A Super Bowl in New Orleans is a great excuse to make shrimp po’boy sandwiches

By KATIE WORKMAN, Associated Press

If you’re throwing a ticker enactment for Super Bowl LIX, you couldn’t inquire for a amended backdrop and inspiration than the game’s big city, New Orleans.

The municipality is known for enticements, from its euphony country to Mardi Gras to distinctive architecture and, ya know, food. There are plentifulness of accepted Cajun oregon Creole recipes, similar gumbo, jambalaya, reddish beans and rice, etouffee, muffaletta, beignets. But I’m going to spell with the classical Shrimp Po’Boy.

A century-old root story

Po’boys were invented successful New Orleans during a streetcar onslaught successful 1929. The communicative goes that 2 brothers, Benny and Clovis Martin, erstwhile streetcar workers who had opened a java stand, began feeding striking colleagues with large sandwiches stuffed into fractional loaves of bread. One of the brothers, it’s said, would drawl “here comes different mediocre boy” each clip idiosyncratic approached for a sandwich, but it sounded much similar “po’boy.” And the sanction stuck.

What makes po’boys different?

“The cardinal happening astir po’boys is the bread. It is the foundation, and it is the happening that differentiates a po’boy from a hoagie, a hero, a sub oregon immoderate different benignant of sandwich,” says Ian McNulty, nutrient writer for the quality tract NOLA.com.

“It’s the breadstuff that successful New Orleans we telephone French bread, but which is not adjacent remotely similar a baguette,” helium continues. “It has a crackling crisp, precise bladed exterior crust and an airy, malty interior (achieved done fermentation). This operation of crisp to puffy textures makes the furniture that some cradles each the fillings and stands up to them.”

Fried shrimp are served up successful the room of Central Poboys successful Jefferson Parish, La., a suburb of New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The 2 main suppliers of New Orleans French bread, McNulty says, are Leidenheimer Baking Co. and the overmuch smaller John Gendusa Bakery. Someone attempting to marque a po’ lad extracurricular of New Orleans should effort to find breadstuff that matches those characteristics.

In a pinch, you tin usage a baguette instead, oregon an Italian loaf, but possibly don’t archer Ian I told you that was OK.

Once you person the close bread, determine if you privation it dressed, and how.

“Fully dressed” means shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced pickles and mayonnaise. Any operation of those is inactive dressed.

For the filling, roast beef and fried oysters are fashionable po’boy options, but present I went with plump, crispy, fresh-from-the-pan fried shrimp. Buy shrimp that are not excessively ample nor excessively small, similar 31-40 per lb shrimp.

McNulty advises that the champion fried shrimp volition autumn retired the broadside of the sandwich and represent their ain small broadside crockery to munch extracurricular it.

“The cardinal arsenic ever with shrimp is to debar overcooking,” helium says. “When you commencement to wonderment if they mightiness beryllium done, they already are. You privation a aureate crust but you privation that caller popular of the shrimp within.”

McNulty’s favourite section places for po’ boys are Parkway Bakery & Tavern, successful the bosom of the city, and Domilise’s, a tiny vicinity shop.

My recipe:

Shrimp Po’Boy

A shrimp po’boy sandwich appears successful New York connected May 19, 2022. (Cheyenne Cohen via AP)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 loaf New Orleans French Bread, oregon French oregon Italian bread

1 lb mean (31/40 per pound) shrimp

¼ cupful all-purpose flour

¼ cupful cornmeal

2 teaspoons kosher salt, pus much to taste

1 spoon freshly crushed pepper

½ spoon paprika

½ spoon ail powder

½ spoon cayenne pepper

1 ample egg

½ cupful milk

Vegetable lipid for frying

To Dress the Po’Boys:

Remoulade condiment oregon mayonnaise

Shredded romaine oregon iceberg lettuce

Sliced pickles

Sliced tomatoes

Directions:

1. Slice the breadstuff successful fractional horizontally, past portion the loaf into 2 to 4 sections, depending connected however large you privation each sandwich to be. Scoop retired immoderate of the fluffy breadstuff from the mediate if you wish; that’s a idiosyncratic prime (but communal successful the po’ lad satellite of New Orleans).
2. Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, paprika, ail pulverization and cayenne capsicum successful a shallow bowl. Mix the ovum with the beverage successful different vessel and play with a spot much brackish and pepper. Place a ligament rack connected a baking sheet.
3. A fewer astatine a time, dunk the shrimp successful the beverage mixture, turning them to coat. Using a slotted spoon oregon your hand, region the shrimp, let immoderate excess liquid to drip backmost into the bowl, past dredge them successful the flour mixture, making definite they are good coated. Use 1 manus for the bedewed ingredients and different for the adust to support everything from getting clumpy and messy.
4. As the shrimp are breaded, spot them, without touching each other, connected the ligament rack. When each of the shrimp are coated, spot the baking expanse into the fridge and fto the shrimp chill for 15 minutes.
5. Line a ample sheet with insubstantial towels. Pour the lipid to a extent of 1 inch into a large, heavy, heavy skillet. Heat the lipid implicit mean precocious vigor to 365°F. (Tip: If you don’t person a candy thermometer, conscionable hold until the lipid is shimmering, past adhd 1 shrimp. If it starts to mildly sizzle and crook aureate brownish aft astir 2 minutes, your lipid is the cleanable temperature.)
6. In a fewer batches, adhd the shrimp, turning them with a slotted spoon arsenic they cook. They should fry for astir 2 to 3 minutes total, and go aureate brownish and crispy. Remove them with a slotted spoon to the paper-towel-lined plate. See if they request different airy sprinkle of kosher salt. Continue frying until each of the shrimp are cooked and crispy.
7. (Tip: You whitethorn request to let the lipid to travel backmost up to somesthesia successful betwixt batches of shrimp. Adding excessively galore shrimp astatine erstwhile volition little the somesthesia of the oil, and the shrimp won’t get nicely browned and crunchy.)
8. Spread immoderate remoulade oregon mayo connected the toasted bread. Add shredded lettuce to the bottommost piece, past heap connected the lukewarm shrimp, tomatoes and pickles. Add a spot much condiment and lettuce if you like, and past apical with the different portion of bread. Serve immediately.

Katie Workman writes regularly astir nutrient for The Associated Press. She has written 2 cookbooks focused connected family-friendly cooking, “Dinner Solved!” and “The Mom 100 Cookbook.” She blogs astatine https://themom100.com/. She tin beryllium reached astatine Katie@themom100.com.