The Peacemaker Po'Boy
Fried shrimp AND oysters on French bread with melty cheese and hot sauce — a New Orleans legend.
Prep: 30 min · Cook: 20 min · Total: 50 min · Serves: 4 · Difficulty: Medium · Rating: 5/5 (171 reviews)
INSPIRED BY
Mahony's — New Orleans, LA
Inspired by Mahony's in New Orleans — where the po'boy is treated with the reverence it deserves and the Peacemaker is the crown jewel.
Story
The story you'll hear is that the Peacemaker, the oyster loaf, was the sandwich a New Orleans husband bought on his way home from the bars to make peace with his wife. La Mediatrice, they called it, the mediator. It's a good story and it's probably half true. What's definitely true is that I had one at Mahony's on Magazine Street, and it had both fried shrimp and fried oysters on it, which the purists will tell you is a corruption of the original. The purists can argue. The sandwich was excellent. The single thing that separates a great fried-seafood po'boy from a sad one is the drain. Most people fry the oysters, pile them straight onto the bread, and within ninety seconds the bottom of the loaf has turned to paste. You have to season the seafood the instant it comes out of the oil, while the surface is still hot enough to grab the salt, and then let it sit on a wire rack, not paper towels, so steam escapes from underneath. Cornmeal in the dredge, not just flour, because cornmeal fries into a crust that stays crisp longer against the wet remoulade. The other detail people miss is the bread. Real New Orleans French bread has a crackly shell and an almost insubstantial crumb that shatters and then collapses; it is engineered to be dressed. If you can't get it, a light, airy French roll is closer than anything dense or chewy. Warm it. Melt the Swiss under the broiler before anything wet touches it. Oysters are non-negotiable here. People want to make this with shrimp alone because oysters scare them, and that's how you end up with a regular shrimp po'boy wearing a fancier name. Fry both. The brine of the oyster against the sweet shrimp is the actual point of the thing. Dress it last, and dress it in order: cheese melted onto the warm bread first, then remoulade, then the shredded lettuce and tomato, then the hot seafood on top so the heat doesn't wilt the cold stuff into a slick. Hot sauce goes on at the very end, a real shake of it, because a Peacemaker without a little vinegar burn is missing its temper. I like Crystal for this; it's thin and sour rather than thick and sweet. Eat it the minute it's built. A dressed po'boy is a structure under siege, and the clock starts the second the remoulade hits the bread.
By Theo
Ingredients
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 pint fresh oysters, shucked
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 cups cornmeal and flour mix
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 4 French bread rolls (8 inch)
- 4 slices Swiss cheese
- 1/2 cup remoulade sauce
- Hot sauce, shredded lettuce, tomato
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Soak shrimp and oysters in buttermilk for 15 minutes.
- Mix cornmeal, flour, and Cajun seasoning in a bowl.
- Heat oil to 375°F in a deep pot or Dutch oven.
- Dredge shrimp and oysters in the cornmeal mixture. Fry in batches 2-3 minutes until golden.
- Drain on a wire rack. Season immediately with a pinch of salt.
- Split French bread, add Swiss cheese, and broil briefly to melt. Spread remoulade, add shredded lettuce, tomato, fried seafood, and a generous shake of hot sauce.
Chef Tips
- The name 'Peacemaker' comes from husbands who brought these home late at night to make peace with their wives. The key is having BOTH shrimp and oysters — it's not a real Peacemaker without both.
Cook's Notes
- **Shrimp size:** Medium (41-50 count per pound) shrimp are ideal for po'boys — large enough to taste but small enough that multiple fit in each bite.
- **Bread:** A proper po'boy requires French bread with a crispy crust and soft, almost fluffy interior — not a baguette (too chewy). New Orleans po'boy bread from Leidenheimer's is the original. Order online or substitute a good French hoagie.
- **Frying temperature:** 350°F for the shrimp. They cook in 2-3 minutes — don't walk away. Overcooked fried shrimp are rubbery, regardless of how good the coating is.
- **Make-ahead:** The remoulade can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated. Fry the shrimp fresh — fried seafood does not hold.
- **Storage:** Fried shrimp: eat within 1 hour for peak crispness. Remoulade: 1 week refrigerated.
- **Common mistake:** Adding cold shrimp directly from the fridge to the fryer without letting them come close to room temperature. Very cold shrimp drop the oil temperature sharply and the coating absorbs oil instead of crisping.
- **Dressed:** In New Orleans, ordering a po'boy "dressed" means it comes with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mayo. This is the standard — undressed is the exception.