~ Louisiana's Famous Shrimp Po' Boy Sandwiches ~
Joe and I are both from Eastern Pennsylvania and grew up eating hoagies. When we moved to Central PA/Penn State/Happy Valley, we found ourselves immersed in a sea of sub shops, and, we now refer to hoagies as subs, unless we are ordering them heated/toasted in a pizza oven, then we call them grinders. My family in the New York/New Jersey area eat heros. All of the above are sandwiches that are served on a long Italian roll, split and opened into a "V", then filled with various meats, cheeses, vegetables, seasonings and sauces!
When Joe and I went to New Orleans in 1982, I had no idea what a po' boy was. One week later, when I left New Orleans, between Joe and I, we'd eaten at least three or four of them, I'd acquired quite a taste for them, and, I had a complete understanding of why they are New Orleans' most famous sandwich. We ate in a lot of super-famous, high-end NOLA restaurants that week, but in retrospect, the shrimp po' boys I ate in the ordinary sandwich shops just might have been my favorite part of that trip!
A bit about the po' boy (po-boy, po boy or poor boy) sandwich: 1) The bread is the star of the sandwich. It's a high quality, made-fresh-daily, French bread that has a crunchy crust and a soft center. It is similar to a baguette only shorter in length (12"-14") and wider in width (3 1/3"-4"). A "full" is a sandwich served on the entire roll. A "shorty" is half of a "full". 2) The filling(s) can be just about anything, but the two most popular are beef and seafood. The beef is roasted or simmered, sliced or shredded and served with gravy. The seafood (with shrimp being the most popular) is always coated in a 50/50 cornmeal/flour mixture, deep-fried and served with remoulade sauce. 3) The dressing(s) consists of lettuce, tomato and sometimes pickles or onions. Non-seafood po' boys have the option of gravy or mustard. Seafood po' boys have the option of remoulade or mayonnaise. To order, use the words, "dressed", or "nuttin' on it"!
Cook's Note before getting started: I recommend you take the time to make and serve these sandwiches with homemade remoulade sauce, and, my recipe with step-by-step photos can be found below. That being said, if you are making homemade remoulade sauce, prepare it prior to dredging and frying the shrimp. The remoulade can even be made several days in advance!
For the shrimp:
2 pounds medium (51-60 count) shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails off
1 cup fine corn meal (masa)
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning blend
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup Creole mustard
3/4 cup water
peanut or corn oil, for deep-frying
~ Step 1. Preheat the oil in a deep-fryer to 360 degrees, according to manufacturer's specifications.
~ Step 2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, Cajun seasoning and salt.
~ Step 3. In a second medium mixing bowl, whisk together the Creole mustard and water, to form a somewhat drizzly, pancake-batter-like consistency.
~ Step 4. Using a large spoon or a spatula, fold all of the shrimp into the mustard/water mixture, until shrimp are thoroughly coated.
~ Step 5. In batches of 18-24, dredge shrimp in cornmeal mixture and deep-fry for 1-1 1/2 minutes.
Transfer to a 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish that has been lined with paper-towels. Repeat this process until all shrimp are fried.
Below is my remoulade recipe and sandwich assembly instructions:
For the remoulade sauce and the sandwiches:
3/4-1 cup finely diced celery
3/4-1 cup very thinly sliced green onions, white and light green part only (Note: Reserve dark green tops for garnishing as directed below.)*
1/2-3/4 cup finely diced yellow or sweet onion
1/2-3/4 cup finely diced curly parsley leaves, as few stems as possible
1 1/2 cups chili sauce
1/2 cup Creole mustard
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons prepared white horseradish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2-3/4 cup vegetable oil
chiffonade of romaine or iceberg lettuce about 1 cup per sandwich
6-8 6"-7" long French sandwich rolls, the best available
* 1/2 cup very thinly sliced green onion tops, for garnish
~ Step 1. Prep the celery, green onions, yellow onion and parsley as directed. Set aside.
~ Step 2. In the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, place all ingredients except oil. Process for 30 seconds.
Note: Now is the time to taste and adjust your remoulade mixture for seasonings. There is no going back after the next step!
~ Step 3. With motor running on the food processor, slowly add the oil in a thin stream, until the desired consistency is reached, stopping after 1/2 cup has been added to see if it is to your liking.
~ Step 4. Transfer to a large bowl and fold in the prepped vegetables.
~ Step 5. Transfer to a 2-quart food storage container, cover and refrigerate for several hours to overnight. While remoulade is chilling:
~ Step 6. Chiffonade the lettuce and slice the rolls (lengthwise) almost in half to form a "V". Slather a generous amount of remoulade on the inside of each roll. Add 1 cup of lettuce to each and fill with shrimp. Top immediately with:
Remoulade, shredded lettuce & crispy shrimp:
Louisiana's Famous Shrimp Po' Boy Sandwiches: Recipe makes 6-8, 6"-7" sandwiches with 14-16 shrimp on each sandwich, and, 4 cups remoulade sauce. Because my tomato-y remoulade recipe has bits of crunchy green onion and celery in it, and, is quite spicy too, you won't be needing any special accompaniments (just lettuce) on these po' boys!
Special Equipment List: cutting board; chef's knife; food processor; 2-quart food storage container; deep-fryer; whisk; large spoon or spatula; 13" x 9" x 2" baking dish; paper towels
Cook's Note: To prepare another one of my Louisiana recipes, check out my ~ Mardi Gras Shrimp Remoulade a la Galatoire's ~, which can be found in Categories 1, 2, 10, 11, 14 & 17. This recipe comes directly from Galatoire's!
"We are all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2012)
Matt! How great to hear from you! The remoulade, from my experience, is "good to go" for 5-7 days... if, of course, it is kept in the refrigerator! Hope to hear from you again soon my BSD foodie friend!
Posted by: Kitchen Encounters | 02/23/2012 at 06:51 PM
Hi Mel,
I ventured over here months ago from BSD and love your recipes. I was wondering how long you think the remoulade will keep?
Thanks
Posted by: Matt | 02/23/2012 at 06:18 PM