2/08/12

Kiss My Grits

I love grits.  Big surprise, right?  And I’ve figured out why the rest of the world doesn’t love grits like we do in the South.  There is a grand conspiracy by some underground Southern militant operation to keep grits in the South.

Oh yeah, you heard me.

Why? Because they’re conspiracy theorists which means they’re paranoid which means they’re afraid of a freaking grits shortage.

Example #1:  Manufacturers are putting bad information out there about how to prepare them.

You can’t cook grits in five minutes.  You can’t cook them in ten minutes.  You might be able to get away with cooking Quick Grits for twenty minutes, but you won’t be winning any awards with the results.

I don’t care what your package says.  You need to cook grits for an hour.  Period.



Example #2:  Major restaurant chains are serving crappy grits.

The militants have infiltrated major restaurant chains and are having their people purposefully cook them wrong so that visitors will take one taste, set their fork down and never try them again.

Southerners, when was the last time you ate an awesome bowl of grits at a chain restaurant?  Never, right?  My biggest complaints are a) the grits have no taste and b) they’re not cooked long enough.  It’s like eating mealy hot water.

Now, all that being said, there are a few different ways to cook grits depending on what you’re doing with them.  We usually get pretty basic with the breakfast variety grits and then get jazzier if the grits are being served as part of an entrée.

I’m going to give you four varieties.

Basic Grits
3 cups water
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grits*

Bring the water, butter and salt to a boil.  Whisk in grits, return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for one hour.  You will need to whisk the grits about every 10 minutes or so to keep them from clumping together and sticking to the bottom of your pan.  Add more salt to taste.

Creamy Grits
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grits*

Bring the water, milk, butter and salt to a boil.  Whisk in grits, return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for one hour.  You will need to whisk the grits about every 10 minutes or so to keep them from clumping together and sticking to the bottom of your pan.  Add more salt to taste.

Savory Grits
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grits*

Bring the chicken stock, milk, butter and salt to a boil.  Whisk in grits, return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for one hour.  You will need to whisk the grits about every 10 minutes or so to keep them from clumping together and sticking to the bottom of your pan.  Add more salt to taste.

Cheese Grits
1 1/2 cups chicken stock or water
1 1/2 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup grits*
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bring the chicken stock (or water), milk, butter and salt to a boil.  Whisk in grits, return to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 50 minutes.  Add shredded cheddar cheese and whisk until melted; continue cooking for 10 minutes.  You will need to whisk the grits about every 10 minutes or so to keep them from clumping together and sticking to the bottom of your pan. Add more salt to taste.

*Depending on which type of grits you have (quick-cook, stone ground, yellow, etc.), the liquid to grits ratio will vary.  Measure the liquid and grits per the manufacturer’s instructions.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE


6 comments:

  1. I tried grits once at a small family owned place in Florida. I was not sure what they were supposed to taste like but I did not like them. That was the only time I ever had them. My family is from New York and we moved to Virginia quite a while ago. Surprisingly I don't know of anyone that eats them on a regular basis or even knows how to really make them. For that reason I have not had them since. I would give them another shot if I knew they would be nothing like the ones in Florida.

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    Replies
    1. Well, you ought to give them another shot! Saute some shrimp in Cajun seasoning and serve them atop the Cheese Grits. Or do like we do at breakfast and serve them under sunny side up eggs :)

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  2. ...and don't even get me started on instant grits!

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  3. Love your style! I'm a grits snob myself - Stone ground is only way to go for me - the fresher the better (noramill.com). This one is the crowd favorite around here:
    Creamy grits: General rule of thumb for stone ground is 4:1; liquid to grits
    1/2 cup grits to 2- 2¼ cups liquid will serve 4 (Use 1¼c chicken stock + 1c water )
    Butter, Whipping cream (half & half if you’re skeered), shredded cheese if you like it
    Salt & pepper

    Bring water and stock to a boil. Add grits and stir until boils again. Lower heat to a simmer, cover and continue cooking for at least 20 minutes stirring often and adding liquid if necessary. Add salt, butter, cream, and cheese near the end.

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  4. thanks for the tips!! I'm gonna need em when I cook them for the first time ")

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  5. I love good grits. I've only had good grits in the south. Hard to find them in New York state, other than the instant ones & they don't even count as grits. Now I haven't looked in a while, maybe it's different now & I could find good stone ground grits. I'll have to check, I do like them a lot.

    Nadine Osborne

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Hi there! While I’m not able to respond to every comment, I try hard to answer any questions that haven’t been addressed in the post, recipe or in other comments.

I can tell you now 1) I have no idea if you can substitute Minute Rice or brown rice in my recipes because I’ve never used them and 2) If I know how to convert a recipe to a Crock Pot version, I will make a note about it (otherwise, I don’t know).

And though I may not respond to them all, I do read each and every comment and I LOVE to hear from you guys! Thanks, y’all! - Mandy