother’s Depression Era glassware featured: shrimp cocktail, crab cocktail and crispy whole wheat “cocktail” crackers loaded with goat cheese, honey and chopped walnuts.  Talk about an elegant and sophisticated display.  While the extra-large shrimp was easy to purchase, not so much with the crab.  Ended up using imitation crab meat which is basically fake crab.

 

Shrimp Cocktail Party Platter

 

 

What is Imitation Crab Meat?

Imitation crab meat, often called krab or kani, is a processed seafood product made from a white fish paste called surimi, which is then shaped and flavored to resemble crab meat.  What exactly is surimi?  The main ingredient, a paste made from minced fish, typically Alaskan pollock, which is washed, deboned, and minced. To make the surimi paste firmer, it is combined with binders like starch (potato, wheat, or corn), egg whites, or sometimes soy.  Artificial or natural flavors, including crab flavoring, are added to mimic the taste of crab. Food coloring, often orange or red, is used to create the characteristic color of crab meat. Other ingredients that are common additions are water, salt, sugar, and preservatives.

 

After reading all that, well, does not sound very appetizing, so if you are lucky enough to be able to purchase real lump crab meat, do it!  Oh, you will love this little extra bit, the next day, I made Alfredo sauce and egg noodles, threw in remains of the shrimp and imitation crab.  Added a side of steamed and buttered broccoli cuts, and lunch was delicious!

Now you have new ideas for spoiling yourself, or others, not just for a date night, but a “hey, I deserve to spoil myself tonight” meal.  Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour