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New Orleans Style Fried Shrimp PO-BOY-athentic and delicious. I will show you where to get the real ingredients at home.
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Sunset & Sewanee Style Shrimp Po-Boy

In truth, this recipe is a batter recipe for fish tacos. It does double duty here because it is very flavorful and does an excellent job of keeping the shrimp warm while you build the Po-Boy. If you have a favorite fried shrimp recipe already, feel free to substitute that here.
Course Sandwich
Cuisine Cajun, New Orleans
Keyword Po-Boy, Shrimp
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 Po-Boys
Author David of Sunset & Sewanee

Equipment

  • chef knife for prepping lettuce, tomato, and pickles
  • bread knife for cutting baguettes
  • boning or fillet knife for cleaning shrimp
  • cutting board
  • deep fryer or large heavy saute pan
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • Tongs
  • medium-sized mixing bowl
  • sheet pan fitted with a wire cooling rack

Ingredients

  • 1 quart Oil, vegetable, peanut, avocado, or Canola

Shrimp

  • 2 dozen shrimp fresh 31-35 ct size (3 dozen freshly shucked oysters are a great substitute)

Batter

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 ½ cup beer, Pilsner
  • 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 tsp mustard, yellow (French's)
  • 1 tsp concentrated chicken base or (chicken-flavor powdered bouillon, ground)
  • ½ tsp oregano, Mexican
  • ½ tsp pepper, black, fresh ground

Garnish

  • ½ cup each lettuce, iceberg finely shredded
  • 3 half slices of each tomato, fresh and sliced
  • 4-5 slices each pickles chips, kosher
  • 1 tsp each ketchup
  • 1 tsp salt, celery
  • 3 dashes of Crystal or Tabasco-style hot sauce

Instructions

Preheat Oil

  • Preheat oil in a heavy bottom pot or large sauté pan to (375°F or 190°C) and maintain. Heat enough oil to submerge the shrimp/oysters/fish completely.

Prep the Po-boy Bread

  • Using a bread knife, take the baguette and cut it into 6-inch sections. Then, use the same knife to split the bread being careful not to cut through. Reserve

Shrimp

  • Peel and clean the shrimp by removing the vein at the back. Rinse, reserve, and keep cold.

Make the Batter and Cook

  • Add the all-purpose flour, baking powder, beer, minced garlic, yellow mustard, chicken base, oregano, and black pepper to a medium-sized mixing bowl.
  • Using your fingers or a set of tongs, dip each shrimp in batter, as needed, and carefully lower into the hot oil (375°F or 190°C).
  • Cook the shrimp until deep golden brown and crispy. The time will vary depending on the size of shrimp you use.

Final Prep

  • While this process continues, you can preheat the pre-cut Po-Boy buns in an oven at 400 degrees for 2-3 minutes with the crust side up. (The object here is to warm the bread instead of toasting it.)
  • Start by dressing your Po-Boy bun with mayonnaise (or tartar sauce) and ketchup (optional) on the other.
  • Add the pickle and tomato slices and hot shrimp to the bun.
  • Next, top the sandwich with shredded iceberg lettuce and season with Crystal or Tabasco style hot sauce and celery salt.