Recipe: Shrimp 'n Grits

Famous lowcountry fare, but I’m from Chicago – what up?

Shrimp 'n grits - green beans optional

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 Cups grits (I like ‘em yellow)
• 2 Cups heavy cream
• 2+ Cups chicken stock/broth
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 8 oz cheese*, shredded
• 1 lb raw shrimp (31-40), peeled and deveined (31-40 means there are 31-40 shrimp per pound - your fishmonger knows all about this...)
• 1/3 Cup green onions, sliced on the bias (that means diagonally)
• 1/4 Cup red bell pepper, brunoised*
• 1 15 oz. can Diced tomato
• 1 stick (4 oz.) butter, cut-up into pieces
• Hot sauce
• Salt & pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Grits

1. In a large stockpot, pour-in the chicken stock/broth and Old Bay seasoning and bring to a simmer. Add grits and heavy cream and whisk to combine. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and the grits have lost their graininess. If you use fine textured cornmeal, this will take a few seconds and you’ll be like, “WTF!?” If these are slow cooking grits, this will take 15-20 minutes.
2. When grits are complete, drop the heat, add the cheese, and stir to combine. Set aside.

Shrimp

1. In a nonstick sauté pan over medium high heat, add 2 tsp canola oil. Add the shrimp in one layer and cook for ~4 minutes, or until pink. Flip the shrimp, add the tomatoes, peppers, and green onions and cook for ~3 more minutes.
2. Turn-off the heat, add the butter and allow to melt. Add hot sauce to taste (oooo-e! that’s some spicy!). Stir to combine as one glorious topping.
3. Serve it up! Enjoy with some sweet tea, moonshine, or other southern drink.

HOW TO EAT

• Plop-down some grits on a plate and top with a generous spoonful of the shrimp. Be sure to get a lot of that buttery liquid: oh, that’s the stuff!

RECIPE NOTES

• Cheese? Why is there an asterisk next to the cheese? >> There are a lot of cheeses that will fit the bill here: sharp cheddar, mild cheddar, Havarti, etc. When I last made this, I use Havarti, and it was excellent. Any kind of cheesiness will be good – go with what you like.
• Seriously, brunoised? WTF? >> That’s a fancy French word for diced small and uniform. The red pepper dice needs to be small to ensure that the pieces cook quickly and look pretty. Pretty food is badass? Sure.
• A note on peeling and deveining shrimp >> Being from Chicago, there are no indigenous shrimp in my history – I had to learn like any of you people. It’s simple, really: 1. peel the shrimp (just rip-off the peel and tail – there’s no trick here), 2. with a sharp (and I mean SHARP) knife, insert gingerly into the concave portion of the shrimp (it’s belly, as it were) and cut the entire length, 3. While rinsing under cold water, free the vein and rinse it down the drain, and then 4. Drop your cleaned shrimp into a bowl of cold water. See? Easy.