shrimp po'boys

A New Orleans classic. Savannah, New Orleans and Charleston are the 3 sister cities, and it's fairly evident as you go through town. Lots of the same kinds of architecture, the same Southern flair, and a lot of continuity as far as food is concerned. This week when I was making up our menu, I asked Ed what he would like me to make and he said "po'boys". So, po'boys I made!

This is a shrimp po'boy, so you need some big shrimp. Basically, small lobsters. Well, maybe not quite that big. These are what they called "gulf prawns" at the grocery, but they're basically 16-20 shrimp. Make sure they are completely peeled and deveined.

Shrimp are pretty much as soft as they can get, but to make sure they are super buttery and delectable, I like to soak them in buttermilk for just about 10 minutes. Just long enough to coat them completely with the buttermilk and to break down just a little protein. Like usual, I didn't have any buttermilk, so I did my milk and vinegar trick.

While the shrimp are swimming, you can mix together the seasoned flour. This is all purpose flour, cornmeal, dried parsley, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, lemon pepper and salt and pepper.

Make sure they are evenly coated in the flour. At this point, I like to let them hang out for a minute while I mix together the spicy mayonnaise, just so that the flour mixture really sticks on there.

The mayo is simple- just a quarter cup of regular mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon of the liquid from the chipotles in adobo. I pop this back into the fridge so that it's super cold when I spread it on the bun. Now, drop those shrimp into the hot oil and let the magic happen!

The magic is what you see above. Perfectly cooked little shrimp bombs. All that's left is assembly.

Not much fuss here- that's why it's called a po'boy! Just a crusty bread, a slather of the spicy mayo and lettuce topped with our crispy shrimp... who could ask for anything more?

Shrimp Po'Boys
2 lbs raw jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 crusty deli rolls
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon liquid from chipotles in adobo
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1 cup buttermilk
Leaf lettuce
Oil, for frying

Heat about 1 inch of oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Place raw, peeled and deveined shrimp into a shallow bowl with buttermilk. Let set for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine together all spices, flour and cornmeal in a separate shallow bowl. Toss shrimp into flour mixture. Let sit for an additional 5 minutes. To make mayonnaise, combine together plain mayo and chipotle liquid in a small bowl. Keep refrigerated until needed. Fry the shrimp in the hot oil for 2 minutes on either side, or until shrimp have curled into c shapes. Drain on a paper towel. To assemble the sandwiches, slice deli rolls in half, coated on side in spicy mayonnaise. Top with lettuce and shrimp. Enjoy!