Creamy Shrimp and Grits
This classic South Carolina brunch dish can be prepared with a creamy sauce or shrimp sauté over cream-infused grits. This is the creamy stew version.
INGREDIENTS | SERVES 4
4 strips bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup shrimp or chicken broth
1½ pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon lemon zest
2 green onions, sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups cooked stone-ground grits or cheese grits
In a deep skillet, fry bacon strips over medium-high heat until crisp; remove to plate and reserve. Add butter and onion to bacon fat; sauté onion 5 minutes.
Sprinkle flour over skillet; stir well to blend. Slowly add broth; stir until mixture is smooth and thickened. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add shrimp; cook just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in cream, thyme, cayenne, lemon zest, green onions, and parsley. Crumble bacon into sauce; add salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
Divide grits over 4 shallow soup plates. Ladle shrimp sauce over grits; serve immediately.
Glorified Grits
First the definitions: Grits are ground hominy; that is, the dried corn kernel from which the hull and germ have been removed. Corn grits are ground dried corn kernels with the hull and germ still intact. Southerners love both, but insist the best grits are stone ground and slow cooked. Although one can make grits by boiling the grains in water, grits are often augmented with butter, cream, and cheese. Oh, and there's an ongoing debate as to whether the term grits is singular or plural, as in “grits are” versus “grits is.”
