St. Elmo Steakhouse – Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
While this isn’t a ‘hot sauce’ it is very spicy cocktail sauce in its own way.
Containing no capsaicin, this does contain more freshly grated horseradish than any other cocktail sauce I’ve ever tried.
I remember hearing about the St. Elmo Steakhouse, located in the surprisingly lovely city of Indianapolis, well over ten years ago, on one of the Food Network programs where they visit various restaurants that are favorites of their TV personalities. They raved about the famous shrimp cocktail at the steakhouse, famous not only for the giant size of the shrimp, but for the extremely potent cocktail sauce containing enormous amounts of freshly grated horseradish.
Being a lover of both shrimp and horseradish this little segment stuck with me, and while I haven’t had the chance to travel to Indianapolis to try it out in person since, I did discover the sell their famous sauce online, so I had to pick up a bottle to try it myself.
This is, hands down, the most horseradish-forward cocktail sauce I’ve ever tasted. In fact I’d say there’s more sinus-clearing horseradish heat in this cocktail sauce than there is in the typical prepared horseradish you can buy at your local grocery store. Rounded out by some tomato, vinegar, and more than a little bit of sweetness there’s a chorus backing up the lead singer, but make no mistake this sauce is all about that horseradish.
As I haven’t had the chance of trying the freshly made variety at the restaurant I can’t say how this compares, but it’s easily the most fiendishly enjoyable jarred cocktail sauce I’ve tasted.
Ingredients: Horseradish, Distilled Vinegar, Water, Sugar, Tomato Paste, Salt, Canola Oil, Corn Starch, Natural Flavor, Xanthan Gum, Onion Powder
Heat Level: 0/10 for capsaicin, 10/10 for horseradish
