Garlic Parmesan Shrimp & Grits
I am gonna go ahead and say it.
These may be the best grits you will ever make in your life.
I know that’s a bold statement, and I hate when people make statements like that about every dish they make. Like how in the world is this THE BEST Avocado toast? It’s avocado + toast… it can’t get more complicated than that.
But baby, these grits. These grits are receipts. The proof IS the grits. Try them, critique them. Let me know.
But again, these may be the best grits that you ever make in your life.
I love grits. Always have, always will. It’s a dish that I have grown up with my entire life. Similar to how people grew up on oatmeal or cream of wheat? Grits IS that for me. Thick grits, with a little butter and sugar (cause I’m definitely #TeamSugar) and I am one happy girl.
The best part of cooking with grits is the subtleness it offers while still holding the weight to sustain a dish through the meal. Originally known to be a poor man’s dish, something that got families through tough times, grits have really taken up space in the culinary world as an authority. As it stands today, I would imagine it’s probably on a majority of breakfast and brunch menus, no longer a side that people are just kind of haphazardly thinking about. People are putting the due intention behind grits, elevating it to a level of luxury, while still letting it’s humbleness peak through.
Similar to rice, you can pair so many flavor profiles with grits, which makes it the perfect staple to have in your house. Salty, cheesy, savory, sweet. It doesn’t matter. Grits is like that accessory that no matter what you wear, it will always looks good. Timeless, consistent, and reliable and that’s exactly what they are in this dish.
And though I could go on and on about grits, the real secret to this meal is the sauce.
This sauce makes no apologies.
It’s in your face. It’s the FIRST thing you notice and the last thing on your mind when you’re done. A simple sauce made with pan drippings (also known as fond), shallots and garlic, chicken broth, butter, and heavy cream, seasoned with salt and pepper, dill, and green onion is complex enough to bring an intense level of flavor while still allowing the flavor of the grits to come through and the sweetness of the shrimp to shine well. The sauce is the vehicle that carries this dish.
And chile, it carries it well.
You would think the shrimp would be the star of this show. When I first started developing this recipe, I thought I knew for sure that the shrimp would sing loudest. I took intentional time to find the best shrimp in my city and minimally seasoned it so that I wouldn't overpower the delicate flesh. But no, the sauce took over like an obnoxious teenager that doesn’t get enough attention at home, so it’s demanding your full focus now. It’s not until a little while later that you realize there are other things happening in this dish.
Like the crispness of the bacon that adds a little crunch.
The freshness that the dill brings to brighten the entire dish up.
The subtleness of the grits screaming for you to notice the chicken broth, butter, and cream soaked inside.
And your stomach, asking for more, but knowing you shouldn’t.
Please note that these ratios are not for instant grits. If using quick or instant grits, please follow package directions and where it says to use water, replace with chicken broth.
Ingredients
SHRIMP
1 lb of Shrimp. The smaller the shrimp, the more you'll get in a pound.
Old bay seasoning to taste
GRITS:
1 cup of corn grits. I used Southern-style white grits. Yellow grits would be perfectly fine.
2 cups of Chicken Broth
2 cups of Heavy Cream (can be substituted for half & half or regular milk)
2 TBSP of butter
SAUCE:
1 TBSP of cooking oil (IE: olive oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil, etc.)
3 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 shallot - chopped
1-2 teaspoons of flour (seperated, you may want sauce a bit thicker)
1 cup of Chicken broth
1 cup of Heavy Cream
2 TBSP of Butter
1 TBSP of Green onions
1 TBSP of Fresh dill
1/4 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano (fresh grated, if you can avoid it at all, please don't buy the pre-grated cheese that comes in that little green tub. Nothing wrong with it, just not for THIS recipe).
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional: 2 -3 strips of thick cut bacon.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with 2-3 strips of bacon and cook according to package directions.
To a pot, add 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of heavy cream and bring to a boil.
Add 1 cup of grits to pot and stir to avoid grits from sticking to the bottom.
While grits cook, to a skillet, add about 1 tbsp of cooking oil (whatever your preference). To the oil, add a few sprinkles of crushed red pepper flakes (around 1/4 teaspoon). Add more if you prefer more heat. Cook for about 1 minute.
Season shrimp with old bay and add to skillet. Cook until pink on both sides. Usually around 2-3 minutes per side. (Shrimp cook fast so don’t step away). Add butter WHILE shrimp is cooking, and pull shrimp about a minute before finish (shrimp will finish cooking in the sauce at the end).
In the same skillet, add chopped garlic and shallots. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add flour to pan and cook out the raw flour taste (about 1 minute).
Deglaze pan by adding 1 cup of chicken broth and scraping the bottom to release all the fond (pan drippings). - 1 minute.
Add 1 tbsp of butter to both grits and sauce. Let melt and stir in both.
Continue to check on your grits and stir throughout cooking this meal. The LAST thing you want is grits sticking to the bottom of the pan or worse, burning.
After butter has melted in sauce, add 1 cup of heavy cream. Stir together. At this point, your sauce should be getting thick. If you would prefer it thicker, add a little flour at a time. A little goes a long way, so be sure to stir the flour completely in before adding more.
Grate parmesan cheese into sauce in batches so that it melts INTO the sauce. You don’t want clumpy cheese. Add as much or as little cheese as you want.
At this point, your grits and bacon should be done. Remove grits from heat and crumble bacon.
Add dill, green onions and shrimp into the sauce and let cook for about 1 minute.
Assemble dish by adding grits to a bowl, topped with shrimp and sauce, finish off with crumbled bacon, grated cheese and herbs for presentation.
Enjoy & get your life.