Fried Shrimp Po’boys
These Fried Shrimp Po’boys are a classic Louisiana sandwich! A hunk of French bread topped with Cajun fried shrimp, creamy remoulade sauce and shredded lettuce is hard to beat!
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Hometown restaurants. We all have our favorites, right? I’ve lived in a number of different cities over the years, and whenever I travel back to one of these spots, I’ve always got a list of 2-3 restaurants to visit before I leave. Mike Anderson’s, The Chimes and Mary Lee Donuts in Baton Rouge, LA. Cosmic Cantina in Durham, NC. Pretty much half the restaurants in Atlanta. I could keep this list going, but I recognize that most folks reading this blog aren’t familiar with those places.
Oh, but there’s one more place! Luigetta’s in Altoona, PA. This is one of my wife’s favorite hometown restaurants…and it’s all because of the salad dressing they make. Every time we go back to town, we stop by and pick up several mason jars of that dressing. Their “secret dressing” takes a normal hoagie and elevates it to something strangely delicious. We keep those jars in the basement so we can make our own version of Luigetta’s hoagies here in upstate New York (~6 hours from Laura’s hometown.)
Last summer, we were visiting Laura’s parents, and we were all sitting on the back deck eating crabs. (Well, they were eating crabs. Me? I prefer a good burger.) In true crab feast fashion, the table was covered with that morning’s newspaper. That’s when I looked down and saw a little ad for two restaurants for sale. And then I noticed which two restaurants. Luigetta’s! (Ignore the crab goop on the photo above. That just comes with the territory when eating crabs, right?)
I tried my best to convince Laura to buy the restaurants, but she wouldn’t go for it. We’ve always daydreamed that we would like to open a sandwich shop…so I told her this was our chance! She just looked at me with one of those “really!?” looks. Oh well. It was a fun thought. To be fair, she’s right about buying a sandwich shop. I don’t know the first thing about running a deli, hiring employees and stuff like that. But it’s still a fun thought!
Fried Shrimp Po’boys
If we did open a sandwich shop, I can assure you that these Fried Shrimp Po’boys would be on the menu. Granted, Fried Shrimp Po’boys might be a little odd for a sandwich shop located in central Pennsylvania. But then again, these sandwiches are just too good. They HAVE to be on the menu!
A po’boy is a common sandwich in Louisiana, and it’s often made with shrimp, crawfish or sliced roast beef. One of my favorite places in Baton Rouge made a soft shell crab po’boy that was amazing. The key to a good po’boy is not only the filling (in this case Cajun Fried Shrimp), but also the bread. French bread is the ideal type given its’ crispy crust and soft center. Slice that bread open and stuff it full of fried shrimp, shredded lettuce and a bit of remoulade sauce, and you’ve got one heck of a delicious sammich!
In fact, these Fried Shrimp Po’boys are the kind of sandwich that can put a sandwich shop on the map. Maybe we should’ve bought those restaurants after all! I hope you enjoy these po’boys as much as we do. Cheers!
Did you make these Fried Shrimp Po’boys at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog). I’d love to see your version!
Fried Shrimp Po'Boys
Ingredients
For the Remoulade Sauce
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- ½ tsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 Tbsp Italian parsley chopped
- 2 Tbsp green onions chopped
- ½ cup celery diced
For the Shrimp
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1 Tbsp hot sauce
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
- ½ Tbsp black pepper
- ½ Tbsp garlic powder
- ½ Tbsp onion powder
- 2 pounds large raw shrimp peeled and deveined with tails removed
For the Breading
- 1½ cups cornmeal
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 2 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying
- lemons for serving
For the Po’ Boys
- 4 6”-8” loaves French bread or Cuban sandwich bread
- 2 cups Iceberg lettuce shredded
- ¼ cup thinly-sliced red onions
- Beefsteak tomatoes sliced
- Pickle slices
Instructions
For the Remoulade Sauce
- Place all ingredients in a food processor or mini-chopper; blend until smooth. Set sauce aside.
For the Shrimp
- Using a large bowl, combine all ingredients for shrimp (buttermilk, eggs, hot sauce, mustard, Cajun seasoning, black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder). Add shrimp and toss until well coated; refrigerate shrimp for 30 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients for breading except for oil and lemons (cornmeal, flour and Cajun seasoning).
- Working in batches of 4-5 shrimp, remove shrimp from buttermilk mixture and toss in breading mixture. Shake off any excess batter before frying.
- Using a deep frying pan, add oil and place over medium-high heat until it reaches 350°F. (Test oil by dropping a pinch of dry breading into oil. If it bubbles immediately, then oil is ready.)
- Working in batches of 13-15 shrimp at a time, fry for 1-2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Transfer cooked shrimp to paper-towel (or brown paper grocery bag) lined plate. Repeat with remaining shrimp.
For the Po’Boys
- Slice loaves of bread lengthwise.
- Using a spatula, spread Remoulade Sauce over both cut-sides of each loaf.
- Layer lettuce, tomatoes, fried shrimp, red onions and pickles on bottom piece of bread; top with the remaining bread halves.
Looking for more tasty sandwich recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
I love that crunchy coating on the shrimp! I could eat just a pile of those by themselves. Of course adding them to some delicious bread and piling on the fixings sounds delicious too! If you ever do open that sandwich shop, and these are on the menu, let me know! I’ll be the first in line!
I’m with ya on the fried shrimp, Kathy! Not gonna lie – a few of the fried shrimp might have gone “missing” on the way to these po’boys. 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
Boy, aren’t you glad you didn’t open a restaurant in 2020? Yikes. I bet these sandwiches are fun. Messy, but good!
Oh man, you make an excellent point, Mimi. 2020 would have been a disastrous year to open a restaurant – which may explain why those sandwich shops were for sale. Either way, I’ll stick to making sandwiches at home!
That is one mouthwatering Po’ Boy, David! Love that crispy, succulent shrimp. I hope that you and Laura do open a sandwich shop some day!
Haha – I don’t know if opening a sandwich shop is really on the radar right now. It sounds like fun, but I know nothing about running an actual restaurant! I can say with certainty that these po’boys would be on the menu, though! 🙂
Couldn’t help myself. Lifelong NOLA resident here. 2 major faux pas.
1. Traditional po boys are roast beef, shrimp, and oyster. Crawfish po boys are rare because it’s actually hard to fry properly because they’re already cooked. Most places that serve crawfish po boys are tourist traps and produce a fried rubber product.
2. Dressed, i.e. a po boy fully topped (although I don’t hate on those that want some ketchup and hot sauce on their seafood po boys, or add cheese on their road beef), consists of mayo on both sides of the bread, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles. Remoulade and even red onion for that matter, is a major signifier of a tourist trap kinda joint.
Besides that, the breading for the shrimp is pretty on point. It can be easier than that, but that’ll be some proper fried shrimp. But if you have a quality product, you can cut the frying ingredients by 75%. I think the biggest challenge of authenticating a true NOLA po boy will be the bread. Langlinais French bread in Lafayette, gendusa, and Gambino in NOLA are good. However the king in NOLA is Leidenheimer. It’s going to be terribly hard to replicate our French bread unless you make it and are in a humid environment. Best bet would be to go to your local Vietnamese market and use their French bread they use for Bahn mi.
Alright…rant over. No hate David.. thanks for bringing the love. Just had to share. Ive eaten so many po boys in my life and have many more in my future. Brings back a lot of memories with my dad too…
Enjoy po boys AND COME SEE US IN NOLA!!! Parkway, Domilise’s, and Bear’s, are pretty much my fave, but they’re so many that do an amazing job. I have a large rotation lol.
All y’all be safe and ✌
Hey Tim! Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing these points – I do appreciate the insider’s advice. It’s been many years since I lived in south Louisiana. Upstate New York is quite lacking in good New Orleans/Cajun fare, so I usually end up making recipes here at home. These po’boys were a huge hit – even though the remoulade sauce is a bit more ‘tourist trap’ than authentic. I would give anything to come down and grab a po’boy in New Orleans. Funny enough, some friends and I were talking over the weekend about planning a big trip down to NOLA once the pandemic is over. I can’t wait!! Thanks again for the comment. Cheers!
nothing better than a sandwich! and this looks delicious. we have been lucky here at christmas due to covid in that our lobster market is China, and china are giving australia a hard time at the moment. so we have been punished by the chinese no longer buying our lobster and barley and beef and wine etc etc. soooo childish!! so lobster was selling like hotcakes at the supermarkets at a fab price. oh the delicious irony!
I’m with ya on sandwiches, Sherry – I could eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Sorry to hear about the lobster issues – perhaps switch to shrimp and make these fried shrimp po’boys instead? 🙂
David, sorry to be selfish but I’m glad you haven’t bought a sandwich shop. If you did, how would I enjoy all of the delicious treats you bring to your blog from all around the world? You would be too busy running and stressing out over that shop! These fried shrimp po boys look amazing. For as long as we can’t travel I’m happy to travel via your recipes! Thanks and take care!
Haha! You are right, Neil – I suspect owning a sandwich shop would put a damper on writing a recipe blog. The good news is I know nothing about running a restaurant, so we didn’t take the bait. Tempting to do something different, but not worth the risk! With that said, though, I can say with 100% certainty that these po’boys would be on the menu. They are SO good! Thanks so much, my friend!
Such a bummer that Laura’s fav restaurant was being sold off – and double bummer that y’all couldn’t be the new owners of Luigetta’s and turn it into a sandwich shop! A friend of mine from New Orleans is always talking about opening up a little cafe – he says he’d do the unhealthy New Orleans fair on one side and I could do my healthy stuff on the other side – but, like Laura, most times when this comes up, I am like “really?” … then there are other times when I dream of opening a little healthy cafe next to a weed selling store…. cos everyone needs to eat healthy- right? 🙂
Enough with the dreaming – dude – let’s talk about these po’boys! These look fantastic! I am salivating over those shrimp! With that decadent sauce and fixings – this is the kind of meal you serve and have a hard time getting people to leave! 🙂
You nailed it, Shashi – my brain knows that opening a cafe or sandwich shop would be a poor decision. However, it does sound fun, right? The problem is I know nothing about running a restaurant, nor do I have an interest in learning. But with that said, the menu would absolutely include these po-boys! These sammiches are SO tasty. 🙂
Ohhh I love po’boys! My favourite is oyster, but these fried shrimp look amazing! Haha, my hubby and I have had a similar daydream about owning a food truck!
Ah, I’ve had a good oyster po’boy or two in my days down in Louisiana! I’ve got to say that shrimp are probably still my favorite, though. Either way, thanks so much, Michelle! And if you ever open that food truck, make sure to drive it my way, ok? 🙂
I adore a good po’ boy, David! And this crunchy shrimp looks like it makes an outrageously delicious sandwich! I also had a fantastic soft-shell crab sandwich years ago that I just can’t forget! If you had a sandwich shop and just made these sandwiches, i believe it would be worth a trip to upstate NY, for sandwich at Dave and Laura’s Sandwiches!
It’s funny how a sandwich that I ate probably 15+ years ago still sticks in my brain – but then again, it’s kinda unique to find a soft shell crab on a sandwich. I like that – Dave and Laura’s Sandwiches. I’ll let you know when it opens up – haha! 🙂 Thanks, Laura!
Ohhh those Po Boys looks amazing. Theres one restaurant here that I know which serves them, I think its time to visit them back
I definitely support the decision to visit that restaurant, Raymund! You’ll have to let us know how it is. I love a good po’boy!