I just had my first oyster po’ boy, and I think I’m in sandwich heaven. I love trying a good American regional food for the first time. I know I can find recipes just by searching the ‘net, but I like y’all’s recipes better – they come with anecdotes, advice and variations. So give me some po’ boy recipes and/or stories – any kind.
I’ve only had a couple in my life; you can’t get good ones up here in VA - too far North. Nonetheless there have been decent ones and one really lousy one.
Unfortunately I don’t have any recipes or stories, but I would like to heartily recommend an oyster Caesar salad if you ever run across one. There’s a bar up in DC called Garrett’s where I first had one a couple of years ago and god DAMN, was that thing tasty as all-get-out! The oysters were fried in a crisp batter just to the point of solidity… drool I know what I’m doing for lunch tomorrow. Whoo-ee!
Eeeewwwww. . . . oysters!
Now I’m not going to be able to eat my dinner. Blech!
obfusciatrist: Neither a walrus nor a carpenter are you.
“‘A loaf of bread,’ the Walrus said,
‘is what we chiefly need.
Pepper and vinegar, besides,
are very good indeed.
Now, if you’re ready, oysters dear,
we can begin to feed.’”
Except the walrus had it wrong. Cocktail sauce, horseradish, lemon wedges and tabasco are the way to go.
Cut us another slice.
I wish you were not quite so deaf; I’ve had to ask you twice.
Nothing but a quick squeeze of lemon juice on MY ersters, thank you very much. A good oyster should taste of the sea, not bottled cocktail sauce. Now, a FRIED oyster is another matter…if you’re serving me an oyster po’ boy, pass the horseradish and Tabasco, by all means.
I think the main thing that makes the generic New Orleans po’ boy so good is the thin mayonnaise sauce with which the sandwich is dressed. A po’ boy should be drippy with shredded lettuce, pickles, and tomatoes, no matter what the main fillings are.
Best specific po’ boy experience: Mother’s, a dive on Tchopitoulas Street, just a block outside the Quarter, specializes in home-baked ham. They also serve {IMPORTANT} a succulent dressing called “debris,” which is the drippings and grease and shreds of meat left in the bottoms of the beef-roasting pans. A ham po’ boy WITH debris from Mother’s, with a sweaty bottle or two of good beer to chase it, is one of the most satisfying food experiences New Orleans offers.
Help…I’m drowning in my own spit. I’m so hungry for seafood right now, I’d do anything for a fillet of cod…or a lobster tail…or shrimp…oh christ, I’d eat a tropical fish out of the pet store aqaurium.
I like them dressed with mayonaise, lettuce, tomato, and Tabasco®.
Okay, now who wants to give me a recipe for the perfect muffaletta?
Johnny:
There are two tricks to making a muffuletta outside of New Orleans (or off Decatur Street, for that matter)
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The bread. You need that round, flat, Italian loaf, about 12 inches in diameter. This may be impossible to find.
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The olive salad. This is easier. My handy-dandy food reference guide lists the ingredients as “chopped green olives, pimientos, celery, garlic, pickled onions, capers, oregano, parsley, olive oil, red-wine vinegar, salt and pepper.”
Okay…if you can somehow locate the bread and approximate the olive salad…split the loaf and layer with sliced ham, provolone, and Genoa salami. Top with the olive salad. Get a cold beer or two and strip naked (otherwise the oil from the salad will drip down the sleeves of your shirt and onto your necktie, ruining them).
Or you can go the easy route and order your muffulattas here:
Thanks Ike,
I very well may order a quartet of sammiches one of these days!
The first time I had a muffuletta, it was hot. The others were cold. Is there a “right” way to eat them?
Well, the only place I’ve ever eaten a muffuletta I’ve considered a REAL muffuletta was the Central Grocery on Decatur. (See link above.)
The sandwiches there are served at room temperature. Room temperature in New Orleans in July tends to hover around ninety-seven degrees Fahrenheit, however.
I’ve eaten a bullshit phony muffuletta in midtown Manhattan (also served at room temp)…wrong bread, wrong cold cuts, no olive salad AT ALL. In the future I’ll stick with a nice brisket on rye with mustard. Some things NYC does right, some things it shouldn’t bother to try.
The only place I’ve had muffuletta is in The Big Sleazy. (That’s not meant to be derogatory!)
If I can get some of the olive salad (or make some) I’ll give it a try. At least I can make an oyster po’ boy!
Thanks Ike for the muffuleta sandwich data. I’ve never heard of this specialty, but they sound painfully good. I suppose any good quality Italian style loaf will do, as long as it isn’t bogus grocery store Italian?
Re: oyster purism. I like oysters the way you do, as well. I suppose it’s what I’m going to drink determines the oyster accompaniments. I.e.: French chablis or Pouilly-Fuisse – oysters with lemon. Sam Adams Boston Lager – oysters with cocktail sauce and horseradish.
In keeping with the Cajun food theme, I decided to try making my first shrimp gumbo last night. Another fabulous dish! As if I need to discover another irresistible food to stuff in my face. It’s actually shrimp and oyster gumbo, full of okra, gumbo file, green peppers, etc., thickened with a dark roux, and served with lots of white rice. I had no Dixie beer, so we drank a nice amber ale with it, and I made sure to keep a bottle of Tabasco on the table.
Pick guitar, fill fruit jar and be gay-o.
Pug:
No, it’s a special muffuletta roll: flat, round, ten-twelve inches in diameter, sesame seeds on top. You could make a damn good sandwich out of these ingredients and a good loaf of Italian bread, but you’d have a damn good sandwich on a loaf of Italian bread, NOT a muffuletta! Here’s some more mouthwatering info…
http://www.ebicom.net/~howle/page/muffuletta.htm
May I recommend a wonderful book on gumbo? Gwen McKee’s THE LITTLE GUMBO BOOK, a little gifty-looking hardcover priced at $8.95, totally belies its looks…it provides a TERRIFIC step-by-step process for gumbo-making, as well as several fine basic recipes.
John Thorne’s brilliant SERIOUS PIG also includes an excellent chapter on gumbo, and Paul Prudhomme’s essential LOUISIANA KITCHEN will add flavors you may not have considered.
Cool! Two recipes on one site! Plus the first one in this thread! starting to slaver
I prefered the one that was served hot, for the same reasons the guy on the link states.