po' boy

A po' boy (also po-boy, po boy derived from the non-rhotic southern accents often heard in the region, or poor boy) is a sandwich originally from Louisiana. It almost always consists of meat, which is usually roast beef, chicken fingers or some sort of fried seafood such as shrimp, crawfish, fish, oysters or crab. The meat is served on New Orleans French bread, known for its crispy crust and fluffy center. Preparation A wide selection of fillings are traditional as long as the "po' boy bread" is used, with roast beef, baked ham, fried shrimp, fried crawfish, fried catfish, Louisiana hot sausage, French fries, fried chicken, alligator, duck, boudin, and rabbit listed among possible ingredients. "Po' boy bread" is a local style of French bread traditionally made with less flour and more water than a traditional baguette, yielding a wetter dough that produces a lighter and fluffier bread that is less chewy. The recipe was developed in the 1700s in the Gulf South because the humid climate was not conducive to growing wheat, requiring wheat flour to be imported and thus less available. A "dressed" po' boy has shredded lettuce, sliced tomato, sliced pickles, and mayonnaise. Fried seafood po' boys can be dressed with melted butter and sliced pickle rounds. A Louisiana style hot sauce is optional. Non-seafood po' boys will also often have Creole mustard.