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Shrimp and Rice Grits

Source of Recipe

From "The Southerner's Cookbook" by the editors of Garden & Gun


Recipe Introduction

"Shrimp and grits may have been invented in Charleston, South Carolina, but many would agree the combination, originally a workingman's breakfast, was perfected in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, at Crook's Corner restaurant by the late chef Bill Neal. And although cheese, bacon, and meaty mushrooms all figure in Neal's recipe, Crook's Corner shrimp and grits are actually quite light, thanks to the brightness of lemon juice and the freshness of scallions and parsley. Our version keeps that character but steers the dish back toward its Lowcountry roots. First, by incorporating tomatoes, a staple of Charleston's style, gently blistered in a skillet to add roasty depth. Second, by using grits made from rice, another Lowcountry staple. Rice grits cook up every bit as creamy as the corn kind but have a toasted, nutty quality. The result is a standout dish no matter where�or what time of day�you eat it."

List of Ingredients

◦ 4 cups chicken stock
◦ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
◦ 1 cup Anson Mills Carolina Gold rice grits
◦ � cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
◦ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
◦ 1 tablespoon olive oil
◦ 6 cloves garlic, minced
◦ 1 pint grape tomatoes
◦ 1 ounce applewood smoked bacon, finely diced
◦ 1 � cups sliced cremini mushrooms
◦ 1 cup sliced scallions
◦ 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
◦ ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
◦ Juice of 1 lemon
◦ Hot sauce
◦ 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley


Recipe

In a large saucepan, bring 3 � cups of the stock to a boil over high heat. Add the butter, then slowly add the rice grits, whisking to incorporate. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Place a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl it around the pan. Add half of the garlic and stir constantly for 30 seconds to toast it and flavor the oil, watching carefully so the garlic doesn't burn. Using a slotted spoon, remove the garlic to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible. Add the tomatoes to the skillet and leave undisturbed for 1 minute. Stir, then leave undisturbed for 1 to 2 minutes more, until blistered and spotted black; transfer to a bowl.

Add the bacon to the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until browned and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes, then remove it with a slotted spoon to another paper towel-lined plate to drain. Add the mushrooms to the rendered fat and cook, stirring, until they release their moisture, about 5 minutes. Stir in the scallions.

While mushrooms cook, sprinkle shrimp with � teaspoon salt and the cayenne. Add the shrimp and the remaining garlic to the pan with the mushrooms and scallions and cook until the shrimp begin to turn bright pink and opaque, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining � cup stock, the lemon juice, and hot sauce and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until warmed through. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce if needed. Stir in the reserved tomatoes just to warm through.

Spoon the hot rice grits onto serving plates and top with the shrimp mixture. Garnish each serving with parsley and a bit of the reserved toasted garlic and crisped bacon.

Serves 4






❧ Tip:
If you have a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, you can make your own rice grits by blending 1 cup long-grain rice on high speed for 10 seconds to break the grains into small pieces.