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 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 30 minutesminutes
Servings 6Po-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
1quartOil, vegetable, peanut, avocado, or Canola
Shrimp
2dozenshrimp fresh 31-35 ct size (3 dozen freshly shucked oysters are a great substitute)
1tspconcentrated chicken base or (chicken-flavor powdered bouillon, ground)
½tsporegano, Mexican
½tsppepper, black, fresh ground
Garnish
½cup eachlettuce, iceberg finely shredded
3half slices of eachtomato, fresh and sliced
4-5slices eachpickles chips, kosher
1tsp eachketchup
1tspsalt, celery
3dashes ofCrystal 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.