I'm assuming the dressing is mayo based? If so, the other ingredients might have too much moisture in them, that leeches out (e.g., celery, onion, or shrimp that were wet when dressed.) 'Light' mayo tends to break down and liquefy more, if you used that. But I do find that mayo based salads - potato, shrimp, chicken, etc. - held in the fridge tend to have this problem. If someone has a great suggestion, I'd love to know too!
Forgot - the way I usually get around this problem is to dress the salad, e.g., potato, while still warm with vinegar, pickle juice, wine, whatever, so it absorbs - but wait until it's completely cool and closer to serving to add the mayo part of the dressing. Maybe this would work with shrimp too.
It's difficult to say for sure without seeing the recipe, but my guess is it's just the settled combined juices of the shrimp, dressing, and other ingredients. You can just strain it and toss the liquid or, if you have the time, keep the liquid and reduce it to concentrate the flavor before letting it cool and re-dressing the salad. (Or just serve it as-is with a slotted spoon.)
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