Low Country Shrimp Grits Lightning Prep Recipes

THE BEST SHRIMP AND GRITS

Steps:

• Bring water, half and half, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, and salt to a boil and slowly whisk in grits.
• Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. You will need to stir this every 3-5 minutes so the grits don't become lumpy and/or burn to the bottom of the pan.
• Slowly add more water or half and half as needed if the grits become too stiff. Cook for ~ 30 minutes (or according to package instructions).
• Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small pan and slowly whisk in flour. Stir often and watch carefully as this paste is easy to burn (if you burn it, lower the heat, and start over).
• Cook ~ 5-10 minutes or until medium brown in color. Watch it carefully, it can burn quickly if you don't (see video).
• You can make the roux ahead of time. It is fine sitting for an hour or more as long as it's not still cooking in the pan (FYI - roux freezes well). Make the grits and roux at the same time, as they both require a little more attention than the rest of the meal.
• Bring a large pot to medium high heat and add vegetable oil. When hot, add andouille and cook until browned.
• Remove andouille (keep any liquid in the pot) and cook chopped bacon in the same pot ~ 4-6 minutes or until done.
• Remove bacon, lower heat, and cook onion, peppers, and garlic in the pot ~ 5-7 minutes or until tender. Feel free to remove some fat if you feel like it's too much.
• Place andouille, bacon, (and any liquid from it) back into pot and add chicken broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
• Bring to a boil, add roux, and let simmer ~ 15 minutes.
• Add shrimp & cook ~ 3-4 minutes or until shrimp are cooked through.
• Remove from heat and let thicken ~ 5 minutes before serving. You may need to add ¼ to ½ cup broth or water to your pot if the sauce has thickened to much.
• Serve over grits and add salt to taste. Happy Eating! Beckie

LOW COUNTRY SHRIMP AND GRITS WITH STEWED TOMATOES

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water, the milk, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste for the grits to a gentle boil. Whisk in the grits. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is smooth and thick and falls easily from the spoon, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Towards the end of the cooking time for the grits, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 45 to 60 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice and the bay leaves. Season with cayenne pepper. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Increase the heat under the tomatoes to medium high and add the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are pink and firm, an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. When the grits have thickened, stir in the cheese and butter. To serve, place a heaping spoonful of grits on each plate. Top with the shrimp and tomato gravy. Garnish with additional Parmigiano-Reggiano and chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

SPICY LOW-COUNTRY SHRIMP AND GRITS

Steps:

• Grits: Bring milk, salt, pepper, and butter to a boil. Stir in grits, pepper flakes, and pepper sauce over low heat. When consistency is ready, in about 45 to 50 minutes add cheese and stir.
• Shrimp: Toss shrimp in Cajun seasoning and set aside. In a saute pan, over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the sausage and render for 3 minutes. Add garlic, stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and butter and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in cayenne pepper, piquillo peppers, and pepper flakes. Add half wine (drink what's leftover), and fresh herbs and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Plate grits in a shallow bowls with shrimp mixture over the top. Garnish with scallions and serve.

LOW COUNTRY SHRIMP & GRITS LIGHTNING PREP

Steps:

• • Wash and dry all produce. • Halve, core, and thinly slice bell pepper into strips. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens.
• • In a small pot, combine 2 cups water, half the stock concentrates (you'll use the rest later), and 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. • Once water is boiling, slowly whisk in polenta (this prevents clumping), then cover and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer for 5 minutes. • Turn off heat; whisk in cream cheese, Monterey Jack, and 2 TBSP butter until melted and smooth. Keep covered off heat until ready to serve. • 4 SERVINGS: Use a medium pot with 4 cups water and 2 tsp salt. Use 4 TBSP butter.
• • While grits simmer, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over mediumhigh heat. Add bell pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6-8 minutes. • Turn off heat; transfer to a plate. Wipe out pan.
• • Rinse shrimp* under cold water, then pat dry with paper towels. Season all over with paprika, garlic powder, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. • Heat a large drizzle of olive oil in pan used for bell pepper over mediumhigh heat. Add shrimp and scallion whites; cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp is almost cooked through, 2-3 minutes (it'll finish cooking in step 5).
• • Stir bell pepper, ¼ cup water, and remaining stock concentrates into pan with shrimp. Bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until shrimp is cooked through and sauce is slightly thickened, 1-2 minutes. • Turn off heat; stir in 1 TBSP butter until melted.
• • Uncover pot with grits; stir in water a few tablespoons at a time until mixture reaches the consistency of porridge. Season with salt and pepper. • Divide grits between shallow bowls. Top with shrimp mixture and any remaining sauce. Garnish with scallion greens. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired and serve.

SPICY LOW-COUNTRY SHRIMP & GRITS

Steps:

• 1. Grits: In a tall pot bring water to a boil with 2-3 good pinches of salt, add Polenta whisking constatly to prevent clumps. Reduce heat to simmer until it begins to thicken. Stirring occasionally, watch as it thickens and add the milk a little at a time to get the desired thickness (I don't use a full cup of milk, but it varies per taste). Salt to taste simmer on low heat 20-30 minutes, as the shrimp are prepared.
• 2. Shrimp: In a shallow bowl, add cajun seasoning and toss shrimp to cover, then set aside. In a saute pan over medium-high heat, with a portion of oilve oil, add the cooked sausage to heat through about 3-5 minutes. Add butter to melt with garlic, peppers, white wine and seasonings; cook additional 3-5 minutes until incorporated. Finally add the shrimp and cook until pink and slightly curled in shape, about 3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
• 3. Plate: Spoon grits into shallow serving bowls and top with the shrimp mixture. Garnish with sliced green onions if desired.

LOWCOUNTRY SHRIMP AND GRITS

Steps:

• 1. Prepare Grits: Bring 7 cups water to a boil in a 4 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Slowly whisk in grits; reduce heat to medium, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 hour or until tender. Fold in the cheese and 1/4 cup butter.
• 2. Prepare the Shrimp Sauce: Peel and devein shrimp.
• 3. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp; remove the bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in the skillet.
• 4. Melt 6 tablespoons butter in hot drippings in the skillet. Reduce heat. Add onion, poblano pepper, and garlic; saute 2 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add the shrimp; cook, stirring often, 1 to 2 minutes. Add salt and next 2 ingredients; toss to coat.
• 5. Sprinkle the flour over the shrimp mixture; toss. Add broth and the next 2 ingredients. Cook just until shrimp turn pink, stirring to loosen particles from the skillet. Stir in the bacon and parsley. Serve over grits with the green onions.

CHEESY CAJUN SHRIMP AND GRITS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, bring water and salt to a boil. Slowly stir in grits. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and butter until melted; keep warm., Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. Cook and stir shrimp in bacon drippings until shrimp turn pink, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in Cajun seasoning and parsley., Divide grits among 8 serving bowls; top with shrimp mixture and the bacon.

OLD CHARLESTON STYLE SHRIMP AND GRITS

Steps:

• Bring water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk grits into the boiling water, and then whisk in half-and-half. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until grits are thickened and tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
• Sprinkle shrimp with salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Add lemon juice, toss to combine, and set aside to marinate.
• Place sausage slices in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove sausage from the skillet.
• Add bacon to the same skillet and increase heat to medium-high. Cook until evenly browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain, then chop or crumble when cool enough to handle. Leave bacon drippings in the skillet.
• Add bell peppers, onion, and garlic to the bacon drippings; cook and stir until onion is translucent, about 8 minutes.
• Stir cooked sausage and marinated shrimp into the skillet with the cooked vegetables. Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, stirring to create a smooth roux. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is golden brown in color, 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully, mixture burns easily.
• Pour the roux over the sausage, shrimp, and vegetables. Place the skillet over medium heat, add chicken broth, bacon, and Worcestershire sauce, and stir to combine. Cook until sauce thickens up and shrimp turn opaque and bright pink, about 8 minutes.
• Just before serving, mix sharp Cheddar cheese into grits until melted and grits are creamy and light yellow. Serve shrimp mixture over cheese grits.

LOWCOUNTRY SHRIMP AND GRITS

Steps:

• Grits: Bring 4½ cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Whisk in the grits and salt, reduce heat to low, and cook at a gently simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or until the grits are thick, stirring occasionally. Stir more often as the grits thicken. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cheddar, parmesan, butter, pepper, and Tabasco, and stir until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Keep warm over very low heat.
• Shrimp: In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon for 6 minutes or until crisp, stirring occasionally. Transfer with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels and leave the fat in the skillet. If there is less than 1½ tablespoons of bacon fat, make up the difference with peanut oil.
• Toss the shrimp with the flour until lightly coated, shaking off any excess. In the skillet with the reserved fat, cook the shrimp over medium-high heat for 1 minute or until they begin to turn pink. Add the mushrooms and bacon and cook for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds (do not let the garlic brown). Stir in the hot sauce, lemon juice, and scallions and remove from the heat. Divide the grits among 4 shallow bowls and top with the shrimp mixture. Garnish with additional scallions and serve at once.