Chef Sandwich: V’nell Morgan’s Crawfish Po’ Boy

Chefs in Dallas are known for their ability to make Disney magic using simple ingredients, but we wanted to know what, exactly, makes them tick. What sandwich could they eat over and over again? We asked them to make a sandwich and give us the recipe for it.

Grain’s sous chef, V’nell Morgan, puts a spotlight on his New Orleans background with his take on a crawfish po’ boy. Born and raised in Louisiana, Morgan grew up on all things Cajun and Creole.

“Texas people love steak and potatoes, like New Orleanians love them some crawfish,” says the Southern boy.

Crawfish season is in full swing, which means you can either expect hour-plus waits to satiate your favorite shell fish cravings or you can use Morgan’s recipe (and tips!) to create a mouth-watering sandwich of the season.

SideDish readers, take note: Straying from the brands Morgan recommends could jeopardize the authenticity of the sandwich. Whether or not you want a regular sandwich or a real po’ boy, the type of hot sauce and Creole seasoning used makes all the difference. Morgan’s hot sauce of choice is from the brand, Crystal Hot Sauce, which he says is the best in New Orleans. “There’s a difference between having a hot sauce that’s just hot and one that also has some flavor to it.”

The reason for Tony’s Creole seasoning? “It’s all I’ve ever known.”

Crawfish Po’boy (1 sandwich)

Sandwich ingredients:

1 baguette roll, sliced in half
½ – 1 lb crawfish tail meat, rinsed and drained
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 red tomato, sliced
1 green tomato, sliced
arugula, one handful
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 oz. salt
2 oz. pepper
4 oz. Tony’s Creole Seasoning
remoulade sauce

Remoulade sauce:

2 oz. mayonnaise
8 oz. ketchup
4 oz. Creole mustard (No substitutions allowed. I asked.)
1 tbsp hot sauce (recommended brand: Crystal)

Remoulade sauce preparation:

In a bowl, mix hot sauce with mayo together. Stir in ketchup and Creole mustard.

Creole cream sauce:

1 cup heavy cream
8 oz. butter
1 tsp Tony’s Creole seasoning
Creole cream sauce preparation:

Add butter to small saucepan on medium high, then pour in heavy cream. Simmer down, stirring occasionally until achieving creamy consistency. Stir in Tony’s.

Sandwich preparation:

1. Preheat the fryer to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Prepare remoulade. Set aside.
3. Prepare Cajun cream sauce. Set aside.
4. Fried crawfish: In a bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and Creole seasoning. Dredge crawfish tails in mixture and place in fryer for about two minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the fryer and drain on paper towels.
5. Pan fry sliced tomatoes (3 slices of each) on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
6. Spread remoulade sauce on both slices of bread.
7. On one slice, layer with arugula and sliced tomatoes.
8. Layer with crawfish.
9. Pour Creole cream sauce over crawfish.
10. Top with the final slice and voila! Say goodbye to long crawfish lines!