My Version of New Orleans Po'Boy Sandwich

A po' boy (also po-boy, po boy, or poor boy) is a traditional submarine sandwich from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat or seafood, usually fried, served on baguette-like Louisiana French bread.

There are countless stories as to the origin of the term po' boy. One theory claims that "po' boy" was coined in a New Orleans restaurant owned by Benny and Clovis Martin, a former streetcar conductor. In 1929, during a four-month strike against the streetcar company, Martin served his former colleagues free sandwiches. Martin’s restaurant workers jokingly referred to the strikers as "poor boys", and soon the sandwiches themselves took on the name. In Louisiana dialect, this is naturally shortened to "po' boy."

One restaurant in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, Trapani's, insists that the name "po' boy" came from a sandwich shop in New Orleans. If one was new to a bar and bought a nickel beer, then he got a free sandwich thrown in. This was sometimes called a "poor boy's lunch", which came to mean just the sandwich itself.

A key ingredient that differentiates po' boys from other submarine sandwiches is the bread. Typically, the French bread comes in two-foot-long "sticks". Standard sandwich sizes might be a half po' boy, about six inches long (called a "Shorty") and a full po' boy, at about a foot long. The traditional versions are served hot and include fried shrimp and oysters. Soft shell crab, catfish, crawfish, Louisiana hot sausage, roast beef and gravy, and French fries are other common variations.

A "dressed" po' boy has lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise; pickles and onion are optional. Non-seafood po' boys will also usually have Mustard, but the customer is expected to specify whether he or she wants "hot" or "regular"—the former being a coarse-grained Creole mustard (such as that produced by Zatarain's) and the latter being American yellow mustard. Mother's Restaurant, a popular lunch stop in New Orleans on Poydras St., uses shredded green cabbage rather than lettuce for its dressed sandwiches.

My Shrimp Po'Boy

2 lbs raw, fresh, peeled and tail removed shrimp
1 loaf of soft french bread
1 Tbsp. Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. salt
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
Miracle Whip or Mayonnaise or Sandwich Spread (In mayonnaise aisle)
4 Romaine Lettuce leaves
1 Tomato
1 bottle of oil for dutch oven frying

Heat oil in the dutch oven.

Slice french bread open but do not slice completely through. Leave a 'hinge' on one side of the bread. Toast very lightly in the oven under the broiler. Take care to toast only lightly.

Slice tomato into thin slices. Wash and dry romaine lettuce leaves.

Remove bread from oven. Spread liberally with mayonnaise. Layer lettuce leaves and tomatoes on top.

Combine flour, corn meal and cayenne pepper, salt and mix. Drop shrimp in buttermilk. Put all the shrimp in the flour mixture and turn several times to thoroughly coat.

Fry shrimp in small batches so you do not cool the oil down. Lay cooked shrimp on paper towel to absorb oil while you finish the rest. Take care not to overcook the shrimp. Cook only long enough to cook batter golden.

Heap shrimp onto bread while piping hot and enjoy!