Shrimp and Grits...a traditional Southern dish. Plump Gulf Shrimp sauteed in butter and Cajun seasonings, then ladled over creamy, cheesy grits. The flavor jumps out at you and gets your attention, but Sweet Daddy D’s Cajun Shrimp and Cheesy Grits recipe is truly no-angst and simply delicious. You’ll want more!
Cajun Shrimp and Cheesy Grits!
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[Publishers Note: This is an update of the article I wrote originally in October 2018. This recipe has been very popular with my readers. Always seeking to provide better information for my readers, I've updated and added some information and reformatted photographs for better web viewing. Let me know what you think.]
About Shrimp and Grits
Originally a regional treasure of the Lowcountry of South Carolina, the popularity of grits and the availability of fresh Gulf shrimp in South Louisiana, make this a natural for a Cajun and Creole treatment. Starting as a breakfast staple for southern fisherman and shrimpers along the coast, its profile was elevated in the mid 1980’s when Shrimp and Grits appeared on the menu at Crook’s Corner Restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and later introduced to the world when reported in the New York Times in 1985. At the same time, Southern and particularly Louisiana cuisine was becoming very popular and the once humble Shrimp and Grits was finding its way onto menus in the finer, white tablecloth restaurants of New Orleans like Antoine's and Commander's Palace.
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Here is What You Need
Large Gulf Shrimp, either fresh or frozen
If buying fresh shrimp with heads and shells, make sure to buy about ½ to 1 pound extra so you have enough once they are peeled. You can also use the shells and heads to make Homemade Shrimp Stock.
Large Gulf Shrimp
Vegetables
- Yellow onions
- Bell peppers-green or red (or both)
- Garlic (lots of garlic!)Green onions (scallions)
Other Ingredients
- Butter
- Tomato paste
- Stock-Shrimp stock is best, but substituting chicken stock or seafood stock is fine.
- Lemon juice
- Worcestershire sauce.
Here's What You Need
The Herb and Spice Blend
- Oregano, basil, thyme
- Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper
- Creole Seasoning
- Cayenne Pepper.
The Herb and Spice Blend
For the Grits
- Old Fashioned Grits, or even some Quick Grits
- Butter
- Gruyere cheese-grated, substituting or blending cheddar cheese is fine
- Kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper
Here are the Grits
Don’t forget, it all goes together so much better with a couple of beers.
Equipment Heavy bottomed saute pan or skillet
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Here is What You Do
First...you have a beer. There are not a lot of ingredients here, so pop the cap off a beer, sit down and read the recipe through so you know if you have everything you need and what you are going to do with each ingredient. About the only way to mess this up is to overcook the shrimp, so you need to be prepared. Once all the ingredients are prepped, place them in their own little bowls so all you have to do is assemble the recipe and you can do that quickly.
Mise en place
Prep the shrimp by rinsing them in cold water and patting them dry with paper towels. If you are using fresh shrimp, peel, devein, rinse and dry. (See Hints and Tips about using the shells for shrimp stock). Sprinkle on an ample amount of creole seasoning and set them aside.
Sprinkle some creole seasoning into the shrimp
Slice the onions and peppers and chop the garlic, then measure out all the Herb and Spice Blend ingredients into a ramekin. Measure the lemon juice, Worcestershire and the stock. Slice the butter into pieces, it will melt quicker that way.
Prep all the ingredients
Grate the cheese for the cheesy grits. Another good swig of beer and you're ready to go.
For the cheese grits-ready to go!
The shrimp will cook fast and you want to eat them right away, so make the grits while you are preparing all the other ingredients.
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Cook the Cheese Grits
Cook the grits according to the directions on the package, but it basically goes like this: Bring about 4 cups of cold water to a heavy boil. Add some salt then slowly whisk the dry grits into the boiling water and make sure they are all mixed in and there are no lumps.
Add the grits to boiling water
Lower the heat to a simmer, cover and check back in 15 minutes, but give it a good, bottom scraping stir with a rubber spatula after about 7 or 8 minutes. After 15 minutes, stir it all together, getting all the grits off the bottom of the pan. They should be fairly smooth and most of the water absorbed at this point, but if they are still watery and the grits are hard, put the cover back on and simmer a little longer. When they are al dente, add the butter, some ground black pepper and the grated Gruyere.
Melt the butter and cheese into the grits
Mix and blend everything until smooth and creamy. Cover, remove from heat and set them aside until the shrimp are ready. Whip them up with a wooden spoon or spatula before serving.
Saute the vegetables and the aromatics
When the grits are just about finished, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy bottom sauté pan or skillet until bubbly. Add the onions and the green peppers and sauté until soft, about 5–6 minutes.
Saute the yellow onions and bell peppers in the butter
Toss in the aromatics--the garlic, green onions and about ¾ of the Herb and Spice Blend, and sauté about 2 minute more, until they are smelling really good.
Aromatics...talk about smell good!
Time for the shrimp
You’ll want the shrimp to cook pretty fast, so increase the heat to high and add the shrimp a few at a time by hand. Sauté for about 2 minutes, turning over midway through so they start to cook evenly.
Saute the shrimp quickly
Making the sauce
To the saute pan with the shrimp, add the tomato paste, mix well and continue to saute about 2 minutes while it smooths out.
Thicken with tomato paste
If things are sticking to the bottom of the pan, use a little stock to deglaze before adding the rest. Add about ½ to ¾ cup of the stock (reserve the remainder if the sauce needs to be thinned), then add the lemon juice and the Worcestershire. Stir it all together and add 2 tablespoons of butter; shake the pan back and forth, continuing to simmer as the butter melts and the sauce thickens slightly.
Finish with some butter and a shake
Don’t over cook the shrimp, no more than a total of about 7 or 8 minutes on the shrimp. Taste the sauce a few times to check if it needs more spices. The shrimp will soak up some spice so it's OK to be a little over spiced at this stage, but add more of the reserved Herb and Spice Blend if needed.
Here's the shrimp!
Time to serve
You’ll want to serve this right away so that the shrimp don’t get overcooked. Spoon some grits into a shallow bowl or onto a plate, then ladle the shrimp with plenty of sauce right on top. Throw some chopped green onions on top, a piece of crispy french bread and an ice-cold beer.
Sweet Daddy D's Shrimp and Grits!
That’s it, all there is to it, simple as that! You're going to love this.
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Hints and Tips
Don’t overcook the shrimp, there is a huge difference between properly cooked shrimp and overcooked shrimp-from plump and tender to hard and rubbery. The best way to ensure that you don't overcook the shrimp is to be prepared, do your mise en place, and use a high heat that will cook them pretty quick. Anywhere from 5 to 8 or 9 minutes is all you need for perfect shrimp.
Leftovers? I guess that happens. You can keep the shrimp in the fridge for 3 or 4 days if they are stored in an airtight container. It's best to rewarm them in a saucepan stovetop so that you can control the heat. Using a microwave may overcook the shrimp if you are not careful. The grits will also last a few days in the fridge in an airtight container. You can reheat those in the microwave; just mix in a little water and give them a good stir every 30-seconds until they are warm and creamy again.
You can also freeze the shrimp and sauce if you seal them in an airtight container for a few (2-3) months. You can read about storing them for up to 10 months but I believe the quality deteriorates after a few months. I wouldn't bother to freeze the grits, just whip up a fresh batch when you defrost (overnight in the fridge) the shrimp.
If you are buying head-on shrimp, you'll need to buy about 1 ½ to 2 pounds to end up with 1 pound after the shells are removed. One of the advantages of using fresh shrimp is using the shells for stock. This is better with head-on shells. Check out my recipe for making Shrimp Stock. You may not have enough shells to make a full recipe, but you can adjust for whatever quantity you have. You can also freeze the shells and then make a stock when you have enough. The stock freezes well if you make more than you need.
Substitutes: If you don’t have shrimp stock, substitute chicken or seafood stock. I have made this many times with chicken stock and it is very good. Don’t have or don’t like grits? Serve it over rice, mashed potatoes, polenta, risotto or french bread! You can also use Quick Grits or any of the many varieties of grit. Just follow the directions on the package.
Gruyere cheese is creamy when melted and slightly sharp, to me a perfect companion for the slightly spicy shrimp. You can try some sharp or mild cheddar cheese if you prefer or a combination. For something special, try some smoked cheddar or smoked gouda.
Cooking grits is really quite simple. If you’re not used to cooking grits, keep it simple at first, then when you've got the hang of it you can fancy them up with milk or stock. But until then, you’ll be just fine keeping it simple.
I always think it's best if you grate your own cheese, but if you are crunched for time, or just prefer, use some pre-grated cheese.
Many commercial creole seasonings and stocks contain salt and some have quite a bit. This recipe was developed with a stock that does contain salt but a creole seasoning that does not contain salt. Whatever you use, make sure you taste while cooking before adding salt so you get it the way you like it.
Try these other Shrimp Recipes from Sweet Daddy D:
And there's lots more delicious Cajun and Creole Recipes here:
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Yeah You Right!
Recipe
Cajun Shrimp and Cheesy Grits
Here's What You Need
- 1 pound shrimp peeled, de-veined and rinsed
- 6 tablespoons Butter in all
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced
- 1 small bell pepper sliced
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
- 4 cloves garlic rough chop
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup Shrimp Stock See Notes
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Herb and Spice Blend
- 2 teaspoon Oregano
- 2 teaspoon Basil
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning plus more for shrimp
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
For the Cheese Grits
- 4 cups water boiling
- 1 cup Old Fashion Grits
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon Butter
- 2 cups gruyère cheese grated
Here's What You Do
- Peel, de-vein and the rinse shrimp; pat dry; sprinkle on some creole seasoning and set aside. Slice the onions and green peppers and chop the garlic. Measure out all other ingredients. Prepare the grits.
Prepare the Grits
- Bring 2 cups of water to a heavy boil. Grate cheese and set aside.
- Add kosher salt and gradually whisk or stir grits into boiling water, stir or whisk until grits are dispersed and not lumpy.
- Lower the heat to a simmer, cover pot and simmer for about 15 minutes. Get started on the shrimp while these cook.
- Remove the lid, stir well and taste. If al dente, add the butter and Gruyere cheese. Stir vigorously to combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy. If the grits are a little hard still, leave a low fir on for another 5 minutes.
- Replace the cover, remove from heat and let sit until the shrimp are ready.
Prepare the Shrimp
- Place a large saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter until bubbly.
- Add sliced onions and peppers-sautée until soft, about 5–6 minutes
- Add garlic, green onions and about ¾ of the Herb and Spice Blend, mix well and continue to sauté until aromatic-about 2 minute.
- Increase heat to high and add the shrimp; sauté for about 2 minutes, turning over midway through.
- Add the tomato paste and mix it in very well while continuing to saute another 2 minutes (approximately).
- If needed, deglaze the pan with a little of the stock before moving on to the next step.
- Mix in about ½ to ¾ cup of the seafood stock (reserve the remainder), the lemon juice and the Worcestershire. When that's mixed in, add 2 tablespoons of butter. Shake the pan back and forth and continue to simmer as the butter melts and the sauce thickens slightly. Don’t over cook the shrimp, no more than about 5 minutes.
- Taste a few times to check if it needs more spices, remember the shrimp will soak up some spice so its OK to be a little over spiced at this stage. Add more of the reserved Herb and Spice Blend or stock, if needed.
- Stir the cheese grits vigorously then place a healthy spoonful in a shallow bowl or plate, spoon the shrimp over the cheese grits and serve immediately.
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