This famous New Orleans sandwich specialty translates perfectly to our Island locale, plentiful with oysters. These crispy cornmeal-coated oysters with jazzed-up mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato are served like mini burgers. In New Orleans, po’ boy makers use a soft-crusted French bread. You can use this recipe to make 4 regular sized po’ boys for lunch or dinner, or 8 small ones for an appetizer.
Makes 8 sliders
- 1 quart vegetable or canola oil
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 20 oysters, shucked and drained
- 8 mini brioche or hamburger rolls (or use regular hamburger rolls and a biscuit cutter to make mini rolls)
- Homemade tartar sauce (see recipe below) or plain mayonnaise
- Lettuce leaves
- 1 lemon
- 1–2 fresh tomatoes, sliced
1. In a heavy pot or a fryer, add oil and heat to 375 degrees.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, salt, cayenne, and black pepper. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs. One at a time, dip the oysters into the beaten eggs, then coat in the cornmeal mixture. Fry in small batches, until oysters are golden on both sides, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
3. To assemble a po’ boy, slather the bottom bun with tartar sauce (or mayonnaise), and layer with lettuce, 2 oysters, a squeeze of lemon, a slice of tomato, and top with bun. Serve immediately.
Tartar Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons capers, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons pickle relish
- Salt and pepper
1. In a small bowl, mix first 5 ingredients together. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
This recipe was originally published with the article, All About Shellfish.
