On a recent trip to Jackson, Mississippi, I had grits for breakfast at Elvie’s (served with coffee-rubbed pork and red-eye gravy) and fell in love. They were fluffy, they were hearty, they were the perfect base for a saucy topping.
When I got back to NY, I immediately went on the Anson Mills website and ordered grits delivered to my apartment. Anson Mills makes what are arguably the best grits in America — you’ll see them on the menus of many a reputable Southern restaurant — and ordering a package along with some polenta and oatmeal too is a little gift to yourself.
Good Grits Take Time
Cooking the grits is a little bit of a project. You have to soak them overnight — well you don’t have to, but you should — and then they cook for at least an hour, with additions of hot water ever ten minutes. It took a lot of babysitting but once I added butter, salt, and two handfuls of grated cheddar cheese? I was instantly transported back to the South.
Instead of coffee-rubbed pork, I decided to make a classic shrimp and grits by combining two recipes: this one by the Lee Brothers (my first post on the subject) and this one by Julia Reed in the NYT.
Both recipes begin with the same step: you make a shrimp stock using the shells of the fresh shrimp that you should de-shell and de-vein before starting. I cribbed a technique from David Tanis and toasted the shells a little in olive oil with garlic before adding the water, just for a little more flavor. Once that reduces by half, you strain it and set that liquid gold aside.
Needs Bacon
The main difference between the Lee Brothers recipe and Julia Reed’s recipe is bacon: the Lees have it, the Reeds don’t. I’m team bacon. So after rendering a bunch of lardon until crisp, you remove them to a bowl and sauté your onions, green peppers, and garlic. Then I toasted some tomato paste in there too — my own idea, stolen from Lidia Bastianich pasta recipes — before adding a whole chopped tomato.
To that, you add the shrimp stock plus a little flour and stock that you mash up a little to make a paste. When that reduces for a bit, and tastes good (I added some Tabasco: team Julia Reed), you add all of the shrimp to cook in there for two minutes.
Winston knows a good thing when he sees it. You’ll know the shrimp are done when they’re firm; immediately stop cooking, or they’ll get tough.
Kiss My Grits
And that, my friends, is all there is to it. Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the grits, sprinkle with bacon and chives (or parsley, whatever you have), and you’ll have a classic take on shrimp and grits.
Craig and I were licking our plates clean. And then we let Winston lick the plates clean too. You’ll be doing the same.
Classic Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
Method
- The night before you want to cook the grits, place them in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, cover with the water, stir, wait a minute, then tilt the pan to skim off any chaff and hulls. Cover and set aside.
- The next day, bring a kettle of water to a boil and set aside off the heat. Bring the grits to a boil and lower to a simmer, stirring, until it becomes thickish (5 to 8 minutes). Cover with the lid, lower to the lowest setting, and every ten minutes add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the hot water, stirring to thin it out, and continue this process — covering, thickening, adding water — until an hour’s gone by. Taste for doneness and if they’re still a bit crunchy, keep going until they’re creamy and smooth. Off the heat, season with salt, add the butter and cheese, and beat beat beat until thoroughly incorporated. Put the lid on and set aside.
- While you’re cooking the grits, place the shrimp shells in a pot with the olive oil and half the garlic. Toast on medium heat until it becomes fragrant, then add four cups of water. Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer, and reduce for twenty to thirty minutes until you have 2 cups of liquid. Strain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, add your bacon and vegetable oil, turn heat to medium, and cook, letting the bacon render. When the bacon is good and crisp, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off the bacon fat (save for another use), add the butter, and when melted, add the onion, the green pepper, and the rest of garlic with a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is translucent, then add the tomato paste and toast a little in the fat. Add the tomato, another pinch of salt, and stir.
- Whisk 2 tablespoons of the shrimp stock with the 1 tablespoon of flour. Add the shrimp stock to the skillet, plus the flour mixture, stir all around and cook at a simmer until thickened to your liking. Taste here — adjust with salt and Tabasco — then add your shrimp and cook for just two minutes or less; just until the shrimp are cooked through.
- Ladle the grits into bowls, smooth out, then top with the shrimp and lots of the sauce. Sprinkle with the bacon and the chives or parsley and serve right away.
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