The Hirshon Shrimp Remoulade

Citizens, Louisiana remoulade sauce can vary from the elegant French-African Creole, the rustic Afro-Caribbean Creole, or the Classic Cajun version, and like the local variants of roux, each version is different from the French original.

Creole versions are usually very piquant thanks to the use of a sizable amount of Creole mustard – no other version will do!

Louisiana-style remoulades fall generally into one of two categories — those with a mayonnaise base and those (like TFD‘s) with an oil base, but sometimes both mayonnaise and oil are used.

Each version may have finely chopped vegetables, usually green onions and celery, and parsley; most are made with either Creole (Yes!) or stone-ground mustard (if you’re a heathen). Salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper are also standard ingredients.

In the oil- and mayonnaise-based versions, the reddish hue often comes from the addition of a small amount of ketchup, though TFD uses paprika, as the sauce is often topped with paprika for aesthetics as well as the flavor.

Generally, acidity is added with the inclusion of lemon juice or vinegar. Other additions can include hardboiled egg or raw egg yolks, minced garlic, hot sauce, vinegar, horseradish, capers, cornichons, and Worcestershire sauce.

While the classic white remoulade is a condiment that can be offered in a variety of contexts (e.g. the classic celery root remoulade), Creole remoulade is used on shrimp, crabs, fried calamari, artichokes, and fried green tomatoes among other foods.

Today, shrimp remoulade is a very common cold appetizer in New Orleans Creole restaurants, although, historically, hard boiled eggs with remoulade was a less expensive option on some menus. Shrimp remoulade is most often served as a stand-alone appetizer (usually on lettuce). One might also see crawfish remoulade, but remoulade sauce is very seldom offered in restaurants as an accompaniment with fish; cocktail sauce and tartar sauce are generally the condiments of choice.

Citizens, my version of Remoulade is superlatively spicy and a worthy addition to your recipe arsenal! For the correct Creole mustard needed in this dish – you can buy it here. The Atomic horseradish I favor can be purchased at Amazon here.

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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