Shrimp and grits is a Southern dish that everyone should know how to make. Follow our easy recipe (with bacon and cheese!) for an extra-flavorful version.
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00:00 How's it hanging everyone?
00:01 It's Justin here in the Delish Kitchen studios.
00:03 I love shrimp and grits because I think it is
00:05 an incredible showcase of my favorite protein, shrimp.
00:09 We're gonna have beautifully firm, pink, perfect boys
00:13 cooked simply and deliciously in a bit of bacon fat,
00:16 and we're gonna nestle that
00:17 in a beautiful, comfy bed of grits.
00:20 It's gonna be delicious.
00:21 Let's get into it.
00:22 To get started, we are going to begin with our grits.
00:26 Now, I'll say off the bat,
00:27 I am not the biggest grits cooker.
00:30 I've not grown up eating them or cooking them,
00:32 but in the last couple of years,
00:34 I've grown to have a great appreciation of the product
00:37 through my Southern friends,
00:38 and I'm excited to make some today.
00:40 And I have a couple of tips and tricks
00:43 that's gonna make this easier.
00:45 To a medium sauce pan,
00:46 we're gonna add equal parts chicken stock and water.
00:49 I'm gonna bring that up to a boil.
00:51 If you wanna make this pescatarian or vegetarian,
00:53 you can use veggie stock, fish stock, whatever you want.
00:55 Once that's to a boil,
00:56 we're gonna generously season our cooking liquid with salt,
01:00 and then we're going to whisk in our grits.
01:02 And for the first two minutes,
01:04 I really want you to be stirring this
01:05 and whisking this constantly.
01:07 That's when lumping and clumping can happen,
01:09 so it's important that we be diligent then
01:11 and make sure we don't see any and keep going.
01:14 After the grits go in,
01:15 we're also gonna reduce the heat to about medium low
01:17 so we get a nice simmer.
01:18 After that two minutes of whisking,
01:21 you can kind of set it aside,
01:22 stirring every now and again
01:23 until the grits are fully cooked through, about 15 minutes.
01:26 This last part is the crucial flavor-adding part
01:30 of this dish,
01:31 and that flavor is gonna come in the form of dairy
01:33 in two forms, cheddar cheese and butter.
01:36 We're gonna first add our cubed butter
01:38 a little bit at a time,
01:40 using our whisk to mix it in,
01:42 and then we're gonna grate in our cheddar.
01:44 This is gonna add a little bit of pop of color,
01:46 but also a sharp flavor.
01:48 I love using a sharp cheddar for this.
01:50 I wanna be adding more flavor
01:51 'cause grits, at the end of the day,
01:52 especially if not cooked well, can be pretty bland.
01:55 Keep mixing until that's all melted
01:57 and dispersed throughout the grits,
01:58 and then you can set aside until your shrimp is ready.
02:01 Look at these gorgeous boys and girls.
02:04 So this is shrimp and grits after all.
02:06 We should not be using the dinky little baby shrimp.
02:09 You can usually tell how big your shrimp are gonna be
02:11 if you can't physically see them in the frozen aisle
02:13 or the fishmonger isn't showing you.
02:16 You can ask what's the count,
02:17 and the count is how many shrimp there are per pound.
02:20 So I think these were like 11 to 12s
02:22 or like 11 to 14s, so that means there's gonna be
02:24 11 to 14 of these boys in that pound,
02:28 but that can go up to like 36.
02:29 That can be like 36 shrimp per pound, so know your count.
02:32 We're gonna season our shrimp
02:34 in like a very quick pseudo marinade.
02:36 So to a large bowl, you're gonna add your shrimp,
02:39 some oregano, paprika, some minced garlic,
02:43 and a good couple pinches of salt.
02:44 Mix that all up, set it aside
02:46 until the bacon is done cooking.
02:48 We make our shrimp and grits recipe
02:49 a little bit more breakfast-y
02:51 and a little bit more delicious by using bacon.
02:54 We're gonna cook off a bunch,
02:55 so we're gonna go into a cold cast iron skillet
02:58 with little bacon lardons.
02:59 That's where you slice the bacon into little thick slices.
03:03 And we're gonna cook that off.
03:04 That's gonna take like seven to eight minutes.
03:05 We want it crispy, but I never want like burnt,
03:08 raggedy bacon, watch it.
03:10 Like I don't want black bits on it.
03:12 I want it like curled and hard with some chewy bits.
03:15 That's perfect for me.
03:16 Then we're gonna take that bacon out,
03:17 and we're gonna remove most of the fat.
03:19 We'll leave about two tablespoons.
03:21 Most people are getting rid of their bacon fat.
03:23 Silly.
03:24 And also, first of all,
03:25 if you're gonna get rid of your bacon fat,
03:26 you should not be pouring it down the drain.
03:28 That'll create fat bergs,
03:30 disgusting fat things in the ocean
03:32 and in the sewage system.
03:33 You wanna be tossing that in the trash.
03:35 Let it cool completely,
03:36 put it in a container and throw it away.
03:37 So we're not gonna get rid of all of the bacon fat.
03:40 We're gonna leave about two tablespoons in
03:41 because like butter and olive oil,
03:43 bacon is one of the best fats to cook in,
03:46 and it's great with shrimp.
03:48 There's a reason why these two things
03:49 kind of go together,
03:50 bacon wrapped shrimp and the like.
03:52 To that two tablespoons of bacon fat over medium heat,
03:56 we're gonna add all of our shrimp in
03:57 or as much will fit in a single layer.
04:00 Shrimp cook quickly.
04:01 You wanna be very patient,
04:03 but also aware that it can change pretty quickly.
04:07 And we're gonna just cook on each side.
04:09 So we'll flip halfway through,
04:10 and we want them to be just opaque
04:12 and like just firm and set to the touch.
04:15 That should take like six to eight minutes total.
04:19 And that's even maybe pushing it.
04:20 Once that shrimp is done,
04:21 we're gonna transfer it to a plate,
04:23 and we're gonna use all that delicious fond
04:24 and leftover fat to create a pan sauce.
04:27 It's super simple.
04:27 We're gonna start with some tomato paste.
04:30 Get that in there and get that caramelized.
04:31 That means we want it to be like brick red.
04:34 Then we're gonna whisk in some stock
04:36 a little bit at a time,
04:37 so we don't clump up the tomato paste.
04:39 I'm gonna bring that up to a simmer,
04:40 and we're gonna let that reduce for like four to five minutes.
04:42 It should be reduced by about a third.
04:44 I'm gonna put in the juice of half a lemon,
04:47 some salt and pepper, toss in our shrimp,
04:49 and we're gonna finish it with some sliced scallions.
04:52 We're not cooking these off per se.
04:53 We're just incorporating them into the sauce.
04:56 Toss everything together to combine
04:57 and get it nice and coated in that sauce,
04:59 and then we're ready to plate up.
05:01 The only way to get a perfect bite
05:02 when you're eating tail-on shrimp and grits
05:04 is you get a bite of grits and then a bite of shrimp.
05:06 Let's do this.
05:07 Let's talk about everything that's going on here.
05:12 Those grits are perfectly cooked, cheesy, buttery, rich.
05:16 Truly such an incredible canvas for any dish,
05:19 and this shrimp might just be the most perfect thing.
05:21 Make sure you get bits of sauce
05:24 in every nook and cranny of those grits.
05:26 When you swoop your spoon in there,
05:27 make sure you're getting each swoop filled with sauce.
05:31 I would serve this with something acidic,
05:32 maybe some collard greens with some vinegar in it,
05:35 or a bright kale salad.
05:37 That could be really delicious
05:38 just to balance out a little bit.
05:39 And truly, what I love about shrimp and grits
05:41 is you can eat it any time of the day.
05:43 Bougie brunch, check.
05:45 Fancy dinner with your honey, check.
05:47 Out of the fridge leftovers at midnight, check.
05:52 Like literally, you can eat this whenever,
05:54 wherever you want.
05:55 This has got to be in my top five shrimp recipes.
05:59 So for more incredible seafood dishes,
06:02 stick around here on delish.com.
06:04 (gentle music)
06:06 (upbeat music)