Best Crawfish Po’boy Recipe

A fried crawfish poboy with lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, and pickles.

Fried crawfish poboy is a classic New Orleans sandwich stuffed full of crispy fried crawfish tails. Serve it on flaky French bread and top with mayo, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and pickles for an authentic dressed po’boy.

Course lunch, Main Course

Cuisine American, Cajun

Keyword crawfish, po'poy

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 5

Marinate time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings servings

Calories 1501kcal

Author Lauren LeBlanc

Equipment

Sturdy pot or cast iron skillet
Spider strainer
Food thermometer

Ingredients

For Crawfish

1 pound crawfish tails
¾ cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon hot sauce
½ cup flour
½ cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
Oil for frying
Finishing salt

For Po’Boy

1 loaf French bread
Mayonnaise
Shredded lettuce
Tomato
Sliced pickles
Hot sauce

Instructions

THAW: If your crawfish are frozen, soak the frozen package in cold water for about 15 minutes or place under cold running water. They should defrost quickly. Do not thaw ahead of time.
1 pound crawfish tails
SOAK: Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a container and stir, then add the thawed crawfish. Stir well to coat all the crawfish. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
¾ cup buttermilk, 1 tablespoon hot sauce
PREP: While the crawfish are soaking, add flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper in a large zip top bag, seal, and shake well to combine. Slice tomatoes and shred lettuce.
½ cup flour, ½ cup cornmeal, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons diamond crystal kosher salt, 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon black pepper
HEAT: When the crawfish are almost ready, add about 1 - 1½ inches of oil into a sturdy pot or deep skillet. Heat oil to 350°F (175°C).
SHAKE: Drain the buttermilk from the crawfish and gently squeeze out the excess liquid. Transfer the crawfish to the dry ingredients and shake well so all crawfish are coated. Use a spider strainer to lift the crawfish out and shake off excess flour mixture.
FRY: Working in batches, transfer battered crawfish to the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Gently stir so they all fry evenly. Transfer fried crawfish to a paper towel lined plate or baking rack and promptly sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Continue until all crawfish are fried.
ASSEMBLE: Slice the french bread in half longways leaving one side attached. Layer both sides with mayonnaise, then add fried crawfish, lettuce, tomato slices, and pickles. Serve with hot sauce.

Notes

Frozen crawfish tails or leftover crawfish tails from a crawfish boil are both totally fine for this recipe.
Buttermilk substitute: mix ¾ cups whole milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice together.
Some of the cornmeal may fall to the bottom of the pot when frying, which is normal.
Storage: Fried crawfish po'boys are best served fresh. If needed, store in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in an airtight container. Do not freeze.
Reheat in the oven on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) until warmed through.

Nutrition