I haven’t spent a lot of time in the south, but whatever time I have enjoyed there has been full of memorable meals. One of those that still makes me salivate whenever I think of it is shrimp and grits. It was at Mert’s in Charlotte, NC.
When I returned home, I searched for recipes, but everyone makes it differently and I couldn’t find one that seemed similar to what I had eaten in the restaurant. Lots of recipes out there are heavy on the tomatoes, but what I remember from Mert’s all these years later is the roux based brown gravy. So naturally I had to experiment cooking without a recipe. Not sure if I do it exactly like the restaurant, but I must say it’s delicious and it’s simple to make gravy for shrimp and grits.
Making Grits
Polenta or grits are coarsely ground cornmeal. I prefer that texture to finer grinds. I cook mine in the slow cooker because it frees me up to do other things, but you can cook it in a saucepan on the stove just as well.
I boil flavorful liquid (chicken broth in this case) and then whisk in 1/4 the amount of grits. Let it boil for a minute or two while continuing to whisk it. Then dump it all into the slow cooker and cook on high for an hour and 20 minutes. Stir about every half hour and test it when it looks like it’s ready. Add more liquid if you need to. It’s a great base for many simple meals.
Making Stock
Then I peel the shrimp and boil the shells in water to make some stock. I prefer easy peel shrimp because it means I can make stock with the shells for zero waste cooking. But if your shrimp came pre-peeled, you can use chicken broth or vegetable broth. Even better, make some fish stock with dried bonito (fish) flakes available in Asian markets. Use what you have on hand to develop your intuition in the kitchen and start cooking without a recipe.
Gravy for Shrimp and Grits
Chop your vegetables before you start making the roux for the gravy. You will need to have them ready to add to the pot at the right time. I used:
- Onions
- Bell pepper
- Celery
- Tomato (at the end)
Now it’s time to make a quick roux. I like using a chef’s pot with a rounded bottom like a wok because it’s easier to keep bits from burning in the edges of a straight sided pot; but whichever kind of pot you have will work.
Whisk together equal parts of flour and butter or oil over high heat. I made enough for 4 servings, so that meant about 2 Tablespoons of each. It will get brown quickly, so whisk fast and watch. Take it off the heat if you think it’s getting too dark too quickly.
Once the roux looks like melted chocolate, add the onions and other vegetables. I didn’t have any green bell pepper, so I used a red one. Not sure if others put celery in there, but I do because I like it and why not add another vegetable?
Keep whisking as you add the vegetables and take the pot off the heat if you need to. The vegetables, especially the onions, will keep the roux from burning.
Seasoning
Reducing the heat, I minced a little garlic to add to the pot at that point and added a little shrimp stock to let it simmer while I grabbed my spices. I used, in descending order of amounts:
- Salt
- French thyme
- Paprika
- Basil
- Oregano
- Cayenne
You could make this as spicy as you wanted. I opted to keep it mild. I kept adding stock as the vegetables cooked in the sauce until I had the right amount of liquid and the right consistency. Once I decided everything was just about done, I seasoned the raw shrimp with a little salt and added it to the pot along with a little chopped tomato. Shrimp only takes a couple of minutes to cook. It’s done when it turns pink.
After tasting each element of this meal, I decided to add some grated smoked gouda to the grits before plating. I added a touch of maple syrup to the greens and decided everything was well balanced. I hope you enjoy this simple meal as much as I do. It makes me want to dance!
For another southern shrimp dish using more tomatoes, please read Creole Shrimp next.
What a great combo!