This authentic New Orleans Shrimp Po Boy legit has crispy fried shrimp on a French baguette with all the classic fixins, and don’t forget the Creole remoulade sauce. This tastes just as good (or even better) than the ones you would find in restaurants in NOLA.
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After going to New Orleans literally a million times, I have become a po boy expert. In order to master this recipe, I recommend doing the following:
- Grab the right shrimp: The best po boys have plump shrimp that aren’t too big and hard to eat. Get 16/20 shrimp (basically this means there are 16-20 shrimp per pound) that are peeled and deveined with the tails off.
- Oil Temp is Important: Heat the oil to 350°F so your shrimp fries crispy. If the temp is too low, they will get soggy absorbing the oil. Too high, and they will burn.
- Make the Remoulade Ahead: My recipe testing revealed that making a few hours or even a day ahead allows the flavors can really come together and pop.
- Let the Batter Rest: Let the shrimp rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes before frying. This helps the coating to stick to the shrimp better so it doesn’t fall off when you fry them up.
How to make shrimp po boys
Make the Remoulade Sauce
Step 1: Add all remoulade ingredients to a bowl.
Step 2: Mix everything together and chill in the refrigerator until you are finished frying the shrimp.
Prep and Fry the Shrimp
Step 3: Add the salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.
Step 4: Mix together then divide the spice mixture in half.
Step 5: Season the shrimp with half of the spice mixture.
Step 6: Add the flour, cornmeal and the rest of the spice mixture together in a bowl.
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Step 7: Mix until combined.
Step 8: In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and hot sauce together.
Step 9: Dip seasoned shrimp in the buttermilk.
Step 10: Coat with the cornmeal mixture shaking off any excess. If you like a thicker coating, you can repeat this steap.
Step 11: Once breaded, chill the shrimp in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Step 12: Pour the oil into a deep, wide pot to the depth of about 2 inches. Heat the oil to 350 F. Working in batches, fry shrimp until golden brown about 3-4 minutes per batch.
Step 13: Transfer to paper towels to drain.
Dress your Po Boy
Step 14: Build your sandwich by adding remoulade to the bread then dress your sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and pickles then finally pile on the shrimp.
Shrimp Po’ Boy Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Remoulade Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp dill pickle relish
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp hot sauce
- 2 tsp capers roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp Creole mustard or Dijon
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
For the Fried Shrimp
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 lbs raw medium shrimp (about 45), peeled, deveined and tail off
- Canola or Vegetable oil for frying
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 tbsp hot sauce
For the Po'Boy Assembly
- 4 French loaves 8 inches long, split horizontally
- dill pickles for garnish
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- Sliced tomatoes
Instructions
For the Remoulade Sauce
- Mix everything together and chill in the refrigerator until you are finished frying the shrimp
For the Fried Shrimp
- Mix the salt, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper together then divide the spice mixture in half
- Season the shrimp with half of the spice mixture
- Mix the flour, cornmeal and the rest of the spice mixture together in a bowl
- In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk and hot sauce together
- Dip seasoned shrimp in the buttermilk, then coat with flour mixture shaking off any excess. If you like a thicker coating you can repeat this step. Chill the shrimp in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Pour the oil into a deep, wide pot to the depth of about 2 inches. Heat the oil to 350° Fahrenheit
- Working in batches, fry shrimp until golden brown about 3-4 minutes per batch. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
To Assemble Po'Boy
- Build your sandwich with on the French bread with mayonnaise or Remoulade, dress your sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and pickles then pile on the shrimp.
Notes
How to store & reheat shrimp po boys
It’s best to store all of the components separately. Add the shrimp to an airtight container after it cools and pop in the fridge. Keep the fresh veggies and remoulade in separate containers too in the fridge. Finally add your bread to a ziptop bag and keep at room temp. When you want to reheat the shrimp, I prefer using an air fryer at 350°F for 4-5 minutes or oven at 375°F for 8-10 minutes flipping halfway to keep the crunch intact. Just don’t microwave boos.How long will shrimp po boys last in the fridge?
The shrimp should last up to 2 days. The bread should stay fresh about 1-2 days, and the remoulade lasts the longest staying all good for about 5 days.Can I freeze this shrimp po boy recipe?
You can freeze the fried shrimp. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet to freeze individually, and then transfer them to a ziplock freezer bag. They can last up to 2 months in the freezer. Just keep in mind that they will more than likely overcook so they won’t be the same texture after reheating. Just keepin it real. Ingredient Swaps and InformationFor the Remoulade Sauce:
- Mayonnaise: The base of the sauce. If you want something lighter, Greek yogurt works, but it won’t have the same richness or taste.
- Dill pickle relish: If you don’t have relish, finely chop some dill pickles.
- Lemon juice: Bottled works in a pinch, but fresh is best.
- Hot sauce: Adds heat—use whatever brand you like or skip it if you’re not into spice.
- Capers: These give the sauce a little briny kick. If you don’t have them, you can leave them out.
- Paprika: Smoked or regular both work, but smoked paprika gives the sauce more oomph.
- Creole or Dijon mustard: Creole mustard has a bit more spice, but Dijon works fine too.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds umami and a little sweetness.
- Garlic: Fresh is best, but garlic powder works if that’s what you have. Use 1/2 teaspoon per clove.
For the Fried Shrimp:
- Shrimp: Medium-sized, peeled, deveined, and tail-off makes them easier to eat in a sandwich.
- Kosher salt: Seasons the shrimp before frying. Regular salt works too, but use a little less.
- Paprika, garlic powder, cayenne, black pepper: The spice blend that gives the shrimp flavor. If you want less heat, cut back on the cayenne.
- Flour and cornmeal: Swap out the flour in the shrimp batter for gluten-free and replace the bread with your fave gluten-free option.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have it, mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into 1 cup of regular milk and let sit undisturbed for 10 mins.
- Hot sauce: Goes into the buttermilk for extra flavor.
For the Po’ Boy Assembly:
- French bread: A good baguette or hoagie roll also does the trick.
- Dill pickles: Classic for that extra tang.
- Shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes: Keep it simple—crisp iceberg and ripe tomatoes work best.
Nutrition
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Absolutely fantastic! The remoulade was especially tasty. Didn’t have dill pickle relish on hand so I threw in a bit of pickle juice instead. Next time I will make a bigger batch because I couldn’t get enough. 🙂 The shrimp is spot on too – perfect amount of breading and combination of spices. I didn’t need a ton of oil to fry them either which I liked. I had some leftover shrimp which reheated fine in the air fryer the next day – 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. (Can’t beat the shrimp fresh out of the oil/fryer though… ) Thank you for the delicious recipe!
The best po’boy we’ve had, better than in NOLA! Thanks for sharing.
We made this last night and the shrimp alone is to die for! We will definitely put it in our normal rotation. I do want to test a few to see how well it would hold up in an air fryer though.
Omgosh I made this because I had too much shrimp ( is that even possible?)and it was aaamazing thank you for sharing what will need to be a go to sandwich at least once a month thank you thank you thank you.
Thanks I’ll try your recipe. Exactly like you said. I miss the proper Cajun cooking. A good Cubano a good veche, a good marsala. I look forward to making your dish.
Most excellent! Recipe results in a taste that reminds me of the best of the Gulf Coast at home. Fresh or frozen shrimp are no matter. Double coat for the extra pop. Thanks for these great tastes.
Just read Where the Crawdads Sing and was inspired to try a few of the recipes it mentioned. First taste of a po’boy and wow, how good are they?! Will definitely be making this again. Remoulade was sensational. Added a bit of grated lemon and subbed in greek yoghurt for the buttermilk dip as I didn’t have any. Ridiculously delicious. Thank you!!
I love to cook, and I cook a lot. I don’t often leave comments or ratings about recipes, because I don’t usually use recipes as they are written, but instead pick and choose parts of recipes. This recipe deserves five stars (plus) any way you want to go about it. I have used the recipe exactly as written, and it is exceptional as is. I’ve recently developed an allergy where I can no longer use buttermilk, so instead I’m cooking blackened shrimp and leaving the rest of the recipe as is. I looked for a couple of years for a good remoulade recipe before I found this one, and it is just the best. Thank you so much to Jocelyn and Demetra for this 🙂 Happy cooking!
The last best tasting Po’Boy was in New Orleans. This recipe nails it!
OMG! These are great. I’m so glad I went with your recipe. I’m gonna share this recipe alot!