Shrimp & Grits

Low-country Luscious



The group I refer to as my "cooking buddies" has been getting together every other year since 1994 for a Cooks' Bash. The first was held in Charleston, South Carolina where I had my first sushi and, to everyone's great amusement, wasabi. I still haven't lived down The Wasabi Event.

In addition to sushi, I had the pleasure of introducing a friend from the Pacific Northwest to a Southern breakfast of eggs, grits, country ham, and biscuits. One night we had a Low Country clambake which mostly involved oysters and Frogmort Stew. The traditional cuisine is similar to Creole cooking, heavy on fish, rice, potent spices, and the Trinity of onion, celery, and bell pepper.

I had the pleasure of introducing a friend from the Pacific Northwest to a Southern breakfast of eggs, grits, country ham, and biscuits.

Shrimp plays a particularly big roll, with Charleston Receipts offering dishes such as Breakfast Shrimp, half a dozen shrimp pies, and Shrimp Stuffed in Bell Peppers. Oddly enough, the shrimp dish I think of as most typically Low Country doesn't appear: Shrimp and Grits. This causes me to wonder if, despite the dish's fame, it's a relatively recent invention.

There's a restaurant here in Knoxville, Chesapeake's, that sometimes offers a particularly good version as a special. I've been meaning to make it myself for quite awhile, but it wasn't until last week, when the local paper posted a recipe that looked good, that I finally got around to doing so. The published recipe is by Louis Osteen and he serves it at Louis's at Pawleys on Pawleys Island. I tweaked the recipe to meet my needs, but also because the amount of liquid called for seemed excessive and would have more resembled a thick shrimp soup than shrimp smothered in a sauce.

I also, completely ignored the recipe for grits because it called for quick grits, but again required too much liquid. I suspect these are typos in the recipe. Instead, I did use quick grits, but I followed the package directions to make 2 cups and added about 3 tablespoons of butter.

Shrimp for Shrimp & Grits
Adapted from the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Serves 4.

1 lb medium shrimp — peeled
3 tbsp butter
4 slices smoked bacon
2/3 c chopped onions
1/4 c chopped celery
1/4 c chopped green bell pepper
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1 sprig fresh
1 bay leaf
1/3 c white wine or vermouth
3 tbsp flour
2 c clam juice (shrimp stock is better if you have it)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 c heavy cream
hot sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Make the grits.

In a non stick skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat and cook shrimp for about 2 minutes per side. Set aside, the shrimp should be slightly under-cooked.

In a large sauté pan cook the bacon until crisp over medium heat. Drain bacon but reserve grease in pan. Add onions, celery, and pepper and sau té until softened. Add garlic, thyme, and bay and cook 1 minute more. Increase heat to high, add white wine, and cook until evaporated. Reduce heat to medium and sprinkle with flour, mix thoroughly and cook, stirring frequently with a spatula for 3 minutes and scraping the bottom to prevent burning. Add clam juice and tomato paste and whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. Bring to a simmer and stir in cream. Add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add shrimp and cook another 2 minutes. Serve spooned over grits.

Technorati: Food | recipe | kevin weeks | seriously good | shrimp and grits | shrimp | seafood | low country