New Orleans Po-Boy (2024)

FAQs

What is a New Orleans po-boy? ›

What is a po-boy sandwich? Piled with lettuce, tomato and pickles and filled with roast beef, fried shrimp, oysters–or whatever you choose–po-boys are stuffed and slathered with sauce or mayonnaise, and then served between two long pieces of French bread.

According to historian Errol Laborde, the correct way to refer to the sandwich is “poor boy” because it was created by the Martin brothers after the streetcar strikers – those “poor boys.” But whether it's referred to as a poor boy, po' boy, po-boy, or po boy, what everyone can agree on is that the famous sandwich ...

Firecracker shrimp is well-known along with traditional fried catfish, but the roast beef po' boys are probably it's most-ordered and loved version.

King Cake. New Orleans' signature sweet is, without a doubt, a king cake. The Mardi Gras classic is a round, cinnamon-filled braided cake topped with icing and green, purple, and yellow colored sugar. A little plastic baby is hidden inside the king cake, and whoever finds the baby must buy the next king cake.

Split the hoagie roll and place the shredded cheese on the bottom half of the bread. Load the sandwich up with the shredded roast and drizzle some of the au jus from the dutch oven over the meat. Top with slices of bread and butter pickles or pepperoncini peppers and serve.

It traditionally consists of meat, which is usually roast beef, ham, or fried seafood such as shrimp, crawfish, fish, oysters, or crab. The meat is served in New Orleans French bread, known for its crisp crust and fluffy center.

Most are fried, but I've seen grilled seafood occasionally. A word on the peanut oil: It is a very common cooking oil in Louisiana, and adds a flavor that will make your shrimp taste more of the Bayou.

This Louisiana staple varies depending on the restaurant and town, but typically, a classic poboy includes toasted French bread stuffed with some type of fried meat, and the sandwich is “dressed” with tomatoes, romaine lettuce, pickles, mayonnaise and a generous spread of hot sauce for a Creole “kick.”

The original Martin poor boy sandwiches were typically fried potatoes, gravy, and spare bits of roast beef on French bread. Whenever a striker would walk into the restaurant Benny would shout to Clovis, “Here comes another poor boy!”.

You'll see po boy also spelled po' boy, po-boy, and poor boy. The big thing that separates po boys from other types of sub sandwiches is that po boys are usually served hot and they are made with French bread rather than Italian bread.

What makes a po-boy different from a sandwich? ›

On this level, both the tendency to use fried seafood, and the hot temperature of the meat on the sandwich distinguish the po'boy from a more typical sandwich. The most important difference I found though, and the one that makes this sandwich so distinctively New Orleanian, is the bread.

A popular local theory claims that the term "poor boy" (later "po' boy", etc.), specifically referring to a type of sandwich, was coined in a New Orleans restaurant owned by Benjamin ("Benny") and Clovis Martin, former streetcar conductors originally from Raceland, Louisiana.

What's in po' boy sauce? This po'boy sauce is based on a French-Cajun classic, remoulade. It's super easy to make—just spice up your favorite mayonnaise with some Creole seasoning and mustard, along with capers, hot sauce, horseradish, lemon, garlic, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.

"The Spy Boy is first in the front: he is the baddest of all the Indians… he is ahead looking for trouble. Only a chosen few can be Spy Boy. It's his job to send a signal to First Flag when he sees other Indians. First Flag signals back down the line to Big Chief.