The Richest Shrimp Po’ Boy
My first trip to New Orleans was in 2019, and it was a visit I’ll never forget…because of the food. I didn’t make it through every dish on my list (be back for you later, Muffuletta), but the Po’ Boy was one item I wasn’t willing to wait for. We inhaled ours at Parkway in the Bayou St. John neighborhood of NOLA and it did NOT disappoint!
A relatively ‘simple’ sandwich, the Po’ Boy can have many different combinations, from fried seafood to fried duck. I went relatively classic for my recipe with bread, fried shrimp, pickles, shredded lettuce, and the best fucking rémoulade you’ll ever have outside of New Orleans. Rumor has it the sammie is named after workers who went on strike and the ‘poor boys’ would come into Martin Brothers’s French Market restaurant for their free sandwich. But the Po’ Boy is anything but poor, its taste is rich and dripping down your balls with flavor.
Shrimp Po’ Boy Recipe
Ingredients
FOR THE FRIED SHRIMP!
- 16 raw large/jumbo shrimp, cleaned/shelled/deveined
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- frying oil
FOR THE RÉMOULADE!
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard
- ½ tsp prepared horseradish
- 1½ tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1½ tsp sweet pickle juice
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp tabasco
- 2 Tbsp celery, minced
- 2 Tbsp scallion, minced (greens only)
- 1 Tbsp parsley, minced
- 1 sweet pickle, minced
- ½ tsp grated or minced garlic
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp lemon zest
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ¼ tsp white granulated sugar
- kosher salt, to taste
FOR THE PO' BOY!
- 4 Turano French rolls
- unsalted butter
- garlic salt
- dill pickle coins
- shredded iceberg lettuce
- tomato slices
Instructions
FOR THE RÉMOULADE!
- Rémoulade gets made first, ideally 1-2 days in advance. ONE TO TWO DAYS!!! This makes ALL the difference! Combine all ingredients, mix well, and let those flavors have an orgy in the fridge. Hashtag: literal food porno.
FOR THE FRIED SHRIMP!
- Fill the bottom of a large pan with about an inch of oil. Place over medium-high heat and allow to warm up.
- While waiting for oil to heat, pat-dry shrimp with a paper towel. Toss in the littlest bit of oil and season with salt and pepper.
- In three separate, shallow bowls, fill one with flour, one with buttermilk, and one with panko. You may have to replenish throughout process.
- Working in batches, coat shrimp completely in flour. Shake off excess flour before dipping in buttermilk. Let excess buttermilk drip off before dredging in panko. Really press the panko into those little shrimp dicks so the coating sticks. Set all breaded shrimp on a plate.
- Oil should be heated by now. To check, dangle the tip of a shrimp into the oil. If it starts to bubble immediately, it's ready. If not, give it a few more minutes.
- Place shrimp in oil, being careful not to over-crowd. You may have to work in batches. Fry until bottoms are a beautiful golden brown. Flip shrimp and repeat.
- When shrimp are done being fried, place them on a paper towel-lined plate and immediately sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Do not stack your shrimpies.
FOR THE PO'BOY!
- While the shrimp are cooling, butter the insides of your French rolls. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt and broil until desired brown-ness.
- Lather garlic bread all over with the insane rémoulade you made a few days ago.
- On bottom half, add pickles, then shredded lettuce, then fried shrimp.
- On top half, add tomato slices.
- Smash top half onto everything so you can fit this chode in your mouth.
- I am not above enjoying anything with some frozen fries, ok? Fresh or frozen, they're amazing dipped in any extra rémoulade or put on the sandwich itself.
- HAPPY FUCKING MARDI GRAS!!!
• RÉMOULADE SAUCE:
This is the most important part of the sandwich, IMHO, so don’t fucking skimp on an ingredient. Anything that’s minced should be cut as small as possible so that each ingredient can blend into the sauce without overpowering another one. The sauce should have some texture, so putting it in a blender or food processor would be sacrilege. Don’t piss off the Voo-Doo gods.
EQUIPMENT:
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holy SHIT this is delicious
FUCK YEAH!!!