This is a Charleston, South Carolina recipe. It is a combination of all the best recipes I have seen, and similar to a dish that is served in a popular Downtown Charleston restaurant.
I tested this recipe before serving it to my supper club. For the big night I used a stick of butter instead of a tablespoon and as always, I cooked the shrimp separately. It's easy to over cook shrimp if you throw it into the pot with everything else and rubbery shrimp is nasty! I saute it with butter, onion, and black pepper for 3 minutes and add it to the recipe just before serving. It was a big hit at supper club, everybody wanted the recipe.
Read More This is not an authentic Charleston recipe. The gravy in real shrimp & grits is always flavored by bacon, or at least some other type of pork. It's a rich, deep, brown, and absolutely delicious gravy served over white grits, not the yellow stuff. I was born and raised in Charleston, and frequent the places that the locals do regularly, and this doesn't really bring out the flavor of how this dish usually is prepared.
Read More This is not an authentic Charleston recipe. The gravy in real shrimp & grits is always flavored by bacon, or at least some other type of pork. It's a rich, deep, brown, and absolutely delicious gravy served over white grits, not the yellow stuff. I was born and raised in Charleston, and frequent the places that the locals do regularly, and this doesn't really bring out the flavor of how this dish usually is prepared.
I tested this recipe before serving it to my supper club. For the big night I used a stick of butter instead of a tablespoon and as always, I cooked the shrimp separately. It's easy to over cook shrimp if you throw it into the pot with everything else and rubbery shrimp is nasty! I saute it with butter, onion, and black pepper for 3 minutes and add it to the recipe just before serving. It was a big hit at supper club, everybody wanted the recipe.
Wow...with a little tweeking this was excellent! I added 2 tablespoons of bacon grease,2 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 15oz jar of Monteryjack salsa con queso,also used evaporated milk inplace of just plain milk....tasted ALOT like the shrimp and grits at Poogan's Porch in Charleston,SC....excellent! Thanks for posting this recipe!
While this is an ok variation on Shrimp-n-Grits, its not really a Charleston recipe. As with other commenters, true blue Charlestonians use bacon for the smoke flavoring which is fried and removed from the pan (my family and most folks we knew used "butts meat," kind of a meatier smoked salt pork, while non-pork eaters might use some other smoked meat sauteed in vegetable oil; floured and seasoned shrimp is lightly fried/sauteed in the remaining oil, then removed to drain on paper towels; a little yellow or Vidalia onion is sauteed in the same oil; a roux is made from some of the remaining oil with flour; a nice light brown gravy is made from the roux and seasoned with salt and pepper; add the shrimp to the gravy and simmer a couple of minutes. Serve over creamy hominy grits with a little of the smoked meat on the side. That's Charleston! A big problem I've had with grits in some of the "local" Charleston restaurants -- the chefs are usually from somewhere other than the South, and the grits are bland and undercooked.
Im from/live charleston as well,and I agree with everyone about adding the bacon. Also, there's a little spot Downtown that adds Tasso Ham, Sausage, and Cheddar Cheese all topped off with Tasso gravy! It's a truly southern way of eatin'!
I tweaked this as well - I added one slice of bacon (browned with the grease) along with 1/2 stick butter and 1/4 c. olive oil. I didn't have stone ground grits, so I used Old Fashioned white hominy grits with 1 % milk. The results were delicious!!! I'm definitely adding this one to my regular recipe file.
NEEDS MORE FLAVOR. I REALLY LIKE THE CHARLESTON SHRIMP N GRAVY RECIPE BY ALRAYNA.IT'S SERVED OVER GRITS AND THE SAUCE IT WONDERFUL. IT'S ON THE BLAND SIDE.
Suggestion..Make the grits the night before, pour into a greased square pan and allow to ''set', then cut into grit 'cakes' which you can heat in a hot skilllet. Pour the creamy shrimp mixture over the cakes and stand back!
Okay, I admit it's not traditional. But I don't eat pork, but I have always LOVED the idea of shrimp'n'grits. I've tweaked alot of recipes, and you could really tell something was missing...maybe it's the yellow corn instead of hominy but this WORKS BETTER. Still could use a lil' something though next time I'm gonna try switching the olive oil for some butter.
I have tried several shrimp and grits recipes and i have enjoyed this one the best. Putting the shrimp in with the grits is a lot better than ladling it on top by a bunch. I don't care if this does not make it authentic it is a lot better. I cook this recipe for friends at work and I have been asked what my secret was to make this so good.
OK recipe... Not a true Low Country recipe... No Old Bay anywhere in it. No Hillshire Farms smoked sausage. Extra virgin olive oil...really... It's like, other than that Ms Lincoln, how did you like the play. Jack's Ole South
Best shrimp and grits I have ever had. I did follow the recipe but added rosemary, garlic, and processed cheese to mine. I am from the south as well but in Alabama we cheese up our grits. We ate twice off this recipe which would be satisfying to a family of 4, possibly a family of 5.
for an added twist add 1/2 cup of grated habinero jack cheese. go ahead add a little kick to your evening.
A bit bland for Rural Louisiana. I added more butter, garlic, crab boil, bay leaves, cream cheese, grated cheese, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste.
I cooked this recipe for one...I added a little basil pesto to mine, gave it a little extra flavor. I sautéed the shrimp added to the grits before serving so they would be overcooked.
Excellent, quick and simple recipe just as it is. I did add about 1/8 tsp of red pepper and 1/8 tsp of paprika and about 3/4 cup of gratd sharp cheddar cheese. I followed the rest of the recipe. we did only used a precooked 12 oz. package of shrimp. So it was added with the onions for a couple of minutes to heat it. The results were extremely good. I embellished the shrimp and grits for serving with thawed spinach for garnish...I had nothing else! The whole meal was fantastic and we ate the entire menu of food, so I guess that makes a keeper!
Suggestion..Make the grits the night before, pour into a greased square pan and allow to ''set', then cut into grit 'cakes' which you can heat in a hot skilllet. Pour the creamy shrimp mixture over the cakes and stand back!
I used finely chopped fresh garlic instead of onions and crumbled beef bacon on top.
Not much flavor. Grits were not creamy enough. Shrimp were over cooked...
I'm sure it's delicious in its own right but not Charleston. Where is the tasso gravy and why are the shrimp mixed in with the grits? The grits should be topped with shrimp and tasso gravy.
Loved this recipe. It was lower calorie than most of the recipes I found and it was easy to make. We did add garlic to the olive oil and onion and a couple sprinkles of cayenne pepper. It was delicious and easy to make!
