Our Fried Shrimp Po' Boy Recipe Is A Taste Of New Orleans

There's a sandwich to represent just about every type of cuisine and every region of the world out there. For example, there are underrated Italian sandwiches that everyone should know about, types of Russian sandwiches that everyone should try at some point in their lives, and even iconic sandwiches that vary by state. If there's one sandwich that most people associate with Louisiana — and New Orleans specifically — it would no doubt be the classic po' boy. 

Recipe developer Patterson Watkins tells us, "Po'Boys are, no lie, one of my favorite sandwiches. New Orleans, no lie, is one of my favorite places on the planet." She was inspired by a recent trip to New Orleans (and a general love for the city itself and all its culinary goodness), and thus her fried shrimp po' boy sandwich was born. Watkins describes NOLA cuisine as being "salty, twangy, spicy, savory, with a plethora of tasty textures," and this po' boy recipe is her homage to such a food-driven city. "You'll find the salty, twangy, and spicy elements in the shrimp, the shrimp coating, and the remoulade sauce," she says, "Pleasing and diverse textures are present with the pillowy butter-toasted French loaf, the crisp shredded lettuce, juicy tomato slices, and crunchy-crisp pickle chips." All together, the ingredients not only make for a worthy nod to New Orleans, but they also make for a downright tasty take on a po' boy — one that will hold you over until your next visit to NOLA.

Before you get to frying any shrimp or assembling a sandwich, you'll start by making a Cajun seasoning blend that consists of paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Then, for the shrimp, you'll need large, raw shrimp (peeled), flour, cornmeal, buttermilk, an egg, Louisiana-style hot sauce, and vegetable oil for frying.

It wouldn't be a po' boy without the remoulade, and to make the sauce, you'll need mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, prepared horseradish, minced capers, Worcestershire sauce, and honey (and some of the Cajun seasoning blend that you'll have already made). Finally, to assemble, you'll need French bread, softened butter, shredded iceberg lettuce, a sliced tomato, and pickles. 

Make the seasoning by placing paprika, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and cayenne in a small bowl.

Stir to combine.

Remove 1 ½ teaspoons from the bowl, set aside. Then, divide the seasoning in half.

Place the shrimp in a large bowl and sprinkle it with one of the halved portions of seasoning.

Toss to coat, cover, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Place the flour and cornmeal in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the other seasoning mix half. Stir to combine.

Place the buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce in a separate medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and drain off any excess liquid (do not rinse).

Dip the shrimp into the buttermilk mixture, letting the excess drip off.

Coat the shrimp in the dry mixture, pressing with your hands to adhere the breading.

Once coated, set the shrimp aside on a wire rack-lined baking sheet, and refrigerate for 15 minutes, uncovered.

Meanwhile, make the remoulade by placing the mayonnaise, Dijon, grain mustard, horseradish, capers, Worcestershire, honey, and the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons of seasoning in a medium bowl.

Whisk to combine and refrigerate until ready to use.

Fill a large pot or Dutch oven ¼-full with oil and bring to 350 F over high heat.

Remove the shrimp from the refrigerator and fry it in batches for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Remove the shrimp from the oil using a slotted spoon and set it aside to drain on a clean wire rack or paper towel-lined plate.

To assemble the po'boys, spread butter over the portioned French bread.

Toast the rolls until lightly golden.

Spread the remoulade over the toasted rolls.

Divide the shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and pickle chips between the dressed rolls.

Generously top the lettuce, tomato, and pickles with fried shrimp.

Close the sandwiches and secure with toothpicks before serving.

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Remoulade is exactly the type of sauce that perfectly complements these po' boys, not only because they're sandwiches that feature seafood, but because it's such a staple sauce to New Orleans cuisine. It's always best to make remoulade from scratch, as Watkins does in this recipe, but the one caveat is that you may end up with leftovers. "I gave you some extra sauce to play with in this recipe," she says, noting that while she loves to load up her po' boys with the sauce, others might not want it so saucy (and others yet might want even more sauce). So, she provided some wiggle room, which means that leftovers are likely.

Of course, having leftover homemade remoulade is the opposite of a problem, and there's much more you can use it for than just po' boys. First, you can promote it from being a sauce to being a dip, one fit for something like crudites or good old potato chips. "It is also a great way to jazz-up your everyday sandwiches," Watkins says. "Mix it into your tuna salad, slather it over your bread for tasty Cajun-spiked BLTs or turkey clubs." Of course, classic sandwich sides like fries or onion rings are fair game here, so get to slathering and get to dunking any way that you see fit. Whichever way you use leftover remoulade, make sure to keep it covered in the fridge, and it will last for up to a week.

Although fried shrimp makes for a delicious and classic po' boy main, it's far from the only option out there. "If you stride into a po' boy shop in NOLA, you'll see a cascade of protein offerings," Watkins says. Some such offerings include grilled shrimp, fried catfish or whitefish, fried oysters, grilled sausage, hot roast beef, or even cold-cut classics like turkey, and ham. So, essentially, the sky's the limit when it comes to what protein you opt for in your po' boy, and any of these aforementioned meats would work well on a homemade version, too. And, don't worry, vegetarians can get in on the fun as well. "If you'd like to try a vegetarian-friendly option, fried green tomatoes would be delicious as would some grilled mushrooms," Watkins suggests. 

To keep things classic, Watkins included standard po' boy toppings in this recipe, including lettuce, tomato, and pickles. But you certainly don't have to stop there, as thinly-sliced onion or spicy pickled peppers would also make for excellent toppings. Watkins even thinks that potato chips would be tasty as a topping, adding some crunchy goodness to the mix. 

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