The Las Vegas Grand Prix Calls for a Buffet
Welcome to Grand Prix Gastronomy! This week, I’m whipping up a Las Vegas special with a shrimp cocktail and prime rib special.
This project is pretty simple. As a complement to each race weekend, I’ll be cooking the national dish of that race’s host country and sharing information about the process and that dish’s history along the way in an effort to grow more deeply immersed in the local culture from my own home.
What Is Las Vegas Cuisine?
When picking recipes for this project, I really tried to stick to things that were considered national dishes by the people who lived there. In America, many states also select certain foods to serve as representative of their people — but Nevada was not one of them. In fact, I honestly don't think that any dish Nevada selected would have also been representative of Las Vegas. So, when I thought back to my singular Vegas adventure, I tried to recall the main things I ate while I was there. I came up with a shrimp cocktail and the notorious sub-$10 prime rib special.
I know it sounds a little tacky, but so is this glitter-bedecked Vegas race. I’m sure plenty of the people shelling out thousands of dollars for the ultra-expensive race suites are eating caviar that costs more than my house or whatever, but that is not the Las Vegas that most of us will experience. Here at Grand Prix Gastronomy, I fully intend to embrace the cringe. I am going to cook the foods I actually ate when I was in town — and you damn well bet those foods were purchased on a budget so I could save my coins (literally) to play Sigma Derby.
This Week's Recipe
Las Vegas is one of those locations where “local culture” as a concept just doesn’t really exist, which means I felt like I could have my fun picking out a shrimp cocktail recipe. I actually decided to go for one of my favorites, with a sauce inspired by the kind one you'll get at a steakhouse called St. Elmo's in Indianapolis. This place is a historic institution for fans in town for the Indy 500, and I had the pleasure of eating there for the first time this year. The renowned cocktail sauce is basically just a vessel for consuming as much horseradish as possible, which means you're starting your dinner off with cleared sinuses and watery eyes. It is divine. I grabbed this copycat recipe, but you can also pick out a sauce that feels a little more up your alley!
I left the prime rib situation to my husband, who selected this recipe from Chef Jean-Pierre that utilizes a reverse-sear technique. If the recipe description isn't detailed enough for you, there's a whole video that will show you how to prepare this incredible dish.
And you can’t have roast without mashed potatoes on the side, so I opted for one of my favorite recipes, which comes from Tasty.
This isn’t so much a “recipe" as it is a serving suggestion, but at last year’s Indy 500, my life was changed. I attended the race with Firestone, and I was treated to an amazing pre-race dinner that featured a mashed potato bar. A mashed potato bar. And those mashed potatoes? They were served in a cocktail glass. Oh my god I was so frickin’ obsessed with that preparation ever since. They were the best mashed potatoes I’ve ever eaten, but I honestly have no idea if that was because of the quality of the mashed potato itself or if the novelty of the serving vessel completely influenced my perspective. Honestly, I don’t really care. If you have some cocktail glasses, then bust them out for your shrimp and taters. It’s Vegas, baby — it’s time to get silly!
Cooking Shrimp Cocktails and Prime Rib
The Vegas meal we're whipping up today is a story of two preparations: one very short, and one very long.
I bought peeled, deveined, and pre-cooked frozen shrimp for this edition of Grand Prix Gastronomy, which saved me the hassle of taking 10 minutes to cook the little critters. As for the cocktail sauce, it was just a matter of throwing together chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, lime juice, and plenty of horseradish. Mix it up, spoon it into a cocktail glass, and voila: you're done!
The rib will take a little longer. A few hours before cooking, rub it with butter, salt, and pepper to start building a delicious crust, then pop it into the fridge to let the flavors mingle. When you're ready to cook, turn the oven on a low heat and let the meat go until it reaches about 120 degrees internally (I highly recommend buying a good meat thermometer for this, one that you can keep in the oven). Remove the meat, cover it in foil, then let it rest until the temperature plateaus. Then, you'll rub the outside with more butter before sticking the meat back into a very hot oven until it reaches your ideal doneness. This is a “reverse sear” method, which is supposed to prevent your meat from getting that unseemly gray ring just beneath the fat later.
For the potatoes — honestly, just go crazy. The Tasty recipe I used above was mostly just a guideline for me. I left the skin on my taters, then mashed them with plenty of butter and a delicious garlicky cream sauce. I'd have loved to throw in some sour cream, but I didn't have any, so I did the sensible thing and mashed in a formidable shitload of cheese. I served my bad boys in a cocktail glass with an assortment of toppings: chives, crispy onions, and more cheese. Do whatever you think will be most delicious; I will never judge the pursuit of flavor.
I served everything with a chilled bottle of Ferrari Trento sparkling wine — which you might recognize as the wine used in F1's podium celebrations now! It's literally such a delicious drink, so if you can find some near you, stock up on a few bottles.
So, What's the Verdict?
Is there anything better than a good ol’ reef-n-beef dinner? Out of everything I made, I think this was probably the least surprising in terms of flavor and preparation. I've had many prime ribs and many shrimp cocktails in my life (I am an automotive journalist, after all, and those are like the two primary food groups we get on press trips), and I like to think of myself as something of a potato connoisseur. Nothing about this meal was a shock — but that doesn't mean it wasn't good.
In fact, it was delicious! No, it doesn't take a million different spices or require you to try a cooking technique totally unfamiliar to Western culture, but that doesn't mean it isn't a real delight. It's worth the effort, and when you sit down at the table to eat it, you'll absolutely feel like royalty.
Let's Chat!
When this Substack is posted, I'll already be on my way to Las Vegas for what I am expecting will be the silliest race of the year. I have a pretty long list of things I'd like to tackle while I'm in town, which includes visiting plenty of activations, speaking to as many fans as I can, and sipping plenty Michelob Ultras because that's the company that so kindly invited me to the race — but I wanted to turn the tables to you fine folks. What would you like me to explore while I'm in town? Have you heard rumors about a great activation? Should I sip at the shoey bar? Are you looking to vicariously enjoy a particular meal? Let me know!
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All of the Vegas coverage so far really makes me wonder what the heck an "activation" is going to be like in reality. Please report back, if you are so inclined.