Jay is a huge fan of a po boy. You know, a fried seafood sandwich with some veg and a creamy-yet-spicy sauce. He tries them at lots of restaurants, but we were discussing how bread + mayo + fried doesn't make the most healthy sandwich you've ever had in your life. 
We also discussed that we didn't really care.
I really wanted to make a po boy with scallops because I had some in the freezer (been buying the bags from Trader Joe's, love them more than life itself), and an open face sandwich just kind of felt right, you know? You could of course make this on a roll and eat it with your hands, but there's something about scallops that to me deserve utensils. And so, this sandwich that isn't really a sandwich (honestly, open faced just means bread on a plate) was born. You'll flip.
For the remoulade, you'll need sour cream, mayo, dill pickles, spicy mustard, garlic, hot sauce, and hot paprika or cayenne pepper. 
I used little cornichons, the tiny french pickles, and just chopped them up super finely with the garlic. 
Then, mix everything together in a bowl to make a sauce! Taste, make it spicier if you can handle it. YUM. 
Now, onto the sandwiches! For them you'll need some crusty bread, butter, sea scallops, corn starch, lettuce, tomato, onion, and lemon. Simple! 
First, work on the bread. Smear it with butter and broil it on each side juuuuuust until golden. You do not want to see what my bread looked like. 
For the veggies, just chop everything up like you would sandwich toppings. You can mix and match any veggies you like, but lettuce/tomato/onion is my fav for this, and there are pickles in the remoulade. 
Now, for the scallops, preheat a skillet with about ¼ inch oil, any kind, to medium-high heat for frying, then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Larges ones are quartered, smaller ones are halved. 
Toss the scallops in a sprinkle of corn starch and salt - this helps them get nice and crispy! 
Now, when the oil is very hot, add the scallops in one layer with space in between each one. If you need to, fry the scallops in 2 batches. 
Let the scallops fry for a few minutes on each side until they're browned, then flip them around in the oil to brown on all sides. Drain them on paper towels. 
Now we just build our po boys! I start with a big piece of buttery bread, and top that with the veggies. 
Add scallops. 
Then, top everything with some of the remoulade and a lemon wedge to squirt over the whole thing. 
I mean. Fancy enough for a knife and fork for sure, right? The flavors, guys, you can just imagine. Tangy spicy sauce, sweet scallops, crunchy veggies, buttery bread - all of the best things in the world. 
Do it.
Recipe
Open-Faced Scallop Po Boys + Spicy Remoulade
Ingredients
- REMOULADE
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon spicy deli mustard
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or hot paprika
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper hot sauce such as Texas Pete
- SANDWICHES
- 2 slices crusty bread
- butter for spreading
- ⅓ pound sea scallops halved or quartered to bite-sized pieces
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- oil for frying
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 small diced tomato
- 2 tablespoons diced onion
- lemon wedges for serving
Instructions
- For the remoulade, combine all ingredients in a bowl. Taste, and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Set aside.
- Preheat the broiler to high and spread butter on both sides of the bread. Broil the bread just until golden on both sides.
- Preheat a large skillet with ¼ inch oil to medium-high heat for frying. Toss the scallops with the cornstarch and salt. When the oil is very hot (test it with just 1 scallop, it should sizzle), add the scallops in 1 layer. Fry the scallops for about 4 minutes, flipping when golden, until browned on all sides. Drain the scallops for a minute on paper towels.
- To serve, layer a piece of bread, some veggies, a pile of scallops, and some remoulade. Top with a lemon wedge and serve!
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