Scrumptious Quick and Easy Shrimp & Grits
A decadent and satisfying iconic Southern comfort food, using a handful of excellent ingredients that come together in under an hour! Yummy!
Equipment
- Medium size saucepan
- Whisk
- Large fry saute pan
Ingredients
Creamy Grits
- 2 cups milk, full fat
- 2 cups chicken stock use homemade if you have it handy!
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- pinch of salt to taste
- 3/4 cup yellow corn grits I used Bob's Red Mill
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Buttery Shrimp
- 3 to 4 slices bacon, thick cut cooked and chopped into small pieces
- 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined about 21 to 24 shrimp
- salt and pepper to taste
- cayenne pepper to taste optional
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup chicken or seafood stock
- 1 Tbsp flour
- 2 stalks scallions, sliced
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. To prepare the shrimp, place shrimp in colander and gently rinse with cold water. Pat dry and generously season with salt and pepper (and cayenne, if using).
- Let’s start by making the grits. In a medium sized saucepan combine and heat on medium 2 cups of chicken stock, 2 cups of milk, 2 tablespoon of butter and salt. When the liquid starts to boil, stir in the grits and whisk to combine thoroughly. Lower the heat, cover and let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes. Whisk occasionally to prevent sticking. The grits are fully cooked when creamy.
- As the grits are cooking, let's prepare the bacon. In a large sauté fry pan (cool and unheated), place the 3 to 4 strips of bacon. Put about 1 tablespoon of water over the bacon and turn on the heat to medium and gently let the bacon cook until crispy, turning once to make sure both sides are browned and crispy. Removed cooked bacon from pan and set aside to cool. Drain all the bacon grease from pan.
- Add 1 tablespoon bacon grease back to the pan. On medium-high heat, cook the prepared shrimp. Stir the shrimp in the heated bacon grease until they start to turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. As the shrimp start to turn pink, add in 2 tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of stock until the sauce starts to bubble. To thicken the sauce, add in 1 tablespoon of all purposed flour and stir into the liquid until it is well incorporated, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.
- Check on the grits. When the grits are cooked, stir in the 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese until well blended. Scoop the cheesy creamy grits into bowls.
- Top grits with the shrimp and ladle some of the buttery sauce over the entire thing. Top with chopped bacon bits and garnish with thinly sliced scallions. Optional, add a sprinkle of cayenne for a bit of zing! Your scrumptious quick and easy shrimp and grits are ready!
Notes
- This dish is best eaten hot and served immediately.
- Typically, one generous serving would be about 4 to 5 Jumbo shrimp per bowl.
- Do not skimp on the bacon butter sauce when serving!