Surf and Turf: The Best Po’ Boy Style Hot Dog

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When compared to the hearty brat, a hot dog is unfortunately seen the as childish choice on the picnic table.

But we adults know that sometimes a salty dog is just what we need to hit the spot.

Looking for a little surf and turf to add to your hot dog repertoire? Look no further than Foodal's Dressed Up Po' Boy Hot Dog Recipe. Read more now: https://foodal.com/recipes/barbeque/surf-and-turf-po-boy-hot-dog/

Enter the “adultified” Po’ Boy Hot Dog. Topped with crispy fried shrimp, lettuce, and tomato, this hot dog will fill even the most voracious of big kid bellies.

What's more perfect for your next cookout than our Surf and Turf dog? This cross between a po' boy and a hot dog is a beauty that's sure to please lovers of both land and sea. Crispy breaded and fried shrimp atop a grilled dog, finished with lettuce and tomato – it's a match made in barbecue heaven. Get the recipe now!

The story of the po’ boy dates back to 1929 in New Orleans, when the city’s streetcar workers organized a strike over contract negotiations. The strike turned violent, shutting down the entire transit system for weeks.

Bennie and Clovis Martin, former streetcar workers who left the industry to open a coffee stand, offered aid to their fellow striking car-men by giving free meals to any strikers that stopped by their stall. They partnered with a local baker to make large loafs that could be sliced and filled quickly.

Whether you serve these delicious buttermilk and spice battered fried shrimp on their own or use them to top a hot dog po' boy sandwich, you'll love the results. Get the recipe now on Foodal: https://foodal.com/recipes/barbeque/surf-and-turf-po-boy-hot-dog/

Legend has it that as the strike grew, whenever workers neared the shop the Martin’s would call to one another, “Here comes another poor boy.” The “poor boy” got shortened to “po’ boy” and the name has stuck ever since.

While a true po’ boy refers to the size and style of bread rather than the toppings, across America the name conjures up images of fried shellfish, lettuce, and tomato. A “fully dressed” po’ boy comes with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.

Fried Shrimp Hot Dog Po' Boy Sandwich | Foodal.com

Our po’ boy dog sticks with the traditional bun, but goes all out as a fully dressed sandwich. We’ve added a hint of mustard for an extra little kick, but the true star is the spiced fried shrimp.

The Recipe

Surf and Turf Dog Recipe | Foodal.com
Dressed Up Po’ Boy Hot Dog
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Servings
8 hot dogs
Servings
8 hot dogs
Surf and Turf Dog Recipe | Foodal.com
Dressed Up Po’ Boy Hot Dog
Votes: 1
Rating: 5
You:
Rate this recipe!
Print Recipe
Servings
8 hot dogs
Servings
8 hot dogs
Ingredients
For the Shrimp:
  • 1 pound raw shrimp
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon salt divided
  • 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes divided
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 gallon vegetable or peanut oil for frying
For the Po' Boy:
  • 8 hot dogs
  • 8 hot dog buns
  • mayonnaise
  • Spicy brown mustard
  • lettuce
  • tomatoes thinly sliced
Servings: hot dogs
Units:
Instructions
Preparing the Shrimp:
  1. If your shrimp is frozen, defrost it either overnight in the fridge or for half an hour under cool running water.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, half a tablespoon of salt, one teaspoon of red pepper flakes, the cumin, coriander, and paprika. Divide a third of this mixture into a second medium-sized bowl and set aside. Pour the buttermilk into another small bowl.
  3. Peel and devein your shrimp. Start by peeling off the legs, then the outer shell and tail. Using a paring knife, cut a small slice along the back spine to pull out the dark vein. Give them a good rinse.
  4. Once your shellfish are cleaned, sprinkle them with the remaining half tablespoon of salt and teaspoon of red pepper.
  5. Fill your deep fryer with oil and heat it up, or pour the fry oil into a 1-gallon pot, place over medium heat, and bring the temperature of the oil up to 350°F.
  6. Dredge 5-10 pieces of shrimp in the second bowl of flour and spices. Next, drop them into the bowl of buttermilk, then dredge in the first bowl of flour and spices. Drop into the hot oil and fry for 30 seconds to a minute, until crispy, golden, and cooked through.
  7. Pull the shrimp out of the fry oil with a slotted spoon and rest on a cooling rack or on paper towels to drain excess oil. Repeat until you have fried it all.
Assembling the Dogs:
  1. Cook the hot dogs using your preferred method – grilling or boiling will do for this recipe, or you could pan fry them until heated through.
  2. Spread the hot dog buns with mayonnaise and brown mustard. Line with lettuce and thin slices of tomato. Add your hot dog and top with four or five pieces of fried shrimp.

 

Cooking By the Numbers…

Preparing the Shrimp:

Step One – Defrost

If your shrimp comes frozen, be sure to plan ahead! Defrost it overnight in the fridge or, if time is running short, run it under cool water in a colander in the sink for about half an hour.

Looking for the best colander to do the job? Pedestal or footed types are key, since they offer a bit of clearance at the bottom. Read more about the best colanders and strainers to meet your culinary needs on Foodal.

Once you can break the pieces apart and peel off the skins, they are ready to go.

Think hot dogs and seafood don't go together? Think again! Our surf & turf hog dog will change your mind. Get the recipe and read more on Foodal: https://foodal.com/recipes/barbeque/surf-and-turf-po-boy-hot-dog/

Step Two – Mix the Dredge

While the shrimp defrosts, you can pull together the dredging mixture.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, half a tablespoon of salt (or 1 1/2 teaspoons), 1 teaspoon of the red pepper flakes, the cumin, coriander, and paprika. Once the spices are well incorporated into the flour, pour about a third of the mixture into another bowl.

Breaded Shrimp in Three Steps

Pour your buttermilk into a third bowl, and set up your dredging station with all of the bowls that you’ll be dipping into lined up on your countertop or kitchen table, with the bowl that contains less of the flour mixture first, then the buttermilk, and finally the larger portion of your seasoned mix.

Step Three – Peel & Devein

Some shrimp come already peeled and deveined. If you’ve been lucky enough to purchase such a commodity, move ahead to step 4! Others come already deveined but with shells still on, and some are available for purchase whole.

Cleaning Shrimp | Foodal.com

Begin by pulling the legs out from the belly of the shrimp. After the belly is clean, peel back the shell and pop off the tail. You can reserve these shells for a nice stock, or add them to your compost.

If yours have not yet been deveined, use a paring knife to slice down the spine, about a quarter of an inch deep. Pull out the dark vein that runs along the spine and toss it in the trash. Then give your shrimp a good rinse and let them drain.

Step Four – Season

Once your shrimp are cleaned, season them with the remaining half tablespoon of salt and teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Make sure the seasoning has been spread evenly before you move on to the next step.

Step Five – Heat the Oil

If you have a deep fryer, now is the time to use it! Check out Foodal’s review to learn more about some of the best models on the market.

Otherwise, pour your fry oil into a gallon-sized pot over medium heat. Your oil will boil and pop when you add the shrimp, and you want to make sure you are using a large enough container so that it doesn’t splatter and burn you.

Love breaded and deep fried shrimp? How about hot dogs? Time to put them together, for the ultimate surf and turf recipe that's perfect for grilling season. Read more on Foodal: https://foodal.com/recipes/barbeque/surf-and-turf-po-boy-hot-dog/

Using a candy/deep frying thermometer for guidance, heat the oil until it reaches 350°F.

Keep a close eye on the temperature of the oil as you fry. You might need to adjust the burner as you go, in order to maintain a temperature in the 350°F-375°F range.

If it gets too hot, it will burn the oil (and your food). But if it gets too cool, you will end up with greasy shellfish.

And review all of our oils we recommend for deep fat frying. You have a lot of options to consider!

Step Six – Dredge

Drop the seasoned shrimp into the smaller bowl of flour. Toss to coat, then plop them into the buttermilk, and on into the larger bowl of flour. When they are fully coated, drop them (carefully!) into the hot oil.

Dredged Shrimp | Foodal.com

You want to dredge and cook only 5-10 pieces at a time. If you add too much to the oil at once, you will bring the temperature of the oil down too quickly. Additionally, you run the risk of causing oil to boil over the pot, potentially leaving you with a painful burn.

Step Seven – Fry

Fry the shrimp for 30 seconds to a minute or until golden brown and cooked through, remove from the oil with a slotted spoon, and drain on a cooling rack or paper towels.

Want to make this tasty, crisp, flavorful fried shrimp to top hot dogs at your next barbecue? Get the recipe on Foodal: https://foodal.com/recipes/barbeque/surf-and-turf-po-boy-hot-dog/

This will allow the excess oil to drip off, which will help them to stay crisp. And there is nothing worse than soggy shrimp!

Repeat steps 6 and 7 until all of the pieces have been fried.

Assembling the Dogs:

Step One – Cook

Grilling Hot Dogs | Foodal.com

Cook your hot dogs to your own preference. If it’s grilling weather, take advantage of the opportunity!

If it’s chilly or rainy, boiling in water or frying up in a pan on the stove will do just fine.

Step Two – Dress

Spreading Condiments on Hot Dog Bun | Foodal.com

Spread the buns with mayonnaise and brown mustard to your liking. Lay down a bed of lettuce and thin slices of tomato.

Roma or plum tomatoes work nicely for this recipe as they are small enough to fit in the bun. If you’re using a larger variety like beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes, just slice the rounds in half to fit.

Add in your dog, and top with four to five pieces of shrimp. Dig in!

Tomatoes Cut to Fit | Foodal.com
Are you a hot dog fanatic? Check out our round-up of the internet’s top wild and crazy dog recipes here!

Shrimp Po' Boy Hot Dogs | Foodal.com

What’s your favorite kind of po’ boy? If you want a lighter version, try our grilled po’boys. And have you ever had one in the true Louisiana style? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Photos by Kendall Vanderslice, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details.

About Kendall Vanderslice

Kendall’s love of food has taken her around the world. From baking muffins on a ship in West Africa and milking cows with Tanzanian Maasai, to hunting down the finest apfelstrudel in Austria, she continually seeks to understand the global impact of food. Kendall holds a BA in Anthropology from Wheaton College and an MLA in Gastronomy from Boston University, and has worked in the pastry departments of many of Boston’s top kitchens. Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, Kendall helps to run a small community supported bread bakery and writes about the intersection of food, faith, and culture on her personal blog, A Vanderslice of the Sweet Life.

12 thoughts on “Surf and Turf: The Best Po’ Boy Style Hot Dog”

  1. I’m a sucker for a good Po’ Boy! I did a ton of relief work in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the regional favorite. As a Yankee, the idea of shrimp on a bun was a relatively foreign concept, but I quickly fell in love with it. It is nice to see a new twist on one of my favorite recipes! I will say though, I would make one small change to the recipe. I always fry my shrimp for my Po’ Boy in tempura batter. It’s so light and crispy that it really adds more texture to the sandwich and doesn’t weigh it down because it’s not really heavy. Other than that, I would keep everything as-is!

    Reply
  2. Well this just sounds like a home run. Few things can beat a good surf and turf combination, and it does sound like a perfect fit for a po boy. I have to say I have never thought of combining shrimp and hot dogs before, and on its own sounds a bit strange, but here I certainly see it making sense. Thanks for sharing, and I am definitely going to keep this in mind for a day when I have some shrimp on hand.

    Reply
  3. Wow, this looks so yummy.
    I never would of thought that the combination of a hot dog and shrimps would be possible.
    My kids absolutely love hot dogs. I will try this very soon and see how it tastes.

    Reply
  4. i love it ! nothing beats the classic po boy with an interesting twist. i made this and it was so yummy and everyone loved it !

    Reply
  5. This really does look good. Never would have thought of combining shrimp and hot dogs together in my life, but hey why not?

    @Lisa Davis, you’re spot on about frying the shrimp in Tempura batter, I don’t always use it, but when I do, there’s nothing like it.

    Reply
  6. Now this is something I would’ve thought looks good, a shrimp freaking hot dog? That’s pretty rad. I’m a big shrimp fan but I wonder if it would taste any better with all the added ingredients and the hot dog bun, I’ll definitely try it out!

    Reply
  7. I have never heard about po’ boy before, it’s a really interesting history and it seems to be an amazing meal!
    It actually reminded me to Mexican lonches, we actually make lonches out of everything, and I won’t be really surprised if they have actually made a shrimp lettuce and tomato lonches, and it really seems to be a great option when it comes to having a practical meal: when you don’t really have time to eat for school/work or as you’ve said, on a classical summertime picnic.

    Reply
  8. Can we talk about how this is the weirdest combination I have seen in a very long time and yet my mouth is absolutely watering and wanting to eat this for lunch. I love Po Boys. I love a good hotdog. while the two together does sound like quite a mouthful it does also seem filling and decadent. The fresh sliced tomatoes is what makes it perfect for me. I always have to have fresh tomatoes on my hotdog. It adds such a fresh element to such a rich and salty treat. I really enjoyed this post. Now I’m hungry for sure.

    Reply
  9. I have never had one of these. I really like the story/history behind the Po’boy. I will definitely be trying it soon. I totally agree daniconk it looks totally weird but I can’t wait to taste one. Thank you very much for this post Kendall.

    Reply

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