Soul Food

You fags wanna make some shrimp and grits with me? I'll be using a cast iron skillet, Up to a cup of butter and a cup of heavy cream before it's all said and done. I'm getting red to start cookin'...

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Fug I wish I had grits right now

Nigga u gon luv these...hold up.

I'm in barrrrrruuuuther. I was already thinking about making some polenta tonight too

hell yeah, LETS GOOO

Ok... this will feed 4- 5 people. It's comfort food to the highest degree. No skimping.

First thing I do ... medium heat... I take a half an onion, dice it, and add that to my skillet. The skillet has 1 heaping TBS bacon grease in it. Let that sweat out and brown bout 5 -10 min or so. Watch it... don't let it burn. Next add approx 1 TBS minced garlic.... let that go a min..... then I add about 1/3 of an andoullie sausage link ( hillshire farm is all I could find) and slice it thin. Bout 1/4" or less. Let this go till good and brown and a fond develops.

When it's finished... dump this out into a medium sized bowl.. grease and all... do not wash your skillet!!! Put it back on the burner

Now, I put approx 1-2 TBS butter into the same skillet.. let it melt and get hot again...

Take -20 md to lg thawed shrimp (peeled, deveined, no tail) and place into the hot skillet. Won't take long. Toss a bit of old bay seasoning in there if you have it. If not use a pinch of celery salt and some Season salt or creole seasoning. Not a lot... really watch your seasoning right now. Don't cook this too long, just until done... pink..3- 5 min usually.. you see that find building up... that's good stuff!!

When that's done.... dump your shrimp, butter and all, into the same bowl as your sausage. DONT wash your skillet. Return it to the burner. Watch your heat. You want the FOND in your pan but it's no good if you burn it.

Now take 3 TBS butter( I use Kerry gold) and let that go in your skillet till melted and hot... then add 1 -- 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes into this butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let it go uncovered 20-25 min on low heat. This needs to reduce and get rid of some liquid. Stir occasionally. Don't let it burn. I tossed about 1 TBS green onion in there cuz I needed to use it up.

If your using unsalted butter then go ahead and season this to taste. If using salted butter then I would advise against using any salt right now. It's prolly salty enough. Taste it before you season.

Moving on to the grits... hell yeah... hold up.. brb

>Soul Food
It's southern food, not "soul food".

"Soul food" is just the name used by Yankee blacks for the southern foods their ancestors brought with them when they moved into yankee cities looking for work.

Regardless, make that shit.

Ok... now for our grits we are going to use 1 1/4c chicken broth, 3/4 c heavy cream, 1/2 cup + 1TBS grits, 3 TBS butter, 1/2 to 1 cup mild cheddar cheese ) depends on taste preference start with 1/2c and go from there) salt (1/4 tsp) and pepper to taste and a good dash of paprika.

To start, while tomatoes are reducing, over med/high heat add your chicken broth to a Saucepan and bring JUST to a boil

FYI... I'm using 5 min grits because that's all I have. No matter, will still be fuckin amazing.

Ok... broth just beginning to boil... whisk in your heavy cream, butter, and paprika... reduce your heat to medium/medium low. Bring it up to JUST a boil again.

Tomatoes reducing nicely. Almost done ... 5 min or so

WHISK in your grits. Do not let these boil hard... it ruins them. Slow boil
for 1-2 min. Turn off heat. ( if they look to runny then add another TBS of grits) Stir, cover.. leave them alone for a few min. You want them rich, creamy and smooth. Not thick and gloopy.

I see a problem
Acidic food should not be cooked in a cast iron pan

While grits are sitting add your shrimp and sausage to your tomato mixture. Low heat. Stir it all up... heat it back up... Add a TBS butter if u want, lol

>Acidic food should not be cooked in a cast iron pan
Cooking is fine, it's when you do the long simmers that can be problematic.

Who gives a shit, soyboy. I use my cast iorn for everything that i cook.

what's the problem with it?

Go back to your grits. Stir them. They should look like this.. creamy and awesome.

Grits can't be ruined by 'leave it" or "cover" or "Don't touch it" techniques. Other than not stirring making uncooked clumps that it. The grits texture
that you are speaking about is a ratio of water to grits and nothing more than that for thick or runny. But, you could improve your texture by not buying the instant 5 minute kind of grits. Regular grits are ground more coarse then the very fine grind on instant grits. It is a minimal difference, mind you, but you notice it when having your grits as a dinner main. Since your main has so much love, I thought I would share with you. It only adds 10 minutes.

Now, if you want to go to some craft food stone-ground, you add quite a bit more time.
saveur.com/article/Kitchen/stone-ground-grits

Turn off the heat of your tomato and meat mix. Add your cheese to your grits. ... holy shit... season to taste. I've used just under 3/4 c cheese I n this batch. ..( mild cheddar) Add more butter if necessary. Stir it in. It's ok. It's comfort food.

>tangent
Acidic foods can interact with iron in ways that can alter the flavor of your dish, and strip the iron of seasoning. Much in the same way that lemon juice left in a stained coffee mug will strip the stains from the mug.

This takes time, though, so you can do basic cooking shit with acidic stuff in cast iron, but what you don't want to do is simmer acidic things, like tomato, for hours at a time in a cast iron pot.
>back to post

Sorry, OP. Please continue.

Now plate or bowl your dish. I use 2 big spoonfuls of grits in a bowl topped with 2 big spoonfuls of my meat and tomato mixture. I top it with a bit of parsley and green onion and a touch of cheese... heaven in a bowl man. My treat to myself today. Easily feeds 4 or more.

That's pretty good, OP. A bit too much fat for my liking, with the cream, butter and cheese, and all, but that's a reasonable recipe for a once in every blue meal.

looks great OP
I love grits but have yet to eat them in a savory dish. it's always sugar and vanilla and cinnamon or other sweet stuff

would you like some grits with your bowl of pure grease

OP, take it easy on the grease. from bacon fat to rendered sausage fat to 4 Tbsp of butter, something is too greasy here. I think if it doesn't seem creamy enough, or flavorful enough, your recipe might be missing something else you like in flavor, possibly salt, or a fresh chili pepper or a squeeze of lemon. Thanks for the share, but I was confused, was this seafoody old bay, or was this asian or cajun minus the trinity? Try fire roasted tomatoes for more flavor next time, I think, or a can of Rotel. OR tons of garlic with fresh bite.

Oh y'all this was sooo good. It's comfort food. I dont eat like this everyday. If I want a bowl of "grease" every couple of months that's my biz. I used Kerry gold butter to make it rich. 1 tBS bacon grease. What you are seeing is the tomato broth... not grease

It's ok. My skillet is fine. 20-25 min in a good seasoned cast iron isnt gonna hurt it. Thanks tho

OP, I like it. Fuck the haters. I personally wouldn't have added sausage, but other than that, your method I'd great. Nice broth, nice cheese grits, plenty of shrimp.
I went out the other day for lunch, and ordered shrimp and grits, because I was craving it. It was pretty good, but I wish I had made it myself, because it would have been better. I'm going to make some this weekend, I think. Delicious.

>ITT: Paula Deen makes shrimp & grits

Seafood old bay. Lemon or fire roasted tomato, or rotel would ruin it for me. Yuk!! I know what I'm talking about here.... However give it a shot. Cooking is all about learning... I've never tried it. This is a comfort food... for me. This isn't something anyone should eat everyday. It's good for my soul. I like the memories associated with it. I like the taste. It's my occasional treat to myself And it's tomato reduction juice.. not grease.

Yes.... do it!!!

I DO also Use bacon... I'm telling ya. Bout 7--10 pieces. Cook it first then use that grease for your onions etc. crush up the bacon and add to the top of the shrimp at the end. Don't cook it with the tomatoes. Just top it off on top of shrimp and tomatoes at the end. It's excellent.

Obviously leave out the sausage.

Oh, I'll use the bacon for sure. Shrimp and grits is one of the ultimate comfort foods.

>And it's tomato reduction juice.. not grease.
Tomato reduction juice is steam and the tomatoes that are left. Nice try. It was butter, but you obviously enjoyed it.

Good on ya OP. At least you actually made something original and attempted to teach others. That's what Veeky Forums is about. Fuck all these fast food posts and bullshit.

Seriously looks delicious.