Shrimp and Grits with Andouille Cream Gravy.

Is there any food more quintessential to the sophisticated southern palette than Shrimp N’ Grits? This is a formerly ‘poor people food’ dish that delights southerners from New Orleans to Charleston, yet confounds New Englanders and down right escapes our friends on the west coast (hint: call it local prawns and and GME free organic polenta and you’ll get a modicum of recognition).

So why the confusion, the bewildered ‘no-no’ shakes of the head, the ‘shrimp and what, exactly‘ remarks?

Two words:

  1. grits
  2. say what?
Why is that people can’t wrap their heads (or their hands around a spoonful O’ hot) grits? What the hell is a grit, you might be asking yourself, and why on earth would I want to incorporate nature’s sweetest marine crustacean into said particle? Here’s the low-down for the folks on the high side of the bible belt.
Grits = Corn.
 
That’s it. Plain old stone ground dried maize, sifted and shaken, then boiled. The first settlers to the US East Coast learned how to mill corn into grits from the Native Americans and the hot breakfast was stolen completely invented. Cut to a hundred or so years later and there’s even a law on the books. From my home state of South Carolina:

Whereas, throughout its history, the South has relished its grits, making them a symbol of its diet, its customs, its humor, and its hospitality, and whereas, every community in the State of South Carolina used to be the site of a grits mill and every local economy in the State used to be dependent on its product; and whereas, grits has been a part of the life of every South Carolinian of whatever race, background, gender, and income; and whereas, grits could very well play a vital role in the future of not only this State, but also the world, if as Charleston’s The Post and Courier proclaimed in 1952, “An inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, [grits] should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of [grits] is a man of peace.” (source)

Moral of the story: Grits = World Peace. Amen, brother.

 

Also to be clear (as mud), lets get one thing out of the way. Grits is plural, but there is no singular. Therefore, one can have a bowl of grits (plural), but once does not get a grit (sing.) stuck one’s teeth.
HOWEVER…
You will definitely hear “grits is a delicious dish, sugar!” as well as “those grits are good groceries y’all!“. So you’ll have to use your own sensibilities when discussing it/them.

Preparation Shrimp and Grits with Andouille Cream Gravy.
Ingredients:
  • Stone ground grits
  • SC Creek Shrimp (you can substitute other shrimp but these are the best on earth)
  • Chicken Stock
  • Andouille Sausage (or tasso ham), diced
  • Heavy cream
  • Milk
  • Flour
  • Butter
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • cheese *optional

This recipe like a great many on this site is more a idea than a specific recipe. I’ve seen shrimp n’ grits with peppers and onions, tasso, plain with hot sauce and much much more. The cool thing about grits is you can’t really mess it up, so experiment!

Grits: Prepare the desired amount of grits based on the package directions, substituting chicken stock and milk for the water 3:1 by vol. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir until grits are cooked, creamy and a little “loose”. That is, a little thinner than usual. Let sit covered with the heat off while you prepare the andouille cream gravy.
Gravy: Saute andouille (or tasso) until rendered over medium heat. In crease temp to med-high and add enough flour to make a dry paste, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add TSP pats of butter until a light roux is formed. When the yellowish roux just starts to cook out (smells slightly nutty and is not yet brown) add cream while stirring until a loose gravy is formed. (You may want to get a whisk if you’re getting lumps. Stir the roux/gravy until it is uniform. If the gravy gets to think at this point, add cream or milk to thin it out while you are making it smooth.
Stir until gravy starts to thicken. Just before serving, add raw, thawed and peeled creek shrimp to the gravy and stir until the shrimp are pink, curled and fully cooked.
Spoon hot grits (which should be thickened by now (consistency of thick oatmeal) into bowls. Ladle the Shrimp gravy over the top and enjoy your hot delicious southern delicacy! Nice work.