Shrimp and Grits Recipe: How to Make at Home

January 31, 2020 Odiraa

Shrimp and grits is a classic Southern staple. Its origin is from the South Carolina coast, during the season when shrimp were plentiful.

This Easy Classic Shrimp & Grits southern specialty, sometimes called breakfast shrimp, tastes great for brunch or dinner, and anytime kids are around.

It’s down-home comfort food at its finest

Shrimp and Grits go together like akara and pap, roasted corn and peas, soaked garri and roasted groundnut, etc.

Cheesy grits or grits in a breakfast casserole are topped with bacon, peppers, and juicy shrimp to create a favorite combination.

I was surprised when I first learned how incredibly easy it is to make shrimp and grits

I used to see this combination as a typical 5-star hotels / Charleston restaurant dish that is flavorful, Cajun style and out of reach!

Everyone-regardless of where you are from should know how to make this simple recipe at home.

For how to make grits, please read;

How to Cook Perfect Grits: A Southern Classic

It’s now time to go over the step-by-step for how to make the shrimp but first let’s learn how to devein shrimp.

Shrimp and Grits – How to Peel and Devein Shrimp in Shell

Two Easy Ways

The easiest method is by making a slit along the middle of the back with a small sharp knife to pull the dark vein.

That method is best if you want to marinade the shrimp and want the shrimp to absorb the flavors of the marinade well

The 2^nd technique is by using a skewer to devein shrimp for maintaining maximum juiciness without cutting the back of shrimp open.

Extra tip: using potato/corn starch to clean shrimp

Sometimes rinsing the shrimp under cold running water is not enough to completely clean shrimp.

After deveining shrimp, the Japanese wash shrimp in potato starch.

It sounded like a very intriguing method and we just had to learn more. Here’s what Chen explained on her blog:

Why Devein Shrimp?

While deveining shrimp is not imperative but preferred for some reason.

The dark vein contains the shrimp’s undigested food and that does not always sit well with people.

It’s better to buy large or jumbo shrimp already peeled and deveined shrimp.

They are easier to cook and have a meatier texture that holds up well with the creamy soft grits.

How to Make Best Shrimp and Grits Recipe

This traditional low country recipe uses bacon and is served with a simple sauce.

It makes use of stone-ground grits with cheese (nonetheless, it’s easy to adapt to without bacon, or other flavors and ingredients).

Cooking shrimp n grits is easy- just cook the grits and add some cheese.

While they’re cooking, sauté some bacon, cook the shrimp in the bacon grease, then make a simple butter sauce in the same pan!

Instruction

Firstly, you can replace some of the water with stock or broth (chicken or vegetable) or milk, heavy cream, or buttermilk depending on the kind of grits you’re making.
Secondly, cook up some bacon until it’s crispy, then remove it from the pan and chop it up when it’s cool.
Thirdly, pat the shrimp dry and season it with salt and pepper, and sauté the shrimp in the bacon fat. This takes a few minutes since shrimp is fast to cook.
Fourthly, add some butter and chicken stock to the shrimp. Once the butter is melted, turn off the heat so the shrimp does not overcook.
After that, the butter will melt into everything and the chicken stock will help deglaze the pan. Making a beautiful dressing and flavorful sauce to spoon over the grits. Simply ah-mazing!
Lastly, stir in some shredded cheese (cheddar) into the grits.

To serve, spoon some grits into a shallow bowl and scoop some of the shrimp and some of the sauce on top.

Then, sprinkle with the chopped bacon and some sliced green onions. Simply delicious!

Nutrition: Calories in Shrimp and Grits

People Also Ask

What Goes With Shrimp And Grits?

Sautéed greens such as kale, collards, or chard, that has a bit of vinegar in it to balance the richness or a green bean salad with a vinaigrette dressing. Happy eating!

How Do You Make Grits Better?

Grits absorb water, broth, and milk much better than cream, so if you like yours with whipping cream, just add a touch at the end to smooth out the texture.