Shrimp Salad Po’boy
The Po'boy is a New Orleans version of a Subway or Hoagie sandwich, but frequently with seafood like fried shrimp, soft shell crab or in this case, shrimp salad.
Like many origination stories in food history lore, there is some debate about the true genesis of the name "Po'boy" to describe what might otherwise be known as a Grinder in New England, a Hoagie in Philadelphia, a Hero Sandwich in New York, a Blimpy in New Jersey or a Subway practically everywhere. But the Po'boy is distinctly New Orleanian, usually containing seafood, not cold cuts and cheeses. The original sandwich, which consisted of fried oysters, mayo, lettuce and tomato on a 8-inch loaf of French Bread, had been around since the late 19th Century and more commonly was known as an Oyster Loaf.
Martin Brothers Coffee Stand & Restaurant
The most generally accepted story about the etymology of the Po'boy name comes from the Martin Brothers' Coffee Stand & Restaurant, which operated in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, just outside the French Quarter on St. Claude Avenue for over a century before closing in 1972. The story goes that in 1922, the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America, Division No. 194, went on strike, leaving over a thousand streetcar workers without employment or incomes for four months.
The Martin Brothers, former streetcar workers themselves, decided to show their support for the workers by writing a letter to the New Orleans Times-Picayune pledging that they would give a free meal to any member of Division 194.
Legend has it that when one of the union workers would come into the restaurant to claim their free meal, a restaurant worker would yell, "Here comes another poor boy!" Since the most popular item ordered on the menu was the Oyster Loaf, the term "Po'boy" gradually became attached to the sandwich and the name on the menu eventually was changed.
This is a revision of a shrimp salad recipe I created in 2010. While originally it was meant to be made with jumbo shrimp (U-15s) and served on a bed of cold, crisp greens, it also makes a wonderful filling for a shrimp po'boy when using small “bay shrimp”. You can also use medium size shrimp, sold as U-40s. Large shrimp works just as well, but you’ll have to cut them in half or in thirds to be manageable.
At the outset, I found several recipes for shrimp salad on the internet, all of which I pared down to this original dressing recipe. Make it ahead of time and let it sit for several hours or overnight while all the flavors marry and amalgamate. Note that you make the dressing in advance, and add it a bit at a time to your chilled shrimp at the last minute, so as to coat the shrimp without drowning it in the dressing, and also to keep the shrimp from becoming soggy and leaching water into the dressing.
Shrimp Salad Po'boy
Ingredients
- 8 oz bay shrimp
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 2 medium stalks of celery, leaves removed, finely diced
- 2 tbsp non-peril capers
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp dried dill weed
- 1 tsp Creole seasoning (like, Tony Chachere's or Zatarain's)
- 7-8 grinds freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 6-8" French bread loaves
- 16 thin tomato slices
- 4-6 oz shredded iceberg or lettuce
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except the shrimp, lettuce, tomato and bread loaves in a mixing bowl. Stir well to combine all ingredients. Allow the dressing to sit refrigerated for at least 2 hours.
- Put the shrimp in a mixing bowl and then ladle in the dressing a little at a time. Mix to coat. You want the dressing to thoroughly coat the shrimp, but you don't want them swimming in it. If you have dressing left over, it will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for a week or so.
- Slice the French bread loaf lengthwise in half. On the lower half, use your fingers to scoop out the inside bread within the crust borders to make a little well.
- Fill the well with the shrimp and dressing mixture. Add shredded iceberg lettuce and very thinly sliced tomatoes.
- Slather a bit of the dressing on the top slice of the roll, and then put the two pieces of bread together and serve.
Notes
- Frozen shrimp thaw very quickly in a colander under cold running water, turning and tossing the shrimp frequently to get its cold water shower.
- Do this about 30 minutes prior to cooking, then wrap the shrimp in paper towels and put in the refrigerator to dry out before using.
