Shrimp and Grits

Wes Fryer

My favorite variation on this southern favorite. Substitutes jalapeño peppers for bell peppers.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Equipment

• 1 skillet for sautéing onion, jalapeno, and sausage
• 1 large pot for cooking the grits
• 1 dutch oven for cooking the roux and combining everything together
• 1 plastic strainer for defrosting and marinating shrimp
• 1 large bowl for marinating shrimp

Ingredients

  

• 6 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups coarsely ground grits stone ground white preferred
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 pounds uncooked shrimp peeled and deveined
• 3 sprays Olive or Canola Oil
• 1/2 tablespoon Tony's Creole seasoning
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper or to taste
• 1 medium lemon juiced
• 1 pound andouille sausage cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 5 slices bacon
• 3 large jalapeno peppers chopped
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Instructions

 

• Start 6 cups of water on stovetop on high to boil, add a little salt.
• Start to defrost frozen shrimp by placing in cool water. Ideally, keep a little cool water from the sink running over them.
• Cook the 5 pieces of bacon until crisp. Set aside on a plate with a paper towel to absorb the grease.
• Chop and sauté the onion in the leftover bacon grease.
• Core and chop jalapeño peppers, sauté in leftover bacon grease with the onions.
• Chop Andouille sausage and add to onions / peppers.
• When shrimp are defrosted, drain water and keep in bowl. Spray several times with olive or canola oil (Pam) and season with Creole, add fresh lemon juice. Leave to set up / marinate.
• Melt butter (half a stick) on medium stove heat and gradually add flour to combine into a roux. Cook until the roux turns a little brown, stirring continually to blend well and prevent burning.
• Add sauteed contents of skillet: Onion, jalapeño pepper, and sliced andouille sausage.
• Add chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, half and half, marinated shrimp and a dash of cayenne pepper.
• Continue cooking contents of dutch oven on medium heat until shrimp is cooked / turns pink.
• Put grits into boiling water and cook, stirring regularly. Cook until perfectly constituted and not runny, about 10 to 15 minutes.
• Serve by adding about a cup of cooked grits, add some grated cheddar, then top with shrimp / sausage / vege combo.
• Enjoy!

Notes

This is my own variation of the “Old Charleston-Style Shrimp and Grits” recipe from AllRecipies.com. I prepared this for a friend who is not a fan of bell peppers, so we substituted jalapeños. This turned out great. For a more colorful dish, however, use red, yellow and orange bell peppers.

I’ve used several local grits which I like a lot. They are:

• Stone-ground Grits from Cotton Hills Farm
• Linney Water Mill White Corn Grits (fresh stone ground)

I’ve found the Cotton Hills Farm grits at the True Value Hardware Store in Rock Hill, South Carolina. I found the Linney Water Mill grits at Krista’s Corner in Marshville. Both of these are within a 30 minute drive of our house in Matthews, North Carolina. 

Keyword seafood

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Shrimp and Grits is a southern favorite and generally a crowd-pleaser. Since moving to the Carolinas I’ve enjoyed learning to make this dish, and I’ve done it several ways with some variations. Fresh, stone ground grits from a local mill are essential, as is excellent Andouille sausage! I like Costco’s Andouille sausage a lot, it’s also great for breakfast and is (of course) and excellent value.