Servings: 6
Calories: 707kcal
Ingredients
For the Stock
- 1 cup shrimp shells
- 1 quart water
- 1 lb smoked pork or turkey wings, necks, backs, etc.
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme
- 1 Bay Leaf
For Red Pepper Gravy
- 2 cups Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- ¼ White wine
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 small red onion diced
- ½ small red pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic
For the Grits
- 2 ½ cups water or homemade stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup grits
- 2 tablespoon butter
- ¼ sharp cheddar cheese grated
For the Shrimp
- 1 lb Shrimp deveined
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
Instructions
Make the Stock
- Combine water and shrimp shells in a large stock pot. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Turn off the heat and let the kombu steep for 10 minutes.
- Remove the shells, and add the smoked meat. Stir in the pot and bring to a simmer.
- Add the bay leaf and fresh thyme to the pot and simmer uncovered for as much time as you have, but strive for an hour. Strain the broth. Pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl; discard the solids. Cool the broth to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
Make the Red Pepper Gravy
- Heat sauce pan over medium heat. Add red onions and red peppers and saute 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic for another 30 seconds.
- Add the white wine and cook for another 3-4 minutes deglazing the pan with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits.
- Reduce heat and add the red pepper sauce and cream. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Make the Grits
- Mix the grits, stock, salt, cheese, and butter in sauce pan
- Bring to boil over medium heat
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes; cook longer for extra creamy grits
- After about 4-5 minutes add the cream and begin stirring and stir as often as needed afterwards.
- Add more liquid if you need to thin
- Serve in bowls topped with shrimp, red pepper gravy, and fresh parsley.
Make the shrimp
- Just season simply with salt, pepper, and paprika then saute in a skillet using olive oil or butter.
Notes
- Go with stone ground grits for their tasty flavor. They also have more body to them vs. most others which tend to be thin and runny.
- Don't be passive on the whisk. Whisk skills means more starches are released which means creamy madness
- Stone ground grits include a few harder bits of corn hulls. They're edible but don't really soften. You can easily remove by putting the grits in a bowl of water and removing the ones that float to the top.
- Cream is harder for the grits to absorb so be sure to blend with water or stock. It also to add the cream later in the cooking process.
- If you're using a commercial stock be mindful of salt content
- If you have the luxury of time, soaking grits in their cooking liquid for a few hours or overnight is a pro level move. Hydrating the kernels will not only reduce cooking time, but will also enhance both texture and flavor. The faster the grits cook, the more corn flavor they will have
- If adding salt, do it at the beginning of cooking as cooked grits don't absorb salt too well
- Don't over think the shrimp. Keep it simple with the seasonings.
- Did I mention I prefer stone ground grits?
Nutrition
Calories: 707kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 182mg | Sodium: 1421mg | Potassium: 723mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2203IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 105mg | Iron: 3mg
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