| Paula Deen and Friends | Simon & Schuster, 2005 | Serves 8 as an appetizer or 4 as a main course
Here it is, y’all! Martha’s beloved shrimp and grits recipe! If you have everything chopped and measured before you start cooking, it takes only about fifteen minutes to prepare. It’s perfect as a one-dish meal for family.–Paula Deen
Prep time: 15 minutes Total time: 30 minutes
Shrimp and Grits Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup stone-ground grits
- Salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, left whole if small and roughly chopped if medium or large
- 6 slices bacon, chopped into tiny pieces
- 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts
- 1 large garlic clove, minced
Directions
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1. To make the shrimp and grits recipe, bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the grits and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well with a whisk. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting and cook the grits until all the water is absorbed, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Keep covered until ready to serve.
2. Rinse the shrimp and pat dry. Fry the bacon in a large skillet until browned and crisp, then drain on a paper towel. Add the shrimp to the bacon grease in the skillet and saute over medium heat just until they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook! Immediately add the lemon juice, parsley, green onions, and garlic. Remove the skillet from the heat.
3. Pour the grits into a serving bowl. Pour the shrimp mixture over the grits. Garnish with the bacon bits.
Note: If you are serving this as an appetizer, spoon 1/4 cup grits onto a bread or salad plate. Top with 1/4 cup of the shrimp mixture. Garnish with a sprinkling of crisp bacon bits and serve immediately.
- Georgia Shrimp ‘n Grits from Vintage Victuals
- Artichokes and Cheesy Grits from No Recipes
- Smothered Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, and Grits from Leite’s Culinaria
- Creamy Stone Ground Cheese Grits from Leite’s Culinaria
Shrimp and grits recipe © 2005 Paula Deen. Photo © 2005 Alan Richardson. All rights reserved.
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This was great! I made this dish for a family of five, and there was not enough for seconds. I’ll have to double the recipe next time. Great combination, and better with a hint of cayenne pepper. Mmmm.
If one uses good stone ground grits, 10-15 minutes of cooking time isn’t enough. Use a combination of chicken broth and cream and let the grits cook slowly for about an hour. They will become very creamy and have a much better, almost silky, texture which is perfect for this dish. Skip the cheese. Very, very few low country cooks use cheese in shrimp and grits.
Hi Mike, it really depends upon how finely the grits are ground. Wades Mill recommends about 20 minutes in its recipes. Other producers call for 30 minutes or more, again depending upon how finely or coarsely the grits are ground.
I’m makin this for a cajun themed fathers day brunch for my dad and my six uncles any other suggestions?
What a lovely thought! Knowing guys’ appetites, clearly you’ll need ample amounts of food. Not knowing your preferences, I’d suggest having biscuits galore to go with—we have a nice recipe on the site for baking-powder biscuits. Maybe even something meat-minded as the centerpiece to go with the shrimp and grits, perhaps a ham? I realize there’s bacon in the grits, but is there ever any such thing as too much pork? And of course some Abita Amber would be nice if y’all are beer drinkers. That’s for starters. I’m going to continue to think about this, please let me know if you have any preferences.
For Cajun style, I recommend making a tasso cream sauce using sautéd leeks with green peppers, deglaze the pan with a little white wine, salt, and pepper. Add heavy cream and reduce, then finish with a little finely grated Parmesan cheese. Great flavor. I recommend Chef Adels’ tasso ham.
We’re not going to argue with you, Mike! Not at all. Sounds Cajun-tastic…
I have made this three times recently. It is great! My husband has a new favorite.
I’m so glad you like the recipe. It’s one of our most popular recipes–ever.
What exactly is stone ground grits. Went to the supermarket, went to whole foods – no one was familiar with “stone ground” grits. Is it polenta? Please let me know, having a hard time finding it in New Jersey
Hi Michele,
Stone ground grits are the heavier bits of corn that remain after the corn kernels are ground between granite stones in a grist mill. Anson Mills is probably the most familiar here in Charleston and you can buy on their website (www.ansonmills.com). Also, Ted and Matt Lee sell them on their site (www.boiledpeanuts.com) along with other Southern goodies. Shrimp and grits are my favorite- we eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I am so with you on shrimp and grits for breakfast, Beth. Do you do it with a fried egg on top in the a.m.?
No eggs, but we do vary the recipe depending on what’s on hand. Peppers, Vidalia onions, tomatoes, sausage… It’s all good!
Shrimp and grits for breakfast with Southern Fried Chicken and biscuits…ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!!!. Always bring back great memories of my grandmother, aunts and great-aunts who were originally from Columbia, South Carolina.
I remember vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard, as we did every year, and a bunch of us went to a resto in Oak Bluffs for an early lunch. The cook was from the South and made the best big old plate of shrimp and grits. Gosh, that was more than 12 years ago, and I can still remember where we sat, even the light as it slanted through the window. Food really is a powerful anchor for memory, isn’t it?
Shrimp and grits in Martha’s Vineyard? No way, honey. Come to Charleston and we will show you how it’s done.
I swear! Best I ever had. But you’re on. I a-comin’ to Charleston.
Good good and good
Well put, Michel! Thanks for adding your approval to the chorus…
What are some suggestions for side dishes with shrimp and grits?
Hi Don,
Coming from Charleston, South Carolina, the land of shrimp and grits, I would have a basket filled with biscuits. Here is a link to a fast and easy biscuit.
http://leitesculinaria.com/74799/recipes-easy-cream-biscuits.html
Just to add to Beth’s suggestion–we’ve had raves galore on that biscuit recipe–our intrepid cook and recipe tester, Karen Depp, also chimed in. She hails from Louisiana and suggests a big green salad, unless the shrimp and grits is intended as a breakfast dish. She deviates from Beth’s approach, prefering a baguette to biscuits, but she says really, with grits, you don’t NEED bread or biscuits. (But when has that ever stopped us?!) And lots of beer, yes!
One more thing from Karen in Louisiana, Don–she says milk punch is a nice touch for brunch or midnight. We just so happen to have a recipe right here…http://leitesculinaria.com/61714/recipes-bourbon-milk-punch.html.