Cajun Shrimp and Southwestern Grits

I can’t tell you how much I love the food in Texas.  I call my cooking style, Texan with a twist and kicked up a notch … or two.  One of the nice things is that I’m not limited to what I can prepare.  Texas has such phenomenal history with regards to immigrants from all over the world that almost anything can be called Texan.  However, the predominant flavors we see are often Southern, Cajun/Creole, Latin, and Southwestern (which in my mind includes Native American food stocks that you might see in New Mexico).  It’s not unusual to see additional Italian and French flavors incorporated into foods as well, as both societies are very largely represented in Texas history.

One of my favorite dishes was actually introduced to me by my sister.  She found a very traditional Shrimp and Grits recipe from South Carolina, I believe, and made it for us one Christmas.  I fell in love with the pungent, saltwater aroma of the shrimp paired with what was to me, breakfast food.  I’d had Gulf Shrimp most of my life prepared in one way or another, and grits were often served for breakfast, and still are in many places in the southern areas of Texas, usually with a large helping of butter and/or cheese.  Can’t go wrong there.  But never did I think to combine these two dishes, as apparently so many southerners had for many generations.  I truly had to make this my own.

One of my favorite ways to cook shrimp was to sauté it with butter and Cajun seasonings.  I thought to myself that this would go over my Southwest Grits nicely, and I’d just have to deglaze the sauté pan with a bit of stock to create a nice sauce to pour over it all.  After a time or two, it became a main dish in my repertoire.  Love this dish!

For the Grits:

So we’ll start of with the grits, as it is likely the most time consuming part, though it really doesn’t take much time at all.   You can use real, stoned ground yellow grits, medium ground polenta, or medium ground cornmeal.  Bob’s Red Mill has a fantastic stone ground cornmeal that I like to use.  Whatever you do, do not, under any circumstances, use quick grits.  I’ll come find you and take away your Texan, Southern, or Latino card and ban you from cooking for a week.

·          1 cup  grits, yellow - use stone ground, sub stone ground, medium grind corn meal

·         slices  bacon -- lardon or dice

·         ounce  minced garlic

·         ounce  minced shallot

·         ounce  roasted red bell pepper -- small dice

·         cups  chicken or shrimp stock

·         cup  whole milk

·         ¼ cup  heavy cream

·         ¼ cup  butter

·         taste  Salt and pepper (can also add 1 tsp of chili powder for flavor and color)

Method:

In a large sauce pot, sauté the bacon until almost done.  Remove the bacon and drain the bacon fat until only a couple of tablespoons are left in the pot.  Add garlic, shallot, and roasted red bell and sauté for 30 seconds or so.  Add stock and milk and bring to boil.  Whisk in grits and continue until liquid is incorporated and the grits/cornmeal are cooked.  Whisk in cream and butter, add the bacon back to the mix, then add salt and pepper to taste.  One thing to note.  The more fat (bacon fat, butter, cream) that you use, the more smooth the grits will turn out.  This only thing that this may affect (besides your fat and caloric intake) is the ability to form the grits into any meaningful shape.  Not a big issue with regards to eating, but somewhat frustrating when food styling or in a restaurant setting.

For the Shrimp:

This is, most likely, the easiest part.  I like to get some rather large shrimp, such as the 15-16 per pound, or even the U12 (under 12 per pound), fresh and whole.  When I shell them, I leave the tail and the last segment of shell on for looks.  You can remove them if you want.  I usually will devein wild shrimp, but if all I can get is farm-raised, I’ll usually not bother, as they are cleaned out by the time you get them.  I’ll explain in the comments if anyone really cares to ask.

·         Shrimp – get about ½ lb per person. 

·         1 strip bacon per person – diced or lardon

·         ½ oz mined garlic per person

·         ½ oz minced shallot per person

·         Cajun Seasoning – 1 tsp to 1 tbsp per person

·         ¼ cup Chicken Stock

·         1 or 2 pats of real butter

Method:

Cook the bacon lardons in a sauté pan until crisp.  Remove bacon and reserve.  Remove all but 1 tbsp of bacon fat in the sauté pan.  Over Med-High heat, cook the shrimp for about 30 seconds on one side.  Flip the shrimp and add the garlic, shallots, bacon, and Cajun Seasoning.  Sauté for about 30 more seconds or so, then add the chicken stock.  Cook until stock is almost cooked out (au sec), about 2 minutes or so.  Add the pats of butter and move the pan in a circular motion until the butter is incorporated.  

Immediately place the shrimp over the already plated grits, and then pour the sauce over everything.  You can garnish with chopped green onion.

For those of you who like to make your own seasonings, here is my recipe for Cajun seasoning.  It is my take on Chef Robert Barker’s recipe that he taught me over 12 years ago.  RIP Chef.  You were a good one.

·         1/3         cup  Kosher salt

·         2 2/3      tablespoons  Cayenne

·         2 2/3      tablespoons  paprika

·         2            tablespoons  Onion powder

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  black pepper

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  white pepper

·         1 2/3      tablespoons  garlic powder

·         2 2/3      tablespoons  dried thyme

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  chili powder

·         1/3         tablespoon  dried basil

·         1 1/3      tablespoons  dried oregano

Blend together in food processor.  Should make about ½ lb.  I usually make about 2 or 3 lbs and keep in my spice cabinet.  Goes with almost everything savory. 

Enjoy!