All seafood lovers know that seafood cooked or served with cocktail sauce is like icing on the cake whether its shrimps, prawns, oysters, clams, or salmon. This red delicious condiment is not restricted to seafood only, the cocktail sauce is also widely used for poached, steam meat or chicken. Burgers, salads, French fries, and potatoes are no exception! Although there are so many sauces and spices to make fried food tasty, cocktail definitely remains one of the most important condiments that you can’t skip.
The Best Cocktail Sauce Brands
Best for Budget – Beaver Seafood Cocktail Sauce
Best choice for those who are looking to improve their seafood cooking without spending a lot of money. The Beaver Seafood Cocktail Sauce is filled with several flavorful elements along with extra Horseradish to make it fancier. The sauce follows ages-old tried and tested the recipe with some improvements. The Beaver Cocktail Sauce is not limited to shrimps only. It’s suitable for any seafood item that you can think of! From crab cakes to a gazpacho, this sauce will make your life easier.
The Beaver brand has been a staple name for many kitchen pantries around the United States due to its incredible characteristics. For a long time, the brand has been providing delightful foods to its customers and slowly become a forerunner in the contention for the best brand for sauces and pantry items.
Finally, the Beaver Seafood Cocktail Sauce comes in a plastic squeezable bottle that is ideal for use in a regular kitchen. People often have a hard time dealing with jars and glass bottles that sometimes tip over and create a mess. The squeezable bottles, however, are very easy to use and you won’t lose your sauce even if the bottle gets dropped by an accident.
Most Popular – Heinz Cocktail Sauce
If you see a list discussing the best brands of cocktail sauce without discussing Heinz, don’t take it seriously. Heinz, today stands as one of the most popular brands with global recognition due to its awesome taste and unmatched quality. Even top fast-food chains use Heinz sauces because of how popular they are. The company has been around since 1869 and still focuses solely on creating a positive and convenient experience for its users without ever compromising on the quality and taste of their products.
Available in different packaging and sizes, the Heinz Cocktail Sauce is a perfect addition for your table if you like to eat your proteins with a flavorful twist. The tangy flavor of the sauce is enhanced with the addition of horseradish and garlic. All flavors Heinz uses are 100% natural and you can enjoy your food without worrying. Finally, Heinz Sauces prioritizes your convenience and that’s why offers their products on Amazon Prime where you can get your favorite sauces sooner and start enjoying.
Editor’s Choice – St Elmos, Sauce Cocktail
From the kitchen of the award-winning St. Elmo Steakhouse, this cocktail sauce personifies the word spicy. It’s not made for fancy shrimp cocktails only, the cause can be used for any meat like chicken wings, steaks, and of course seafood!
The spicy sauce is quite famous in the sports circle because of its awesome taste and versatility. Many channels like ESPN, NBC, FOX, and others have declared this sauce the best on-air and we can’t deny them because it definitely is great. The manufacturers recommend refrigerating the sauce if you want to save the spicy and tangy flavor. However, even if it goes mild over time and has a high price, you’ll see that this incredible sauce is worth every single penny you spend on it.
The customers who have dietary restrictions like gluten allergy, the sauce is made from distilled corn vinegar which makes it one of the very few good gluten-free options available in the market. Finally, we also recommend you proceed with caution when using this sauce especially if you are not used to spicy things. But if you a spice lover and are disappointed with the bland sauces dominating the market, try the St Elmos Cocktail Sauce. You’ll thank us later!
Bookbinders Cocktail Sauce
The Bookbinder’s is another famous brand for high-quality cocktail sauces at a budget. If you thought quality shrimp cocktails were only for fancy corporate parties or high-end restaurants, be prepared to be proven wrong. The Bookbinder’s cocktail sauce will give your cooking a certain gourmet feel that couldn’t be replicated at home. The recipe used for this sauce is directly from the famous old bookbinder’s restaurant and you’ll feel that the sauce is the same as the one being sold in the restaurant.
This cocktail sauce comes in an easy to use a squeeze bottle and has a huge shelf life and will remain the same even after a long time. The spice level of the Bookbinder’s Cocktail Sauce is mild at best so people who are sensitive to spicy food can also enjoy this awesome sauce without worrying too much about the spice levels.
Louisiana Shrimp Cocktail Gourmet Seafood Dipping Sauce
Perfect for those people who have a bit of a sweet tooth. The Louisiana Shrimp Cocktail Sauce is perhaps one of the most dividing sauces in the market. Some people love it while some absolutely hate it because of it’s sweet and spicy flavor. Despite the name, the sauce is not made for shrimps only. You can use it for crab cakes, fish, seafood salads, and any other protein to further enhance its flavor.
The Louisiana Shrimp Cocktail Sauce is also suitable for people with gluten allergy. The sauce uses distilled vinegar along with a couple of other additives for its tangy flavor. The horseradish and lemon juice combination get dominated by the excess of sweetness which gives this sauce a unique sweet, sour, and spicy flavor.
Finally, the price of this sauce is reasonable when compared with other brands of the same quality. The sauce is also available on Amazon prime for your convenience so you can get within two days of your order.
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- Packaging may vary
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What is a cocktail sauce?
Cocktail sauce is a special type of sauce that is served at room temperature or cold with a variety of seafood all around the world and more commonly known as a seafood cocktail. This sauce is usually used as a condiment to enhance the flavors and taste of your meal. The cocktail sauce gets its name from a prawn cocktail dish created by a celebrity chef of Britain, Fanny Cradock. The dish used to be served in a cocktail glass filled with a sweet and spicy dip and prawns or shrimps hanged around the glass’s edge. This is how the sauce name originated and the recipe has been used for many years to serve seafood of all sorts.
Ingredients
Just like ketchup or BBQ sauce, it has a red-orange color, thick consistency and tastes spicy and somewhat sweet. The main ingredients that almost all brands use to make this yummy sauce are ketchup, chili sauce, and horseradish while some brands add also add lemon juice, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, mayonnaise, or some tomato-based spicy hot sauce. When it comes to nutritional value, 100 grams serving of cocktail provides about 124 calories.
Depending on brands and sauce usage, makers also use a blend of spices which adds more flavors and taste to the sauce. Although the basic ingredients are the same, cocktail sauce from different brands vary in taste.
What varieties of cocktail sauce are available?
If you are in search of tangy rich-tasting cocktail sauce, you must know that are many varieties and brands across the world that make cocktail sauce. In most of Europe particularly UK, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, and France have a pinkish cocktail sauce that is a mixture of mayonnaise, tomato, lemon juice, and some spices which are very similar to fry sauce. It is more commonly known as Marie Rose sauce that is served with shrimp cocktail or other seafood snacks. Famous brands that make this creamy pink cocktail sauce are The Condiment Co, Morrisons, and the ASDA. Restaurants in Belgium serve steamed seafood with this cocktail sauce adding a tint of whiskey in it. Many people in Australia tend to enjoy this tasty cocktail sauce with chips and fish. However, in America and the rest of the world, brands make a cocktail sauce with the standard ingredients i.e. ketchup, lemon juice, and horseradish.
Some of the consumer’s favorite brands when it comes to cocktail sauce brands for seafood condiments are Kraft, Old Bay, Hoffman House, Heinz, and Crosse & Blackwell. Those who prefer the cocktail sauce to be more tangy, brands like Louisiana, St Elmo, and Stonewall Kitchen also use onion, garlic, coriander, and chili paprika as their ingredients to make it spicy. If sweet and spicy blend cocktail sauce is your preference, then Bibigo Gochujang Sauce, Texas Pete, Kelchner’s, and Bookbinder’s cocktail sauce are good options. Most of the cocktail sauces come packed in plastic easy-squeeze bottles or glass bottles for seasoning, dipping, or glazing all kinds of seafood.
Stonewall Kitchen Cocktail Sauce
The cocktail sauce by Stonewall kitchen is a must-have condiment to enjoy your favorite dishes. Stonewell Kitchen is an award-winning brand for gourmet foods, the USA made cocktail sauce is a perfect dip for seafood like shrimps, oysters, shellfish, salmon, fried fish, and prawns. The 8.75oz of sauce bottle of glass is made from a high content of horseradish, fresh California tangy tomatoes, lemon, Worcestershire Sauce, vinegar, tamarind extracts, and Agave nectar that gives a healthy rich taste to the sauce. Stonewall Kitchen brand also makes tequila lime cocktail sauce. Their cocktail sauces have a shelf-life of about 6 to 9 months when refrigerated after opening.
Red Duck Organic Cocktail Sauce
Finding an organic product when it comes to a cocktail sauce, is one heck of a task, but Red Duck organic cocktail sauce uses 100% natural and fresh ingredients to enhance your meal’s flavors. It comes in 2.25” by 5” glass bottle 8 oz with black lid, and made with fresh tomato puree, horseradish, lemon juice, with a unique blend of organic spices that include paprika, salt, garlic, and black pepper. The Red Duck Foods from Portland, Oregon is famous for making organic condiments with USDA certification. Red Duck cocktail sauce is a great seafood condiment and a serving dip for oysters, clams, crab cakes, shrimps, fish, and chips. Its great option for those who are prone to certain preservatives, gluten, GMO, or dairy allergies, this flavorful sauce is low in sugar, and totally free from grain, gluten, dairy, chemicals, and preservatives. So, spice up the seafood game organically with Red Duck cocktail sauce.
Louisiana Cocktail Sauce
To make meat or seafood full of rich flavors, taste, and fresh, the Louisiana cocktail sauce is a great way to do it. This seasoning or dip sauce is made with fresh horseradish, tomato paste, lemon, salt and a tint of garlic. Louisiana seafood sauces complement and enhance the flavor of fish fry, shrimps, clams, oysters and all seafood types as it has the right amount of spiciness and sweetness. The famous cocktail sauce by Louisiana has been in high demand among seafood restaurants and people from all over the world.
St. Elmos cocktail sauce
St. Elmo Steak House founded in 1906 is famous for serving its world-famous cocktail sauce for years. This award-winning sauce also comes in the market in a 355mml bottle to be sold all over the world due to its demand. The sauce has a very spicy taste with fresh horseradish that is perfect for every seafood dish
Since seafood is a big no without cocktail sauce, make sure you have one in your food cupboard. Enjoy seafood every time with a sweet and spicy taste that tempting to every single taste bud of yours. Serve cocktail sauce with fish and chips to your family and guests, and enjoy a delicious meal.