Grits: Southern Comfort Food

It’s said there are three basic food groups for Southerners: sugar, lard and bourbon. Of course, this leaves out the most important food group, the one no self-respecting Southerner would turn down: grits.

People From Away (anywhere north, east or west of the South) don’t always understand the attraction to the bland, mushy, white mound of cereal. They often liken grits to wet plaster or wallpaper paste. But most of these foreigners have eaten only diner grits, which often are unsalted and watery.

Properly cooked grits, seasoned with salt, a little butter and/or some grated cheese, are perhaps the quintessential comfort food. They are filling, cozy and simple. On top of that, if you leave out the butter and the cheese, they contain almost no fat. They’re high in carbohydrates and they’re really cheap to eat (about 5 cents per serving for nationally known brands). Their food value, widespread availability and low cost have made them a staple of regional diets for centuries.

In recent years, grits have been rediscovered by chefs and food writers who once considered them too humble to be of any culinary importance. Now chefs at innovative restaurants in the South recognize the value of grits to the region’s cuisine and have begun putting them on their menus.

Stone-ground or “speckled heart” grits are the current favorite. (Stone-ground grits compare to white grits much like whole-wheat flour does to white; white grits have the germ and the hull removed, and with them go much of the flavor and nutritive value.)

The standard preparation is to cook the grits in water and cream until they are luxuriously thick and creamy. Then you add butter, cheese or even garlic. The resulting dish is then served as a complement to highly seasoned and sauced seafood and meat dishes.

In Charleston, N.C., they are served in several of the city’s most popular upscale restaurants: Magnolia’s offers Skillet-Seared Yellow Grits With Tasso Gravy, Louis’ Charleston Grill serves smothered crawfish on fried grits, and The Old Post Office has a grits and fried chicken combination.

The renowned Crooks’s Corner in Chapel Hill, N.C., serves Shrimp and Grits, as concocted by the late chef/owner, Bill Neal. The New York Times’ Craig Claiborne (a native Mississippian) was so smitten with the dish that he published the recipe in his column. At Savannah’s Elizabeth on 37th, grits are served as an appetizer, fried with salmon and leeks; at Atlanta’s The Cafe at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, they are stuffed and rolled with spinach, onions and pancetta ; Birmingham’s Highland Bar & Grill bakes them with wild mushrooms, fresh thyme and country ham.

This newfound acceptance of grits has spawned the publication of two cookbooks in the past year: the “Good Old Grits Cookbook” by Bill Neal and David Perry (Workman) and more recently “Gone With the Grits” by Diane Pfeifer (Strawberry Patch Publishing).

The residents of St. George, S.C., don’t need the haute cuisine folks to tell them that grits are good. For the past seven years, they have paid tribute to their favorite food with the World Grits Festival. Fried fish and grits dinners are sold, there are competitions involving grits (like the grits-filled balloon toss), and samples of the winning dishes in the Martha White Grits Cook-Off are served up. And, of course, the Grits Queen is chosen. Festival organizers contend that more grits are sold in the Lowcountry of South Carolina than anywhere in the world, and no one has come forward to dispute their claim.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a Southerner to enjoy grits--and you certainly don’t have to be a chef to cook them. Your preparation can be as simple as a warm bowl of grits topped with the aforementioned butter and cheese, crumbled bacon or even maple syrup. Some Southerners like them with a slightly sweet, chunky tomato sauce or plain yellow mustard. They are even surprisingly good with a dollop of pesto.

But perhaps you still feel uncertain about whether you really want to eat that blob of paste sitting on your breakfast plate. Bill Neal and David Perry anticipated your concern--in their book they offer a step-by-step guide to enjoying grits. Listen up.

“Ya’ll got your forks? OK, now, cut into one of the eggs and let the yellow run toward the grits. Fork up some of those grits. Now get you a piece of sausage on the end. Drag the whole thing through that yellow egg juice. Eat it.

“Wudn’t that good? You got it now?”

BASIC GRITS

Cooking grits could not be simpler. Serve them with your favorite condiment, meat or gravy. Here are three recipes for preparing Basic Grits. Basic Grits can be added to other preparations, like Jalapeno Grits Casserole, or chilled for slicing and frying later.

* Quick Basic Grits:

Place 4 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt in saucepan. Bring to boil. Stir in 1 cup regular grits. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cook, covered, 5 to 20 minutes (while grits will be cooked in 5 minutes, they are much better after 20 minutes), stirring occasionally. Makes 6 servings.

* Stone-Ground Grits:

Place 1 cup grits in bowl. Cover with water and stir. Skim off chaff that rises to top. Stir and skim again. Drain well. Bring 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt to boil in saucepan. Stir in grits. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until grits are thick and creamy. If too thick, add either water, milk or whipping cream. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, if desired, and serve. Grits may be soaked overnight for quicker cooking in morning. Makes 6 servings.

* Overnight Method for Stone-Ground Grits:

Prepare and skim off chaff as above. Place grits, 3 3/4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt in slow cooker and turn on before going to bed. They’ll be ready when you wake up. Makes 6 servings.

This classic recipe has many variations, all of them delicious. Serve with vine-ripened tomatoes, crisp bacon, toast and preserves for a truly wonderful meal.

JALAPENO GRITS CASSEROLE

Basic Grits

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons minced, seeded jalapeno chile

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Generously butter deep 2-quart baking dish. Place Basic Grits in large bowl. Add cheese and cold butter and beat until smooth. Stir in beaten eggs and jalapeno peppers and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees until grits are set and top is lightly browned, about 35 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

This wonderful dish by chef Donald Barickman is served as an appetizer at Magnolia’s in Charleston, S.C.

SKILLET-SEARED YELLOW GRITS WITH TASSO GRAVY

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup butter

2 1/2 cups regular yellow grits

1 cup whipping cream

Salt

White pepper

Cornmeal

Vegetable or canola oil

Bring chicken broth and butter to boil in large saucepan and stir in grits. Return to boil and reduce heat, stirring to keep grits from scorching, and cook about 30 minutes, stirring frequently (add additional stock if grits get too thick). Add cream and cook another 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Line shallow pan with parchment or wax paper. After grits have cooled slightly (they should be thick mass, not runny), pour into pan and spread out about 1 inch thick. Chill until firm.

Cut into any desired shape and dust with cornmeal. Pour oil into heavy skillet to cover bottom to depth of 1/8 inch and heat over medium-high flame. Pan-fry cakes on both sides until crisp. Top cakes with Tasso Gravy. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Tasso Gravy

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1 quart cold chicken stock, extra-strength

3 ounces tasso (Cajun ham), diced

Melt butter in heavy-bottomed pan and add flour. Cook over very low heat 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until flour has nutty aroma. Slowly add cold chicken stock, stirring constantly with whisk. Increase heat to high and continue stirring until gravy comes to boil.

Whisk briskly to get all lumps out. Gravy should simmer 10 to 15 minutes to cook out any starchy flavor. Gravy can be made ahead to this point. Add tasso to gravy just before serving.

This recipe hails from the “Good Old Grits Cookbook” by Bill Neal and David Perry (Workman Publishing).

CHARLESTON SHRIMP AND GRITS

3 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 pounds small shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 tablespoons butter or bacon grease

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Basic Grits

Combine water and salt in medium saucepan and bring to boil. Add shrimp and cook 1 minute. Drain shrimp, reserving cooking liquid.

Heat butter in large, heavy skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat until translucent. Add flour and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter is absorbed and mixture begins to turn brown. Gradually whisk in reserved shrimp cooking liquid, stirring vigorously, until smooth.

When gravy thickens, add shrimp. Lower heat, cover and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Do not overcook. Season to taste with pepper. Serve over Basic Grits. Makes 4 servings.

This rich tropical pudding won Kalana Clark first prize in the desserts category of the 1992 World Grits Festival recipe contest. It’s great to take to a covered-dish dinner.

ALOHA GRITS

3 cups water

1 cup quick grits

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup orange juice

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup flaked coconut

4 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping

Bring water to boil in large saucepan. Stir in grits and salt and return to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add sugar, butter, orange juice, pineapple, coconut and eggs. Mix well. Pour into greased 2-quart baking dish. Set aside.

Sprinkle Topping evenly over grits mixture. Bake at 350 degrees until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Makes 8 servings.

Topping

1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts

Combine flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and ginger. Mix with fork or pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chopped macadamias.