Pretty much the same. Ketchup, horseradish, garlic, worst, and some hot sauce. Sometimes I like to do a little white pepper or some minced capers. Fresh parsley and lemon wedges are nice garnishes.

^Yes…good stuff!

If you’d like specific amounts, this one from Ina G. is good. I add some minced garlic as mentioned above. Easy to tweak anything here to suit your taste.

1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)

1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)

3 T. prepared horseradish

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/4 tsp. hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

I agree with above to gather the basic ingredients in most recipes and taste having an extra lemon on hand and horseradish available to add to taste. Worchestershire, some smoked paprika, cayene, chipotle for a kick of heat. Or keep it mild since you know your crowd best.

That said, my crowd and family prefer a NewOrleans style creole remoulade. I will make a small batch of cocktail sauce for my sister but my niece requests the remoulade every year since i made it a dozen years ago. I use it for all seafood, ...crab cakes, cod cakes, salmon croquettes...

Nice to offer two choices me thinks.

easy creole remoulade

I just use ketchup, home grown and processed horseradish, and a few drops of lemon juice. Amounts depend on how much I need. I like it hot so there is plenty of HR in there.

I also prefer a Creole style remoulade (that is what I am used to), and I never use ketchup in a cocktail sauce - too sweet for me, and I don't want tomato flavor.

Here's my recipe:

• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup chili sauce (medium)
• 2 green onions, minced
• 2-3 tsp lime or lemon juice (I prefer lime)
• 1 tbsp prepared horseradish
• dash of bottled hot sauce or cayenne, to taste
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (optional)

I use my own chili sauce with Ancho, Pasilla, and Guajillo chilies, along with garlic and oregano. If I want it to be hot, I add chile de árbol.

If you want the directions for my chili sauce, I will post it.

Interesting comments :-) Traditionally, both seafood cocktail sauce and the chili sauce that is sometimes used as a component are tomato based....and usually with ketchup.

Remoulade sauce, while delicious, is NOT cocktail sauce although often used in place or in addition to a tomato based cocktail sauce. But it can have a rather varied flavor profile, depending on what you include. Typically no ketchup or tomato flavoring. That is replaced by mayo and mustard(s) but other ingredients - horseradish, an acid and hot sauce - are similar to that of cocktail sauce.

My chili sauce is never tomato based, and if I happen to buy chili sauce in a can, I make sure to buy one that does not contain tomato, as it will have less chili flavor.

In Texas (and most of Mexico, as I remember), tomato is not an ingredient in chili or chili sauce - that is a Norteño addition.

I sometimes make my cocktail sauce without mayo, and then it is not a remoulade.

I think it is a good idea to try all variations to determine what one prefers, which is what is really important, rather than tradition. I frequently break with tradition, if I do not like the tradition.

I do add sometimes tomato to enchilada sauce. If you look at the ingredients on cans of chili sauce and enchilada sauce, you can often (but not always) notice the difference, depending on the brand, especially if they are made in Mexico.

Another variation from tradition I've noticed is that tartar sauce in Brazil is very different from tartar sauce in the U.S. and it does not contain dill pickles or dill. In Brazil, it is called Molho Tártaro. I mention this because I had it with shrimp.

Like everyone said it's pretty much by taste --- ketchup, horseradish, lemon, Worcestershire, a little cayenne.

I'm another who prefers remoulade, but that's not a cocktail sauce. It is absolutely delicious with a platter of boiled shrimp. Mine does include a couple tablespoons of ketchup.

Judi, that shrimp looks so good!

My 2 cents is to advise making your cocktail sauce only when you need it. Making it ahead often causes it to gel, and then I think the texture isn’t as nice.

Sounds like it should be pretty easy for me to whip up something halfway decent. My family are by no means connoisseurs so halfway decent should suffice :o/ I am tempted to try the remoulade along side it to let them try something different, thanks for the recipe Lars -- and Lars yes please post your chili sauce!

In England, we call it sauce Marie-Rose. Mayo, ketchup, worcester sauce, and anything else you like. The resulting pink stuff really takes me back to Mum's 70's dinners LOL Oddly, it works.

I had no doubt the red cocktail sauce recipe was wanted. Most common across the US states.

Coastal Eastern seaside towns like where i grew up, French style and remoulade is more common. Especially the deep south around NewOrleans. It isn't fancy, just a creamy version using a bit of mayo. Often creme fraise, sour cream, greek yogurt, or simply mayo.

Similarly my small beachside boardwalk makes British fish-n-chips. Malt vinegar, homemade tatere sauce spiced and a bit pink in color. If you want ketchup, red cocktail sauce, or white tarter sauce you get the tiny Kraft packets. No judgement at all. Heavy summer tourism where some are not familiar with the local desires.

One boardwalk town an hour south has no fish-n-chips, just 'french fries' and malt vinegar is in small plastic packets.

My childhood home, where my parents are, and extended family, has a small retail seafood monger shop, ---they are a huge retail fisherman opperation suppling the entire east coast...one small retail shelf of fish fry, oyster crackers, hot sauces, and a small variety of cocktail sauces. Mostly 'French style'.

Hence my desire to share my family preferences---both sauces.

I make my own but Mom stocks the far right horseradish remoulade.