Shrimp and Grits
Updated Feb. 5, 2024
- Total Time
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1pound medium to large raw shrimp, shelled (reserve shells for stock)
- 4tablespoons butter
- ¾cup chopped onion
- ½cup chopped green bell pepper
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 1cup diced ripe tomatoes with a little of their juice (chopped canned tomatoes are preferable to less-than-perfect fresh tomatoes)
- ½teaspoon dried thyme
- 1tablespoon flour
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- ⅓cup heavy cream
- 2teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2dashes Tabasco
- Salt to taste
- 2tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ¾cup grits
- ¼teaspoon salt
- 6ounces Cheddar cheese, grated
- 3tablespoons butter
For the Shrimp
For the Grits
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
660 calories; 43 grams fat; 25 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 37 grams protein; 764 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
Preparation
- Step 1
Make shrimp stock: Combine the shrimp shells and 2 cups water and boil until the liquid is reduced by half. Strain.
- Step 2
For the grits, bring 3½ cups water to a boil and stir in the grits. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the grits are tender and the liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat, add the salt, cheese and butter and stir until melted. Keep warm.
- Step 3
For the shrimp, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion, pepper and garlic until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the tomatoes and juice and thyme; bring to a simmer. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and stir well.
- Step 5
Add the shrimp and stir constantly until they begin to turn pink, about 2 minutes.
- Step 6
Add ½ cup of the stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add the tomato paste and stir until blended. Add the cream, Worcestershire and Tabasco and more stock if needed to make a spoonable sauce that generously coats the shrimp. Heat thoroughly, being careful not to let it come to a boil. Taste for salt.
- Step 7
Place a portion of grits in the center of each plate and spoon shrimp over or around it. Sprinkle with parsley.
Private Notes
Comments
I've done this a number of times and suggest not cooking the shrimp until all the ingredients in the sauce have been combined. Adding the shrimp before this point will likely result in overcooked, tough shrimp. Saute the onions, peppers, garlic in half the butter (2 tbs). When cooking shrimp in a sauce, do it as slowly as possible (bare simmer). Refrigerate the remaining 2 tbs butter so it gets cold and somewhat hard, and add toward the end to produce a silky glaze over the shrimp.
You have to salt the water before the girts go in the pot or else they will have no flavor. People who grew up eating grits knows this. This is one of the reasons people up north don't like grits. Salt does nothing for already cooked grits. This is an important fact people need to know~!
I adore shrimp and grits! This looks like a great version. I ran a couple of restaurants that had them on the menu. I live in FL I'm a shrimp snob. Not everyone can do this, but I have a "shrimp guy." I only buy wild caught shrimp. They can even be frozen, but NO products from Asia. Nothing farm raised. Also, if you like spinach, this dish is fantastic with cheddar grits, a bed of wilted spinach, topped with shrimp...sprinkled with chives! You can even throw a poached egg on top.
This probably sacrilege but…I didn’t have grits so I made polenta - ala creamy polenta and mushrooms (NYT and amazing). Subbed in cheddar for parm. I can’t wait to try it with grits.
I made this tonight and, yes, I salted the water for the grits. It seemed odd not to. Anyway, I had just stirred in the cream when I saw my tablespoon of flour, prepared in my mise en place, sitting forgotten right next to the stove. Oopsie. And clearly too late to fix. We enjoyed a slightly less thick sauce blanketing our shrimp and grits. This is a delicious and extremely rich meal. Highly recommended. Oh, PS, I added a bit of red pepper because I had some in the fridge.
I flambe the shrimp with tequila reposado after step 5 before proceeding to step 6. It gives a lovely smokiness to the shrimp. And always use stoneground yellow grits and never overcook the shrimp!
Advertisement