Grilled Shrimp Po’ Boys — Yummy, and Quite a Bit Healthier Than the Traditional Recipe

Shrimp Po’ Boys are a staple of New Orleans cuisine, and like many dishes from that part of the country, they are not anywhere close to the healthy end of the food spectrum.  Fried shrimp with a mayonnaise-based sauce on a bun may be tasty, but it isn’t exactly Weight Watchers friendly.  So when Colleen found this recipe for a Grilled Shrimp Po’ Boy by the Neely’s, we were anxious try it.

We’ve had success with Neely recipes in the past (their bourbon mashed sweet potatoes is one of our all-time favorites), but we knew that taste was more important than healthiness to them.  Using grilled shrimp instead of fried shrimp was a good head start in making it healthier than the traditional sandwich, but we figured we could slim it up even further ourselves by using a little less oil, fat free mayo, and a butter substitute without losing a lot of taste.

I’m happy to say that despite my general skepticism about things such as fat free mayo and butter substitutes (Brummel & Brown, in this case), everything turned out really well, and I can’t imagine that I would have been able to taste the difference in a side-by-side test.  So if you are afraid to try the healthy substitutes, or just don’t have them available, feel free to use the normal stuff.  But take it from a guy who does not like to sacrifice taste in the name of a few calories or grams of fat–this recipe is good and healthy.  And by that, I mean that it is good, and also healthy (or healthier, anyways…).

Grilled Shrimp Po' Boys

 

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Author: Adapted from the Neelys, Food Network

Recipe type: Main Dish

Cuisine: Cajun

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• Shrimp and Marinade Ingredients
• ⅔ lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used size 26-30)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper (use more if you want more heat)
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp hot sauce
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste (I used 4 or 5 cranks on the grinder)
• Butter Sauce
• ⅛ cup butter or butter substitute like Brummel and Brown
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (half a small lemon, quarter of a big one)
• ½ tbsp Louisiana hot sauce
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• Sweet Pickle Mayonnaise
• ¾ cup Mayonnaise (we used fat free)
• 2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp chopped capers
• Dash Louisiana hot sauce
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste (I used 5 cranks on the grinder each)
• Sandwich Fixin’s
• 1 foot long baguette, sliced lengthwise and in half, or two French rolls
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 small tomato, sliced

Instructions

1. Assemble shrimp marinade ingredients in gallon sized resealable bag, and add shrimp
2. Marinade shrimp for 20 minutes
3. Melt butter for butter sauce in a small ramekin or measuring cup in microwave
4. Add lemon juice, hot sauce, and worcestershire to melted butter and stir. Set aside.
5. Add all ingredients for sweet pickle mayonnaise in a small bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed (this step can even be done the night before)
6. Grill shrimp on skewers or on/in a grill basket about five minutes or until pink–turning over once
7. Toast baguette on grill or in toaster oven (Colleen would have preferred hers non-toasted, I like mine toasted–your call)
8. Toss shrimp in a bowl with the butter sauce
9. Spread baguettes on both sides with sweet pickle mayonnaise and top evenly with shrimp, shredded lettuce, and sliced tomatoes.

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