Po'Boy Sandwich

About This Recipe

The po-boy is the sandwich that defines New Orleans: an airy loaf of local-style French bread with a shatter-thin crust, stuffed with anything from crackly fried seafood to slow-roasted beef dripping gravy, and dressed with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayonnaise. Born during the 1929 streetcar strike, when the Martin brothers fed striking poor boys for free, it remains democratic food — sold at corner groceries, gas stations, and white-tablecloth restaurants alike. This master recipe covers the dressed fried-filling formula that works for shrimp, oysters, catfish, or hot roast beef, with the bread treated as reverently as the filling.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.5 lbslarge shrimp (21–25 count)(or oysters, catfish fillets, or thinly sliced roast beef)
• 1 cupbuttermilk
• 1 cupfine yellow cornmeal
• 0.5 cupall-purpose flour
• 1.5 tspCajun seasoning
• 1 qtvegetable oil(for frying)
• 2 loaveslight New Orleans-style French bread (12-inch)
• 0.5 cupmayonnaise
• 1 tbspCreole mustard
• 1 tbsphot sauce (Louisiana brand)
• 2 cupsshredded iceberg lettuce
• 2 mediumtomatoes(thinly sliced)
• 0.5 cupdill pickle rounds

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare

   Choose and prepare your filling: soak seafood in seasoned buttermilk and set up a cornmeal-flour dredge, or warm sliced roast beef in its gravy. Stir together mayonnaise, Creole mustard, and hot sauce for the spread.

2. 2

   Cook

   For fried fillings, heat oil to 350°F and fry the dredged seafood in batches for 2 to 3 minutes until golden and crisp, draining on a wire rack and salting immediately while hot.

3. 3

   Combine

   Split light French bread loaves lengthwise and toast briefly under the broiler, 1 to 2 minutes, until the crust crisps but the crumb stays soft. Spread both faces generously with the mayonnaise mixture.

   The bread is half the sandwich; if your loaf is dense and chewy, lighten it by toasting and removing some interior crumb.

4. 4

   Serve

   Load the hot filling onto the bread and dress fully: shredded iceberg, thin tomato, and dill pickle rounds. Close, press lightly, halve on the diagonal, and serve with hot sauce on the side.

   Add pickles directly against the meat or seafood so their brine cuts the richness in every bite.

Variations

• •

  Roast beef debris: chuck slow-cooked until collapsing, chopped into its own gravy.

• •

  Hot sausage po-boy: spicy Creole hot sausage patties, a beloved neighborhood order.

• •

  French fry po-boy: the Depression-era original, fries and gravy on bread.

• •

  Surf and turf: half fried shrimp, half roast beef, gravy over everything.

Storage

Assembled po-boys do not keep; eat within the hour. Fillings store separately — fried seafood re-crisps in a 400°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes, and roast beef in gravy keeps 4 days refrigerated.

Frequently Asked Questions