Cheesy Bacon Shrimp & Grits Are Yours In 30 Minutes (Or Less)

Delish

Shrimp and grits is a Southern dish that everyone should know how to make. Follow our easy recipe (with bacon and cheese!) for an extra-flavorful version.

Transcript

00:00 How's it hanging everyone?

00:01 It's Justin here in the Delish Kitchen studios.

00:03 I love shrimp and grits because I think it is

00:05 an incredible showcase of my favorite protein, shrimp.

00:09 We're gonna have beautifully firm, pink, perfect boys

00:13 cooked simply and deliciously in a bit of bacon fat,

00:16 and we're gonna nestle that

00:17 in a beautiful, comfy bed of grits.

00:20 It's gonna be delicious.

00:21 Let's get into it.

00:22 To get started, we are going to begin with our grits.

00:26 Now, I'll say off the bat,

00:27 I am not the biggest grits cooker.

00:30 I've not grown up eating them or cooking them,

00:32 but in the last couple of years,

00:34 I've grown to have a great appreciation of the product

00:37 through my Southern friends,

00:38 and I'm excited to make some today.

00:40 And I have a couple of tips and tricks

00:43 that's gonna make this easier.

00:45 To a medium sauce pan,

00:46 we're gonna add equal parts chicken stock and water.

00:49 I'm gonna bring that up to a boil.

00:51 If you wanna make this pescatarian or vegetarian,

00:53 you can use veggie stock, fish stock, whatever you want.

00:55 Once that's to a boil,

00:56 we're gonna generously season our cooking liquid with salt,

01:00 and then we're going to whisk in our grits.

01:02 And for the first two minutes,

01:04 I really want you to be stirring this

01:05 and whisking this constantly.

01:07 That's when lumping and clumping can happen,

01:09 so it's important that we be diligent then

01:11 and make sure we don't see any and keep going.

01:14 After the grits go in,

01:15 we're also gonna reduce the heat to about medium low

01:17 so we get a nice simmer.

01:18 After that two minutes of whisking,

01:21 you can kind of set it aside,

01:22 stirring every now and again

01:23 until the grits are fully cooked through, about 15 minutes.

01:26 This last part is the crucial flavor-adding part

01:30 of this dish,

01:31 and that flavor is gonna come in the form of dairy

01:33 in two forms, cheddar cheese and butter.

01:36 We're gonna first add our cubed butter

01:38 a little bit at a time,

01:40 using our whisk to mix it in,

01:42 and then we're gonna grate in our cheddar.

01:44 This is gonna add a little bit of pop of color,

01:46 but also a sharp flavor.

01:48 I love using a sharp cheddar for this.

01:50 I wanna be adding more flavor

01:51 'cause grits, at the end of the day,

01:52 especially if not cooked well, can be pretty bland.

01:55 Keep mixing until that's all melted

01:57 and dispersed throughout the grits,

01:58 and then you can set aside until your shrimp is ready.

02:01 Look at these gorgeous boys and girls.

02:04 So this is shrimp and grits after all.

02:06 We should not be using the dinky little baby shrimp.

02:09 You can usually tell how big your shrimp are gonna be

02:11 if you can't physically see them in the frozen aisle

02:13 or the fishmonger isn't showing you.

02:16 You can ask what's the count,

02:17 and the count is how many shrimp there are per pound.

02:20 So I think these were like 11 to 12s

02:22 or like 11 to 14s, so that means there's gonna be

02:24 11 to 14 of these boys in that pound,

02:28 but that can go up to like 36.

02:29 That can be like 36 shrimp per pound, so know your count.

02:32 We're gonna season our shrimp

02:34 in like a very quick pseudo marinade.

02:36 So to a large bowl, you're gonna add your shrimp,

02:39 some oregano, paprika, some minced garlic,

02:43 and a good couple pinches of salt.

02:44 Mix that all up, set it aside

02:46 until the bacon is done cooking.

02:48 We make our shrimp and grits recipe

02:49 a little bit more breakfast-y

02:51 and a little bit more delicious by using bacon.

02:54 We're gonna cook off a bunch,

02:55 so we're gonna go into a cold cast iron skillet

02:58 with little bacon lardons.

02:59 That's where you slice the bacon into little thick slices.

03:03 And we're gonna cook that off.

03:04 That's gonna take like seven to eight minutes.

03:05 We want it crispy, but I never want like burnt,

03:08 raggedy bacon, watch it.

03:10 Like I don't want black bits on it.

03:12 I want it like curled and hard with some chewy bits.

03:15 That's perfect for me.

03:16 Then we're gonna take that bacon out,

03:17 and we're gonna remove most of the fat.

03:19 We'll leave about two tablespoons.

03:21 Most people are getting rid of their bacon fat.

03:23 Silly.

03:24 And also, first of all,

03:25 if you're gonna get rid of your bacon fat,

03:26 you should not be pouring it down the drain.

03:28 That'll create fat bergs,

03:30 disgusting fat things in the ocean

03:32 and in the sewage system.

03:33 You wanna be tossing that in the trash.

03:35 Let it cool completely,

03:36 put it in a container and throw it away.

03:37 So we're not gonna get rid of all of the bacon fat.

03:40 We're gonna leave about two tablespoons in

03:41 because like butter and olive oil,

03:43 bacon is one of the best fats to cook in,

03:46 and it's great with shrimp.

03:48 There's a reason why these two things

03:49 kind of go together,

03:50 bacon wrapped shrimp and the like.

03:52 To that two tablespoons of bacon fat over medium heat,

03:56 we're gonna add all of our shrimp in

03:57 or as much will fit in a single layer.

04:00 Shrimp cook quickly.

04:01 You wanna be very patient,

04:03 but also aware that it can change pretty quickly.

04:07 And we're gonna just cook on each side.

04:09 So we'll flip halfway through,

04:10 and we want them to be just opaque

04:12 and like just firm and set to the touch.

04:15 That should take like six to eight minutes total.

04:19 And that's even maybe pushing it.

04:20 Once that shrimp is done,

04:21 we're gonna transfer it to a plate,

04:23 and we're gonna use all that delicious fond

04:24 and leftover fat to create a pan sauce.

04:27 It's super simple.

04:27 We're gonna start with some tomato paste.

04:30 Get that in there and get that caramelized.

04:31 That means we want it to be like brick red.

04:34 Then we're gonna whisk in some stock

04:36 a little bit at a time,

04:37 so we don't clump up the tomato paste.

04:39 I'm gonna bring that up to a simmer,

04:40 and we're gonna let that reduce for like four to five minutes.

04:42 It should be reduced by about a third.

04:44 I'm gonna put in the juice of half a lemon,

04:47 some salt and pepper, toss in our shrimp,

04:49 and we're gonna finish it with some sliced scallions.

04:52 We're not cooking these off per se.

04:53 We're just incorporating them into the sauce.

04:56 Toss everything together to combine

04:57 and get it nice and coated in that sauce,

04:59 and then we're ready to plate up.

05:01 The only way to get a perfect bite

05:02 when you're eating tail-on shrimp and grits

05:04 is you get a bite of grits and then a bite of shrimp.

05:06 Let's do this.

05:07 Let's talk about everything that's going on here.

05:12 Those grits are perfectly cooked, cheesy, buttery, rich.

05:16 Truly such an incredible canvas for any dish,

05:19 and this shrimp might just be the most perfect thing.

05:21 Make sure you get bits of sauce

05:24 in every nook and cranny of those grits.

05:26 When you swoop your spoon in there,

05:27 make sure you're getting each swoop filled with sauce.

05:31 I would serve this with something acidic,

05:32 maybe some collard greens with some vinegar in it,

05:35 or a bright kale salad.

05:37 That could be really delicious

05:38 just to balance out a little bit.

05:39 And truly, what I love about shrimp and grits

05:41 is you can eat it any time of the day.

05:43 Bougie brunch, check.

05:45 Fancy dinner with your honey, check.

05:47 Out of the fridge leftovers at midnight, check.

05:52 Like literally, you can eat this whenever,

05:54 wherever you want.

05:55 This has got to be in my top five shrimp recipes.

05:59 So for more incredible seafood dishes,

06:02 stick around here on delish.com.

06:04 (gentle music)

06:06 (upbeat music)

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