Crawfish Grits And Blackened Shrimp Recipes

GET YOUR GRITS ON WITH BLACKENED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Toss shrimp in Cajun spice in a large bowl to coat.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Heat butter and olive oil in a pan, then add shrimp. Cook until shrimp curls and turns pink, 1 to 2 minutes on each side (see Cook's Note).
• Ladle 1/4 cup Roasted Corn Emulsion on bottom of a plate. Place 3 hot Fried Green Tomato Slices side by side, on top. Add small scoops of Stone Ground Bacon Grits on each Fried Green Tomato slice. Place a shrimp on each of the stacks.
• Sprinkle diced tomato and chives on top. Then, dust with more Cajun spice and serve.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Rub corn cobs with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place on a sheet tray and roast until cooked and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Once cooled, cut corn off of the cobs and set aside, saving the cobs.
• Combine shrimp base, 4 cups water and cobs in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until liquid is reduced by half, then remove cobs and discard. Add heavy cream to the pot and bring to a simmer.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a separate small pan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking, until it becomes the consistency of wet sand, 3 to 4 minutes, to create a roux. Remove from heat. Once the cream is simmering, whisk in the roux mixture. Reduce heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
• Add corn, chives and salt and pepper to taste. Stir until combined, then serve hot.
• Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar and Cajun spice in a large bowl to create a breading mixture.
• Combine buttermilk and honey in another large bowl and whisk until combined.
• Slice green tomatoes about 1/4-inch thick, roughly 4 to 5 slices per tomato. Place tomato slices in the honey-buttermilk mixture and gently toss to coat.
• Place each green tomato slice in the breading mixture, and coat both sides well. Set breaded tomatoes aside and save any remaining breading.
• Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, to prepare for frying.
• Re-bread green tomato slices in the remaining breading mixture, then place in the skillet and fry until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
• Remove fried green tomato slices from oil and place on a paper towel to absorb any remaining grease. Sprinkle with salt to taste, then serve hot.
• Cook the bacon in a large pot over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned.
• Add heavy cream, whole milk and 1 1/4 cups water to the pot and bring to a simmer. Stir in the grits with a wire whisk, making sure there are no lumps.
• Bring back to a simmer, then lower heat. Season with salt and pepper, and let simmer, stirring occasionally to ensure that no lumps form and the bottom does not burn, until grits are fully cooked, 20 to 25 minutes (see Cook's Note). Remove pot from heat.
• Whisk in mascarpone until well combined, and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve hot or refrigerate up to 4 days.

CRAWFISH AND GRITS

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, toss the crawfish tails with salt and cayenne.
• In a 3-quart saucepan, over medium heat, add the olive oil.
• When the oil is hot, add the onions.
• Season the onions with salt and cayenne.
• Saute for 2 minutes, or until the onions are soft.
• Add the crawfish and garlic.
• Continue to cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the stock and half and half to the pan.
• Season with salt and cayenne.
• Bring the liquid to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Add the grits and stir constantly until they are very tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add the cheese and stir to mix and melt it.

BLACKENED SHRIMP OVER CHEESE GRITS

Steps:

• For The Cheese Grits: Place the milk, water, and salt into a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once the milk mixture comes to a boil, gradually (add slowly so as not to cause clumping) add the cornmeal while continually whisking. Once all of the cornmeal has been incorporated, decrease the heat to low and cover. Remove lid and whisk frequently to prevent grits from sticking or forming lumps making sure to get into corners of pot when whisking. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until mixture is creamy. While grits are cooking, start preparing the blackened shrimp.
• Finish the grits by removing from the heat, adding the black pepper and butter and whisk to combine. Once the butter is melted, gradually whisk in the cheese a little at a time to incorporate.
• For the Blackened Shrimp: Preheat a cast-iron skillet over high heat. Meanwhile, put the blackening seasoning in a shallow bowl; set aside. Dip the shrimp in the melted butter shaking off any excess butter before dredging the shrimp in the blackening seasoning. Place a batch of shrimp on the hot skillet (avoid shrimp from touching) and cook each side for about 1 minute or just until the shrimp turns opaque. Remove the shrimp from the pan and keep warm until all the shrimp are cooked. Note: If you go light on the blackening seasoning, you may want to add additional salt. Fry one or two shrimp to taste test.
• Divide and place the hot grits in the bottom of four large bowls. Over the grits, evenly divide the hot blackened shrimp. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired, and serve immediately.