Po' Boys - Check!

Last night for supper, I cooked up one of the final items on my Food List Challenge, Shrimp Po' Boys. After hearing about them over and over on the Food Network through various shows like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, as well as Eat St. and other random restaurant shows, I have been dying to try one. Once I came across Emeril Lagasse's recipe for an authentic and classic po' boy I was ready to eat!

Ingredients

• approx 2-4 cups of Vegetable Oil 
• 1.5 lbs of peeled and de-veined, Large Shrimp
• 3 tbsp Essence (recipe follows)
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3/4 tsp Cayenne
• 1 1/2 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups Yellow Cornmeal
• 2 small French Bread loaves or 1 long baguette quartered
• 4 tbsp Melted Butter
• 1/4 cup Mayo, or more to taste 
• Red Pepper sauce, a.k.a hot sauce
• 1 cup Shredded Lettuce
• 1 large, ripe & thinly sliced Tomato
• Potato Chips for serving (I used plain Kettle Cooked)
  

Essence Creole Seasoning (a.k.a Bayou Blast)

• 2 1/2 tbsp Paprika
• 2 tbsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1 tbsp Black Pepper
• 1 tbsp Onion Powder
• 1 tbsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
• 1 tbsp Dried thyme

       **Combine all ingredients thoroughly**


This mix is great, I'm definitely going to be using it again! Originally from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch.


Instructions

1) In a small bowl, prepare Essence.

2) In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, 2 tbsps of Essence, 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp cayenne.

3) If you haven't already, peel and de-vein the shrimp. Next spread the shrimp onto a platter and season with 1 tbsp of Essence, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of cayenne.

4) Heat oil in large sauce pan, or preheat a deep fryer to 360 degrees F.
Note: If you're like me and don't own a deep frier, I suggest using a small sauce pan and frying fewer pieces at a time, it may make for more batches, but wastes less oil.

 5) Once oil has reached optimum temperature, dredge the shrimp in the seasoned flour mixture, coating completely. Shake away the excess and drop into your oil. Using the small pot I could average 5-8 per batch. Fry until shrimp is golden brown, approximately 4 minutes.
Tip: If you don't have a thermometer, you can test the readiness of the oil by tossing in a piece of rice. If it bubbles up immediately and floats to the top, you're ready to fry.

Tip: Set the majority of the seasoned flour aside so you can store it away and use later.

6) Remove shrimp with slotted spoon or basket unto a plate covered in paper-towel. Taste one of your shrimp to determine if they need salt (ours didn't), then salt to taste and add hot sauce if desired as well.

7) In the meantime, slice your loaves in half and place them in the oven. Once toasty, brush both halves with melted butter.

8) Assembly: Spread mayo over both sides of the bread, then sprinkle with hot sauce. Divide the shrimp evenly between the sandwicheds and garnish with lettuce, tomatoe slices and additional hot sauce and sliced pickles if desired. 

And that's it, serve it up with some chips and dig in!

Photographic evidence:

keee-runch!