Fried Shrimp Po Boy
We never have shrimp in our freezer. As much as we love eating it, we just haven't had any opportunities to catch our own. So when a friend called me recently and said the shrimp were thick in the creeks, I ran to a store, bought a cast net and left the house at 3am to meet up with him before sunrise.The idea of stashing away a few pounds of fresh shrimp was enough to justify hours on the water, poorly throwing a cast net.
We ran the boat into shallow creek fingers, looking for jumping shrimp and working the grass edges. My throws looked more like the number “8” than a pancake, but slowly we started filling up the coolers. When, at the end of the day, we went to sort out the shrimp, we had amassed over 60 pounds.
We roughly sorted the shrimp out by size. The smallest ones were destined to be dehydrated for various Asian preparations. The bigger shrimp got frozen into blocks with water for later consumption. Rachel and I feasted on shrimp for days. We boiled, steamed, sauteed and fried shrimp for just about every meal.
I had noticed some of the shrimp had shells so soft and papery that they were almost non-existent. We set aside some of the softest ones, dredged them in rice flour and deep fried them.
If you have never eaten shell-on shrimp, it's kind of like a softshell blue crab. And if you haven't had softshell crab, well, you're missing out. We loaded up sandwiches up with remoulade, red onion, cilantro and whole fried shrimp and crunched away.
This is a simple recipe. Everyone has their own take on a Po Boy, but we like zesty remoulade, onions for crunch and some sort of fried seafood. The shells fry up crispy, like super thin chips, and we eat them antenna to tail. Giving the shrimp a light dredge in rice flour before frying adds a nice, delicate crispness to the exterior.
Fried Shrimp Po Boy
Cook time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
½ lb soft shell shrimp
~¼ cup rice flour
Remoulade
Sliced red onion
Cilantro (optional)
Crispy toasted bread
Method
Preheat frying oil to 375F. In a mixing bowl, lightly season the shrimp with salt. When the oil is hot, toss shrimp in a bowl with rice flour. Using tongs, grab a clump of shrimp and shake off excess flour and put directly in oil. Work in small batches, frying for 60-90 seconds until just golden brown. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined pan. Spread the shrimp out and allow the oil to drain.
Assemble sandwiches and eat while hot. As the shrimp cool they will become less crispy and more chewy.
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