Shrimp po’boys are an exercise in simplicity, with crispy shrimp cradled by French bread slathered in tangy, spicy remoulade sauce. This sandwich is the Gulf Coast’s answer to the hoagie or sub, and can be “dressed” with the deli trifecta of shredded lettuce, sliced tomato and pickles.
Po’boys can have lots of different fillings, but it’s tough to beat a po’boy with shrimp. I think this recipe is the perfect way to highlight quality seafood without being too fancy. You can serve shrimp po’boys at a neighborhood party or on a summer game day. Just be sure to have a pile of napkins on hand!
What is a po’boy?
A po’boy is an overstuffed sandwich served on long segments of French bread that can be loaded with any number of fillings. The poor boy, or po’ boy, was invented in New Orleans in 1929 to feed streetcar workers during a strike. This inexpensive-but-satisfying working-class lunch is now beloved by locals and tourists alike.
Shrimp Po’Boy Ingredients
- Remoulade-style sauce: Remoulade is essential for po’ boy sandwich recipes. Traditional remoulade is French in origin and based on a mixture of mustard and oil. This one uses mayonnaise as a base, plus dill pickle relish, lemon juice, minced garlic and a dash each of Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard. For rosy color, we add paprika and a dash of hot sauce.
- Buttermilk: Dip the shrimp in hot sauce-spiked buttermilk to add a layer of tang and help the cornmeal dredge adhere to the surface. Use cultured buttermilk, regular buttermilk or buttermilk powder that has been reconstituted with water. You can even learn how to make buttermilk using regular milk and vinegar, too.
- Louisiana-style hot sauce: Louisiana-style hot sauce plays an important role in our remoulade and buttermilk dip. Its base of red cayenne peppers and vinegar—combined with its smooth and relatively thin texture—differentiates this style of hot sauce from others. Use Tabasco, Crystal, Louisiana brand hot sauce, Frank’s Red Hot or another hot sauce if you have a favorite.
- Dredge: The dredge mix is made from equal parts all-purpose flour and cornmeal, and is seasoned with salt and spiced with paprika, garlic powder and cayenne pepper. It coats the fried shrimp, giving it the right amount of crisp.
- Shrimp: You’ll need peeled and deveined raw shrimp for this shrimp po’boy sandwich recipe. In general, we recommend buying frozen shrimp. Unless you have access to live shrimp, most shrimp sold as fresh in supermarkets were once frozen.
- Oil: To deep-fry the shrimp for this po’boy recipe, you need an oil with a high smoke point. This can be vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil or even avocado oil.
- French rolls: In Louisiana, po’ boy bread is sold in long loaves and cut into segments. We call for French rolls instead, since they’re easier to find. Select bread with a soft crumb and a crispy crust.
- Toppings: When you order a po’ boy “dressed” in Louisiana, it will come topped with sliced tomato, shredded lettuce and sliced pickles.
Directions
Step 1: Make the sauce
In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, lemon juice, Louisiana-style hot sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard and paprika together.
Editor’s Tip: This step can be done ahead of time. Keep the sauce in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat.
Step 2: Dredge the shrimp
In a shallow bowl, mix the buttermilk and hot sauce.
In a separate shallow bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, paprika, garlic powder and cayenne.
Coat shrimp with the buttermilk mixture, then dip them in the flour mixture to coat both sides. Shake off the excess.
Step 3: Deep-fry the shrimp
In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat the oil to 375°F. Fry the shrimp in batches until they’re golden brown, two to three minutes. Drain them on paper towels.
Editor’s Tip: No deep-fat fryer? No problem. Grab your cast-iron Dutch oven and deep-fry on the stovetop.
Step 4: Build the po’boys
Spread the cut sides of the rolls with the remoulade sauce. Fill each po’boy with lettuce, tomato, pickles and crispy shrimp.
Recipe Variations
- Switch up the sauce: Feel free to customize the sauce for shrimp po’boys with chopped fresh herbs. If you’re short on time, use a bottled remoulade-style sauce or make a shortcut stand-in by mixing paprika and hot sauce into prepared tartar sauce. You can also keep it super simple with dijonnaise (mayo and mustard mixed together) or plain mayonnaise. Some purists would say all you ever need on a po’ boy is mayo!
- Swap out the shrimp: Deep-fry catfish, oysters or even soft shell crabs. If you prefer turf over surf, load your po’boys up with roast beef, fried chicken or smoked sausage.
- Take a shortcut: If you’re making shrimp po’boys for a group, consider this your permission slip to use pre-breaded frozen shrimp. Cook them in the oven or air fryer according to package instructions. The shrimp likely won’t be as flavorful or tender as if you had seasoned and deep-fried them yourself, but using pre-breaded shrimp will definitely make the sandwiches easier!
How to Store Shrimp Po’Boys
Shrimp po’boys are best when each ingredient is at its optimal temperature. The shrimp should be hot, the sauce and toppings should be cool and the bread should be warm. For that reason, it’s best to assemble shrimp po’boys right before eating them. Store any leftover fried shrimp and toppings in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat fried shrimp in an air fryer or a 300° oven.
Shrimp Po’Boy Tips
How do you clean and devein shrimp?
This recipe’s most time-consuming prep task is peeling and cleaning the shrimp. It’s an easy process that moves quickly once you get into a rhythm. First, remove the heads. Then remove the legs and shells. Finally, use a sharp knife to slice open the back of the shrimp and remove the vein. You can, of course, also spend a little extra at the store and buy shrimp that has been peeled and deveined for you.
What’s the best bread for po’boys?
True po’ boy bread (French bread sold in long rolls and cut into segments) is a regional staple that’s hard to find outside of Louisiana. It may be the most difficult element of the recipe to nail, so put some thought into finding your best local option. A baguette or ciabatta will certainly work, but the ideal texture is softer. The best bread for a po’ boy has a soft, fluffy texture that cradles the toppings, but also a crispy exterior that shatters.
Look for long French or Italian rolls with a tight, soft crumb (not too many holes) and a crackly exterior. Choose a freshly baked hoagie roll, a bolillo or the small French-style rolls that Vietnamese bakeries use for bánh mì.
What can you serve with shrimp po’boy sandwiches?
The beauty of the po’boy is that it’s a complete meal. Feel free to add any classic deli side, such as coleslaw, potato salad, pickles, chips or fries. Or make a whole New Orleans party spread by serving them alongside muffuletta, crawfish etouffee and New Orleans gumbo.
How do you prepare shrimp po’boys ahead of time?
Though you’ll want to fry the shrimp and assemble the shrimp po’boys right before serving them, there are several steps of this recipe you can tackle ahead of time to make the sandwich assembly a quick process.
First, you can mix up your mayo-based sauce ahead of time. You can also peel and devein the shrimp and prep your lettuce, tomato and pickles. If you really want to speed up the cook time, pre-mix your dry dredge ingredients and buttermilk batter. You can also fill your deep-fat fryer with oil, so all you’ll need to do when it’s go time is turn on the heat.
If you prep these elements ahead of time, keep the shrimp, sauce, buttermilk mixture and toppings in the refrigerator until you’re ready to cook.
