Summer Shrimp Salad or Shrimp Po'Boy

This is a revision of a shrimp salad recipe I created in 2010.  While originally it was meant to be made with jumbo shrimp (U-15s) and served on a bed of cold, crisp greens, it also makes a wonderful filling for a shrimp po'boy when using small bay shrimp.

At the outset, I found several recipes for shrimp salad on the internet, all of which I pared down to this original dressing recipe.  Make it ahead of time and let it sit for several hours or overnight while all the flavors marry and amalgamate. This is a bit of a variation on a shrimp dish I made previously and served with crab muffins.  Click here to go there.

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp dried dill weed

3 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 medium stalks of celery, leaves removed, finely diced

1/8 cup non-peril capers

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp Creole seasoning (like, Tony Chachere's or Zatarain's)

1/8 tsp black pepper

 

Add: 12 to 16 oz large or jumbo shrimp for making a shrimp salad, or bay shrimp as a filling to a Louisiana style shrimp po'boy sandwich on 4-6" sourdough hoagie rolls.

 

The Recipe

I doubt you will need any salt, but if you do, add it at the table.  Additional salt to the dressing will make the shrimp leach water, which will dilute it and make the shrimp soggy.

 

Mix all ingredients except the shrimp in a mixing bowl.  Stir well to combine all ingredients.  This will likely make more dressing than you need.  If you can let the dressing sit overnight, it will taste all that much better.

 

If you're using frozen shrimp, place them in a colander in your sink and run cold water over them, tossing occasionally, and turning the colander every so often so the water bath gets to all of the delicious little crustaceans.  Frozen shrimp thaw very quickly, within thirty minutes or so.  Bay shrimp thaw almost instantaneously after getting a cold water bath.

If you're making a shrimp salad, cut the jumbo shrimp into thirds. Bay shrimp require no further preparation.  Thoroughly dry your shrimp in a bundle of paper towels.  Let the shrimp rest in the refrigerator for an hour or so while the paper towels absorb all the moisture.  The drier the shrimp are, the better.

Put the shrimp in a mixing bowl and then ladle in the dressing a little at a time.  Mix to coat. You want the dressing to thoroughly coat the shrimp, but you don't want them swimming in it.  If you have dressing left over, it will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for a week or so.

For a shrimp salad, arrange the shrimp on top of cold, crisp greens like Bibb, Romaine or green leaf lettuce and serve along side a glass of ice cold champagne.

 

For a shrimp po'boy, slice the hoagie roll lengthwise in half.  On the lower half, use your fingers to scoop out the inside bread within the crust borders to make a little well.  Fill the well with the shrimp and dressing mixture.  Add shredded iceberg lettuce and very thinly sliced tomatoes.  Slather a bit of the dressing on the top slice of the roll, and then slap the two pieces of bread together.  Serve along side some Zapp's New Orleans style potato chips and a cold Dixie beer and you'll swear you're on Basin Street.