A Better Shrimp Po’Boy? Fire Up Your Grill!

To come to New Orleans without eating a po’boy would be like visiting Paris and missing the Eifel Tower. What could be better than fried seafood on a soft pillowy French roll? There are oyster po’ boys and shrimp po’boys, of course, and even roast beef po’boys. And the best place to try one might well be NOLA Poboys on Bourbon St. in the heart of the French Quarter.

A Brief History of the Po’Boy

Local legend dates the po’boy to the 1929 streetcar strike in New Orleans. Two ex-streetcar conductors, Benjamin and Clovis Martin, opened a restaurant, Martin Brothers’ French Market and Coffee Stand, offering free sandwiches to the striking workers. The sandwiches harbored leftover roast beef with fried potatoes and gravy. (Seafood would come later.). The poor boys (striking workers) tasted. The poor boys liked, and the po’boy sandwich was born. While the Martin Brothers’ restaurant is now closed, Parkway Bakery and Tavern is a popular alternative known for its po-boys.

Rethinking the Classic: Grilled, Not Fried

Much as we love the traditional version, I find fried seafood rather heavy. In my recent blog on Italian beef, I reimagined Chicago’s classic sandwich using the flavor-blasting powers of a smoker.

I wondered how you could reinvent the shrimp po’boy using the fire power of—get ready for it—the grill.

Building a Better Po’Boy

The Raichlen po’boy gets a triple blast of flavor: first from Cajun seasoning, then from homemade remoulade sauce, and finally from the smoky char of the grill. For extra flavor, of course you’ll butter and grill the bread.

Grilled instead of fried, this Shrimp Po’Boy recipe keeps the spirit of the New Orleans classic but lightens things up without losing any flavor. It’s got heat, crunch, and just the right amount of sauce—all wrapped in a toasted roll. Give it a try next time you fire up the grill. You might never go back to the deep fryer.

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