Oyster Poor Boy Recipes

VEGAN PO' BOY (WITH FRIED OYSTER MUSHROOMS!)

Steps:

• Take a damp paper towel and begin to wipe down your oyster mushrooms (this is how you clean mushrooms). If you rinse them instead, be sure to pat them dry with a paper towel. Set aside to begin making your batter.
• In the meantime, grab your cast-iron skillet and add enough oil for frying leaving about an inch or so of room from the at the top of the skillet. (The amount will vary depending on the vessel you are using to fry. For a deep fryer I tend to use the entire bottle of oil. For my cast iron skillet, I use ¾ of a 24-ounce bottle of oil).
• Turn heat on high and heat oil for 2 - 3 minutes until it is hot. If you have thermometer, it should read between 350°F (175°C) - 400°F (200°C). I don't use a thermometer so how I test my oil is by dipping a small piece of battered oyster mushroom in the oil. If it sizzles, that means it's ready.
• Take your marinated mushrooms and dip them in to your dry batter fully coating. I like to do this one at a time to make sure they are fully coated in the dry flour mixture. However, you can add multiple pieces in your dry batter at a time. Begin to add these pieces to your oil to begin frying.

FRIED OYSTER PO'BOY

Steps:

• Heat oil to 360 degrees.
• In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, and hot sauce.
• In a medium bowl, combine cornmeal, flour, and cajun seasoning.
• Pat oysters dry with a paper towel. Dip oysters in buttermilk mixture, then coat with cornmeal mixture. Drop into oil 6-10 at a time, being careful not to crowd. Give the oil time to heat back up between batches.
• Let oysters cook 2-3 minutes (depending on size) and pull out when golden brown. Put on paper towels to drain.
• Assemble sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, oysters, and remoulade sauce.

OYSTER POOR BOY

Steps:

• Combine the buttermilk and 2 teaspoons of hot sauce in a small bowl. Add the oysters and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
• While the oysters are soaking, whisk the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, the remaining tablespoon of hot sauce, pickle brine, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, parsley, black pepper, cayenne, garlic powder and sumac together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the iceberg lettuce and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Heat the peanut oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Then lower the heat to slowly bring the oil up to 375 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, combine the cornmeal, panko, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl
• Remove each oyster from the marinade and shake off the excess moisture. Dredge in the cornmeal mixture, then move to a cooling rack set over a half-sheet pan. Allow the oysters to sit for several minutes afterwards to allow the breading to set.
• Transfer 6 oysters at a time to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. (Watch your thermometer because the introduction of cold food will likely pull the temperature down a bit.)
• Carefully transport the fried oysters to a clean cooling rack. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bring the oil back to 370 to 375 degrees F and repeat with the remaining oysters.
• Split the rolls in half lengthwise. Tear out a bit of bread from the center of each roll, creating a trough. (If you wish, lightly toast the rolls in a 375 degrees F oven for 3 minutes.)
• Line the bottom of your roll with slaw and top with 5 to 6 oysters.
• Consume. Notice how the slaw is kind of gooshy (in a good way) and how that contrasts with the crunch of the oysters. Pulling some of the bread out of the middle will help the sandwich stay together, but you're still going to need a roll of paper towels to eat this thing.

DEEP-FRIED OYSTER PO' BOY SANDWICHES WITH SPICY REMOULADE SAUCE

Steps:

• Drain the oysters and place in a small bowl. Cover with 1 cup milk and let soak for 15 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining milk, water, cayenne and eggs. Place the flour, cornmeal, black pepper, and salt into a brown paper bag, close and shake to mix.
• In a large heavy-bottomed pot, pour enough oil to fill the pan halfway. Heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 360 degrees F.
• Drain the oysters from the milk. In batches dip oysters in the egg mixture then drop in the paper bag. Close and shake. Remove to a plate and repeat with the rest of the oysters. When oil is at 360 degrees F, fry oysters in batches. Do not overcrowd. Cook turning once until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove to a paper towel. Repeat with remaining oysters.
• To serve, cut sandwich loaves in half horizontally. Slather a generous amount of Spicy Remoulade Sauce on the inside. Place a lettuce leaf inside and fill generously with oysters. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over oysters just before serving.
• Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Chill until ready to serve.

POOR BOY SPREAD

Steps:

• Stir Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, mayonnaise, horseradish, lemon juice, garlic powder, and black pepper together in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 30 minutes to a full day.

FRIED OYSTER PO' BOYS

Steps:

• Mix together buttermilk, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add oysters and turn to coat; let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, mix together cornmeal, flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and a pinch of cayenne; set aside.
• In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan with high sides, heat oil to 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer.
• Dredge oysters in cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess. Working in batches, quickly and carefully add oysters to hot oil and cook, turning, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer oysters to a plate lined with paper towels; season with salt.
• Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spread butter on both sides of hot dog buns and place in the skillet on their sides, turning, until evenly browned.
• Spread tartar sauce in the bottom of each bun. Top with fried oysters, and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

OYSTER PO' BOYS

Steps:

• Make chipotle mayonnaise:
• Whisk together mayonnaise, chipotle, and lemon juice and chill mixture, its surface covered with plastic wrap.
• Fry oysters:
• Heat oil in a deep heavy pot (preferably a cast-iron Dutch oven) over high heat until it registers 375°F on deep-fat thermometer, about 12 minutes.
• While oil is heating, whisk together egg, milk, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Shake cornmeal, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper in a plastic or paper bag until combined well. Working in batches, add oysters to egg mixture, then lift out, letting excess drip off, and transfer to cornmeal in bag, shaking to coat well.
• Carefully transfer to oil, knocking off excess coating, and fry, turning occasionally, until golden and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Coat and fry remaining oysters in same manner, returning oil to 375°F for each batch.
• Assemble sandwich:
• Halve loaf crosswise and horizontally, cutting all the way through, and spread one cut side of each piece with mayonnaise. Sandwich oysters and lettuce between bread, pressing gently.

OYSTER PO' BOY

Steps:

• For the wet soak: In a nonreactive bowl or gallon re-sealable bag, combine the buttermilk, beaten egg, hot sauce, basil, granulated garlic and white pepper and mix well. Add the oysters and any liquid from shucking. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.
• For the breading and frying: In a shallow bowl, combine the panko, cornmeal, flour, dried basil, granulated garlic, cayenne, 1 teaspoons salt, pepper and paprika and mix well.
• Heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large cast-iron skillet.
• Drain the oysters from the brine and dredge through the breading mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Carefully add to the hot oil in batches, to not crowd, and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and season with the remaining 1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt while hot.
• For the sandwiches: Preheat the oven to a low broil. Butter the rolls and place on a baking sheet. Broil until golden, 2 to 3 minutes, and remove from oven.
• Spread Miss Dixie's Remoulade on both sides of the rolls. Layer on the oysters, lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. Top with other half of bread and serve immediately.
• In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth, 25 to 35 seconds depending on blender speed. Scrape down sides as needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

OYSTER OR SHRIMP PO' BOYS AKA POOR BOYS (COOK'S ILLUSTRATED)

Steps:

• Prep the oysters: Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper and cayenne together in shallow container. Scoop up about 8 of the oysters using a slotted spoon. Allow the excess fluid to derain off briefly. Scatter the drained oysters across the cornmeal mixture. Shake the container to coat evenly. Transfer them to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the oysters.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven, with a candy thermometer attached to the side over high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Slip half of the oysters carefully into the oil. Cook, stirring and prodding them to keep them from sticking together, until they are golden. It's about 2 minutes. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.
• Return the oil to 375 degrees and repeat with remaining oysters.
• To make the sandwich: Hollow out the middle of the bagette pieces. Spread mayo liberally inside each hollow. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Salt and pepper it if desired. Spread the pickles and fried oysters into the bottom crusts. Top each sanddwich with some tomato slices and lettuce leaves, ending with the top bread half (-ves).
• If you want to make shrimp sandwiches, substitute 3/4 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined. Toss them with 1 large egg (slightly beaten). Use that instead of the oysters in their liquor.