The Po'Boy — Cook — Provenance

Ingredients

4 lengths New Orleans French bread (Leidenheimer or Dong Phuong), each length sufficient for one portion; no substitute
For the oyster filling
24 Gulf oysters, shucked, drained, patted dry
120 g fine cornmeal, plain, not self-raising
60 g plain flour
1 tsp seasoned salt, or a Cajun seasoning blend
2 litres neutral frying oil, vegetable or peanut
For the dressing
120 g mayonnaise
200 g iceberg lettuce, finely shredded
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
60 g dill pickles, sliced
To serve
to taste Crystal hot sauce, not Tabasco, not Cholula

Method

1
Combine the cornmeal, flour, and seasoned salt in a wide, shallow bowl. Working in small batches, dredge the dried oysters in the seasoned cornmeal-flour mixture, pressing lightly so the coating adheres evenly on all surfaces. Set on a rack and do not allow them to sit long.
2
Heat the frying oil in a deep, heavy pot to 175–180 °C. Verify with a thermometer. Lower the coated oysters in batches, without crowding. Fry until deeply golden and the edges of each oyster have visibly curled. This is the step on which the dish lives or dies: the seafood must go from fryer to bread without pause — a po'boy assembled over any lag in the fry is not a po'boy. The coating must crackle when the first bite is taken.
3
While the final batch fries, split the bread lengths along their length without separating the halves fully. Spread mayonnaise across both cut faces. Lay the shredded iceberg lettuce along the bottom half, followed by tomato slices, then dill pickle slices. The dressing components must be cold against the bread.
4
Lift the fried oysters directly from the oil, drain for no more than a few seconds on a rack, and pile onto the dressed bread. The coating should remain audibly crisp at this stage — if it has gone quiet, timing has failed.
5
Close the bread, press very lightly so the airy crumb compresses around the filling without the crust splitting along the seam. Apply Crystal hot sauce at the table. Serve whole, uncut, immediately.