Southern Fashion Shrimp and Grits

This iconic Southern dish was historically served as a morning meal. We adore it a lot, we’d have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. These heat, creamy grits are loaded with butter and cheddar cheese, topped with sautéed shrimp and crispy bacon. Add a touch (or extra) of scorching sauce and a squeeze of recent lemon and also you’ve bought a bowl of Southern consolation prepared in simply 45 minutes.

For extra Southern consolation meals, attempt our Chicken and Dumplings or our Southern Style Red Beans and Rice.

Shrimp and grits is an iconic, Southern breakfast meals. Image New Orleans and Charleston, the place this humble dish is an integral a part of their on a regular basis house life. This Southern staple is simple to organize, hearty and filling, whereas delivering large taste. Buttery, tacky grits mixed with savory bacon and garlic shrimp makes our mouths water! High all of it off with just a little scorching sauce and also you’ve bought a scrumptious meal that’s positive to turn out to be a household favourite.

Ingredient Notes

• White Grits: White grits are extra versatile and tackle the flavors of the dish, whereas yellow grits have a extra assertive corn taste.
• Hen Broth: Utilizing a low-sodium possibility means that you can greatest management the flavour. It’s an excellent chef tip.
• Butter: We use salted butter so as to add simply the correct quantity of salt to reinforce the flavors of the grits.
• Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese:  Freshly shredded melts higher than pre-shredded cheese, which incorporates components to stop clumping.
• Shrimp (peeled and deveined): Use giant, uncooked shrimp for the perfect texture. Frozen shrimp can be utilized if thawed correctly. You ca go away tails on or take away them earlier than cooking..
• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic offers the perfect taste, however jarred minced garlic works too.
• Bacon: Use customary bacon or thick-cut. You’ll need to use precise bacon, somewhat than pre-cooked, as a result of you can be cooking the shrimp within the leftover bacon fats.
• Lemon Juice: Bottled lemon juice works effectively and retains prep to a minimal, however freshly squeezed all the time has the perfect taste.
• Sizzling Sauce: High off together with your favourite scorching sauce.

Shrimp Choices

You may have just a few choices to select from relating to shrimp, actually it’s quite a lot of. There are totally different sizes, frozen or recent, veined or deveined, peeled or complete, and all of them work!

For comfort, we desire to cook dinner with already peeled and deveined shrimp. Should you use frozen, you’ll want to thaw them earlier than utilizing.

Instantaneous vs. White Grits

Instantaneous grits might cook dinner up sooner, nevertheless, they lack the higher taste of white grits. It’s price it to take the time to cook dinner up the true factor which is able to outcome within the creamiest, most flavorful, completely restaurant-quality grits you can also make at house.

Avoiding Lumpy Grits

Should you’re having points with clumping, don’t fear, you aren’t alone. It’s a standard drawback that may be simply fastened. The commonest explanation for clumping is just not stirring the grits instantly after including them to the liquid. This may trigger the grits to stay collectively and type lumps.

To stop lumps, be sure to stir the grits constantly for the primary jiffy after including them to the liquid. Stir, stir, stir!

Add grits just a little at a time whereas stirring to make sure that the grits are evenly dispersed within the liquid. You possibly can simply gently sprinkle them excessive of the boiling liquid.

In case your grits are already lumpy, seize a whisk! Attempt whisking vigorously. Should you can’t whisk them out, add a splash of scorching water and preserve whisking till the clumps dissolve. For further cussed clumps, you’ll be able to even use an immersion blender briefly to easy them out. Simply don’t overmix.

Alter the Warmth

For much less warmth: Should you don’t tolerate spice effectively, be at liberty to depart out the recent sauce completely. If you would like just a little spice however not a whole lot of warmth, add a pinch of paprika and chili powder as a substitute.

For extra warmth: Be happy to only add extra scorching sauce. Or, add 1/4–1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper when cooking the shrimp for much more warmth. You can additionally high with recent jalapeño slices or a sprinkle of purple pepper flakes.