A New Orleans Icon - Homemade Version

[tbrtt1]

Growing up in South Louisiana, Baton Rouge and NOLA, among the foods I crave the most since I moved to TX over 20 years ago, is a good Po-Boy. It is one of the first things I eat when I get back to The Big Easy.

The foundation of an authentic NOLA Poboy is without question the New Orleans French Bread, only made in the Crescent City. The big three poboys are shrimp, oyster and sloppy roast beef.

Once or twice a month I make a New Orleans roast. My great grandmothers, grandmothers and mom, aunts etc. all made it routinely. A typical NO style pot roast is chuck. It is sometimes spiked with garlic, browned well and then cooked low and slow for hours utilizing a roux and stock to make a nice dark gravy. Normally there are no potatoes or carrots in it. Just a bunch of wonderful braised chuck roast and lots of dark brown gravy. We eat it over rice, like just about everything else that has any sort of a gravy. “Rice and Gravy” of some sort was on our table 1 to 3-4 times a week.

Sorry for the rambling backstory. But I am bringing together NOLA roast and poboys. While the roast beef made and served on poboys in the many eateries in NOLA is not quite like the chuck roast for rice and gravy, the rice and gravy style roast can indeed make a superb poboy. And rice and gravy. And over mashed taters. I often make a very large pot of roast and eat poboys 1 day, rice and gravy the next day and mashed taters the next, provided there is still some left. And, no, we never get tired of eating the same thing 2-3 days in a row, you may be asking.

Got a couple of chucks for the new year.

Spiked and browned:

yummy stuff there:

Onions, bell peppers and garlic. Lots of it:

I use a couple of different dry rouxs:

Low simmer for a few hours:

Now for the assembly:

I stole a nifty trick I learned esting Tex-Mex burritos. Wrote in foil to hold it together. It’s still messy but worth it.

While I cannot get the real NOLA French bread in TX, I can find suitable substitutes.

I’ll cook some rice tomorrow for rice and gravy. I don’t think we will make it to day 3 for the mashed taters. I predict it will be consumed after tomorrow.

Happy New Year to all.

 

[jcam222]

Looks astounding! Nice work and I enjoyed the backstory. Although I don't eat chips anymore I've had those Voodoo chips and they are fantastic! Local TSC carries them

 

[Fueling Around]

Thanks for the family history
Never heard of a beef po boy.
I made a beef pot roast last week with onion only. Adding the garlic and bell pepper sounds great. Happy you did not add that vile stuff called celery. Some celery flavor is OK but the texture gags me.

They sell sandwich wrap papers that also do a great job to create the steaming experience. I prefer that over foil.

 

[indaswamp]

Oh MY!!!! I'm drooling! My favorite flavor of Zapp's too!!!! I could eat a large...in one sitting....nicely done!

 

[DRKsmoking]

Great story on the beginnings and the how to .
But the pictures say it all.
And I also am drooling, love a good hot meat sandwich.

( That's kind of what is on the menu for tonight here , marinated pork, smoked and Q'ed )

David

 

[gmc2003]

Looks delicious,

Point for sure
Chris

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Awesome thread, thanks for posting!

 

[JLeonard]

Dang it! that looks amazing!

How is the Tony roux mix?

Jim

 

[crazymoon]

TBR, I'm drooling looking at you post. Great write-up and excellent po-boy.

 

[tbrtt1]

Looks astounding! Nice work and I enjoyed the backstory. Although I don't eat chips anymore I've had those Voodoo chips and they are fantastic! Local TSC carries them

Thanks jcam22. I prefer the Cajun Crawtaters, which was the original flavor when Zapps first came out. If not mistaken, that was the only flavor (maybe plain too) in the beginning.

A bit more useless trivia: Zapp's started in Gramercy Louisiana (half hour west of NOLA on Airline Hwy.) ~ the mid 1980s, if memory serves. The unique flavor of the Crawtators was an instant hit along with the kettle cooked texture and crunchiness. I met Ron Zappe, the founder, in the French Quarter one late afternoon/night. We were both walking around with our beer, or stronger, and happened upon a wedding party exiting a fancy dining establishment (Galatoire's or someplace). This wedding party exited the restaurant and formed a Second-Line (see below). As is typical for a Second-Line after a wedding or reception, anyone in the area, passers by, tourists, onlookers...whomever, is typically welcome to tag along behind the wedding party to absorb some of the unique vibe and listen to the music from the brass band (the First-Line). As I joined in and shuffled along, the guy next to me said something. In no time we were chatting it up, sipping our adult beverages and enjoying the stroll behind a wedding party; all total strangers to us, not that it mattered. We introduced ourselves and he said, "I'm Ron Zappe". I said, "....man, I love your chips!". He said thanks and we walked, talked and drank until we needed another beer and dropped off the second line. Ron Zappe passed away some years back and Zapp's was sold to some big chip company.

A Guide to the New Orleans Second-Line Wedding Parade

Should you Second-Line? Heck yes, you should! If you grew up in Northern territory as I did, you may not be familiar with the absolutely wonderful tradition that is the New Orleans Second-Line Para…

frenchquarterweddingchapel.com

Thanks for the family history
Never heard of a beef po boy.
I made a beef pot roast last week with onion only. Adding the garlic and bell pepper sounds great. Happy you did not add that vile stuff called celery. Some celery flavor is OK but the texture gags me.

They sell sandwich wrap papers that also do a great job to create the steaming experience. I prefer that over foil.

Thanks, Fueling. And Wow! Never heard of a roast beef poboy? Be sure to get one if and when you get to New Orleans. Also, Celery is actually 1 part of the "Holy Trinity" of South Louisiana cooking, along with onions and bell pepper. I use celery in a good bit of my dishes. I am not a fan of the texture myself, but once the dish is cooked down for a few hours, there are no recognizable vegetables to see, taste or feel. It all becomes one with the universe. Yumm.

Oh MY!!!! I'm drooling! My favorite flavor of Zapp's too!!!! I could eat a large...in one sitting....nicely done!

Looks delicious,

Point for sure
Chris

Awesome thread, thanks for posting!

TBR, I'm drooling looking at you post. Great write-up and excellent po-boy.

Many thanks folks. I appreciate the great responses and compliments. It is easy to do. Pot roast is common in most places. The difference is the use of a roux to enhance flavor and thicken the gravy.

Dang it! that looks amazing!

How is the Tony roux mix?

Jim

Jim, I like the Tony's, especially for this dish. I like the Kary's for Gumbo, but they are interchangeable, for the most part. I generally have to settle for what is available here in Texas, and Tony's is more readily available. There is also Savoie's, and one or two more. All are available in south Louisiana. And, don't let anyone fool you. A good dry roux is as good as one from scratch and is so much easier it use. No risk of scorching, or under cooking, etc. Once in a blue moon, I do one from scratch, just to keep up my skills and remind me of why I don't do that anymore. The one advantage of scratch roux, is you can make it as dark as you want. Sometimes you want a really dark roux but not an overpowering roux taste. You can make a dark roux with a dry one, but you risk making the gravy too thick with too much of a roux taste. I have it down fairly well at this point, so I use it almost exclusively. It also eliminates the excuse of making rice and gravy, gumbo, etc. since it is so easy and essentially no risk of screwing up.

I really appreciate all the responses and for gutting through my ramblings. As is obvious, I am not very adept at being concise. That goes double when it comes to food!

 

[Steve H]

Looks amazing! And another vote for those chips!

 

[tbrtt1]

Looks amazing! And another vote for those chips!

Thanks Steve.

 

[chilerelleno]

Looks freaking great!
I could eat one of your Roast Beefs, maybe two sans chips.

I love a good Po'boy, my favorite is an Oyster Po'boy.

 

[tbrtt1]

Looks freaking great!
I could eat one of your Roast Beefs, maybe two sans chips.

I love a good Po'boy, my favorite is an Oyster Po'boy.

Thanks Chile. I seem to rotate between RB, shrimp and oyster when I spend several days back home. The Peacemaker is very good as well, with fried shimp and oysters, dressed, off course. For the uninitiated, dressed is lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and mayo. Hot sauce of some sort will usually be on the table at almost every establishment that serves Poboys, and a dash of that is nice as well.

 

[texomakid]

Yeah that looks amazing! I did a project years ago between Alexandria and Baton Rouge and ran across a local joint somewhere South of Marksville and had my first shrimp Po'boy. I can only imagine how good that roast beef Po'boy would taste. it's look delicious & great back story on Zappe chips.

 

[ajbert]

I'm half Cajun on my dad's side and always loved going down to visit. Grew up eating gumbo, jambalaya, smothered okra, and crawfish when it was in season. Loved going to crawfish/crab/shrimp boils.

You have done the name Po'boy credit! Been to Mother's a few times in NOLA and always got a Po'boy. I'm not even sure the had any kind of beef as an option, but usually went with shrimp, oyster, or ham and cheese. And you are right, the bread makes the sammy.

When my wife and I go down these days, we try to time it so we can go to the Crawfish Festival in Breax Bridge. Love getting a crawfish Po'boy there. I know my speliing will be off, but always put some of that rumalade sauce on it. We are starting to plan a trip down this year for our anniversary, hopefully after Easter. Prices on crawfish tend to drop fairly quick after Easter. And as a bonus, the heat is there yet!