Grits. Grrrrrrrr!

[geekdoc]

Sadly it appears that few folks outside of the deep South (and lately few Southerners as well) have ever tasted "real" grits, which accounts for the accusation of tastelessness.

Pretty much anything one buys at the supermarket has not only been processed to death but also is fairly old, and corn, like spices loses its flavor over time.

I get my grits from John Martin Taylor in Charleston SC. (see link:http://www.hoppinjohns.com/cgi-bin/screenbld.asp?Request=JohnsProducts&CN=20040307224243066056187117)

These are freshly ground and packaged in sealed bags. I keep them in the freezer unless I am going to use them up in a few weeks.

Because of their coarse nature, they take at least 30 minutes to cook. After they are softened in the lightly salted water, I begin reductions with heavy cream, adding enough to give them a creamed corn consistency (and flavor).

Just before they go to the table I stir in some fresh butter and have the pepper mill handy. Parmesan makes a nice addition as well, if appropriate.

Just like coffee, the water used makes a huge difference in their taste. My mother swears that "beach water" grits (tap water loaded with minerals ad a bit of sulfur taste which we still have in some area not supplied by the city) makes the best grits. If there is any significant chlorine in the supply, use bottled or highly filtered water.

We eat these as often as pasta or rice for dinner (my kids LOVE them). My absolute favorite dish from my childhood was smothered doves (olive branch optional ;-) served with their gravy over grits for dinner. How about pan seared rockfish (striped bass) on top? Or with a side of wild pork/venison sausage for breakfast? Can you tell my family was in to hunting and fishing?

Give John Martin Taylor a call and he'll hook you up. Tell him Henry Dorn sent you. Ya'll come back now, y'hear!

PS Check out his fantastic cookbooks and other procucts as well. He is THE authority on Lowcountry cuisine.

[Mayhaw Man]

My absolute favorite dish from my childhood was smothered doves (olive branch optional ;-) served with their gravy over grits for dinner.

That dish, to those of you that have never had the pleasure, is one of the sublime dining pleasures in all of true Southern Dining. Unbelievably good.

If there is a dish that I can literally smell and taste just by reading about it, this is it. I became instantly hungry and, in fact, I do have some doves in the freezer. Not many, but just enough to sate me on my Tuesday a.m. off when no one is at home but me (the only quiet in my week lately).

Thanks geekdoc. You have made my night.

[geekdoc]

Good man. I agree with you - it like Marcel Proust with me and the doves, grits and gravy. With some sauteed winter greens on the side, oh man.

We freeze the birds (quail are just as good) in water in milk cartons for post hunting season enjoyment.

Growing up I assume all hamburger outside of MacDonalds was ground venison. Who knew?

[geekdoc]

Hey Mahaw

How about some mudbug tails étouffée on top as well? Or cut up any cold leftover grits into fingers and fry them up with some fresh fish (preferably bream or crappie). Oh man, gotta cook!

[geekdoc]

slip of the mouse

Edited March 8, 2004 by geekdoc (log)

[Susan in FL]

Geekdoc, welcome to eG! Your posts have me almost drooling on the keyboard, and have me wanting to try some higher quality grits than what I've used so far.

My ex sister-in-law used to make a mean dove pot pie... yum.

[stevea]

geekdoc, I wholeheartedly agree about the grits from Hoppin John. Living on the west coast, it's impossible to find grits like this in stores here. They are an absolute revelation, even when made just with water and a little cheese.

[bbq4meanytime]

I love grits, but when I cook them, with all respect to my southern friends, I don't cook them like they do "at home."

For savory grits, use chicken stock as your liquid. I've tried all sorts of cheeses, cheddar, blues, parmesean, goat and they all add a different cheesey profile to the grits. Parmesean is a good cheese to experiment with. Butter is a must, but I find cream (heavy) optional. The cream will smooth out the grits, if you want stiffer grits, leave out the cream.

Fresh herbs, sundried tomatoes, roasted peppers, roasted garlic all make for nice additions (independently, of course).

Grits are pretty forgiving. Don't forget the salt & pepper.

Some additional sources for the real deal:

• Adams Milling Co., Dothan, Ala. 800-239-4233. Old-fashioned whole heart white and yellow grits. $2.08 for 2 pounds, plus shipping.

• Anson Mills, Columbia and Charleston, S.C. www.ansonmills.com or 803-467-4122. White and yellow quick and Antebellum Style coarse grits. $3.95 for 12 ounces, plus shipping.

• Falls Mill, Belvedere, Tenn. www.fallsmill.com or 931-469-7161. White corn grits. $3 for 2 pounds, plus shipping.

• Lakeside Mills, Spindale, N.C. www.lakesidemills.com or 828-286-4866. Country-style white enriched grits. $2.75 for 2 pounds, plus shipping.

• Nora Mill Granary, Helen, Ga., www.noramill.com or 800-927-2375. ''Georgia ice cream'' white speckled grits or ''Dixie ice cream'' yellow speckled grits. $2.45 for 1 pound, plus shipping.

• The Old Mill of Guilford, Oak Ridge, N.C., www.oldmillofguilford.com or 336-643-4783. White or yellow grits. $1.50 for 2 pounds, plus shipping.

Edited March 8, 2004 by bbq4meanytime (log)

[maggiethecat]

I love eGullet, and eGulls. (Welcome, geekdoc!) Thank you all so much for the benefits of your expertise -- and your sources. No surprise, I guess, that like any blank carby canvas grits benefit from excess. Cream, cream cheese, stock, infusions. Yum. And thank you phlawless; I don't think I really knew about yellow grits.

I'll instruct WillowtheCat to bag me a couple of doves. Maybe not for awhile though; it's going to be a tough enough sell getting grits to the table a second time this week! But persevere I will.

[geekdoc]

I would add that the same sources above can usually supply stone ground corn meal and corn flour which are de rigeur for proper frying of fish etc in the low country. Makes a very crispy crust c/w wheat flour.

[arjay]

As mr. Varmint says, grits are not meant to be a centerpiece of a meal. Their purpose is to complement the elements of a meal, especially breakfast. As a bed for sausage or redeye gravy, they are unbeatable. In this role, no embellishments are needed.

If you want a stand-alone side dish, check epicurious.com for creamy grits.

[Lady T]

Most of the time I do grits just so I can make fried mush with butter and syrup the next morning.

These suggestions help a lot, though.

[maggiethecat]

But some strange happy convergence of the planets, this topic reappeared today. Happy because my mailbox contained a package of yellow grits from a buddy in the Southeast Forum. (Thanks, Dave!)

I think I have some shrimp in my freezer; I think I know what I'm cooking for dinner.

[maggiethecat]

The scales have fallen from my eyes. I have seen the light.

I cooked up the above coarse ground yellow grits in chicken stock, not water. Yes, lashings of cream, butter, cheese, pepper, cream, butter. The nice coarse grind and all the additions made it the best polenta I've ever had in my life -- I say polenta, because nowhere was hominy mentioned on the label.

Then I made my first ever Emeril sauce ("Spicy Tomato", from NNOL and coddled a bunch of my first brined shrimp therein. Served the shrimp on a corny snowdrift of grits. (Polenta?)

Amazing.

Coarse ground yellow grits rule. So does Emeril. I love it when I'm wrong.

[Susan in FL]

Way to go, Maggie. Sounds wonderful!

Back in the pre-Florida days, when we had to use farmed shrimp that had been frozen, we brined them and it helped. Now, I'm spoiled by using fresh local shrimp... and loving it!

Grits and shrimp is good food.

[Dave the Cook]

We're all thrilled to have another member of the congregation, Lily.

One pointer: if you're really an Emeril (not to mention a Shrimp 'n' Grits) convert, you need to know the proper pronunciation for the plural form. Not shrimp, not even shrimps, but s'rimps.

Because Emeril is overexposed, he's often underrated. But anyone who's cooked from NNOC knows that book rocks, and so does he.

[maggiethecat]

Nice piece in today's New Tork Times food section about Glenn Roberts and Anson grits. This guy not only stone grinds the stuff, but he's tracked down all but extinct antebellum strains of corn and raises them himself. Trotter, Keller et al keep them on their menus. I'm going to empty the piggybank to order some; does anyone have first-hand knowledge of Anson grits?

[fifi]

If you are a fan of Emeril's NNOC, check out Louisiana Real and Rustic. He has three recipes for grits in that one, Andouille Cheese, Baked Cheese, and Veal Sausage with Creamy Grits. I have done the Andouille Cheese and it is to die for. Now I have to get me some of those mail order grits.

[maggiethecat]

I donated my body to science last weekend in New Orleans. I ate grits four times in two days, the better to enlarge my knowledge of grits.

Breakfast at The Coffee Pot, a combo of cholesterol, lipids, carbs and deep fried. My toes curl in delight restropectively: Some kind of Eggs Benedict with a garnish of fried oysters, biscuit filched from my companion. Of course I ordered the grits, and they were exactly what I originally disliked about grits: thin pale gruel in a white bowl. I spooned them into the spicy Hollandaise and soldiered on. They weren't too bad, what with the sauce, Tabasco and four little packages of butter.

That night at Herbsaint I ate a shrimp app served over crispy grits pillows. Absolutely wonderful, but the grits weren't the star.

At brunch at Mr. B's Bistro the next day they got second billing to the Grillades, but they almost stole the show. A soft, steamy slightly gritty golden sea lapping at the shore of the saucy grillades. I seem to remember beating my fork against the rim of the plate and bouncing in my seat.

Sunday night we had the Thomas Jefferson Louisiana Purchase dinner at Upperline. I have to go way back in my brain to remember the last restaurant meal I've enjoyed so much -- maybe to dinner at Le Baccara at Le Casino de Hull a few years ago. This meal deserves an entire post to itself, so I'll cut to the nitty-gritty. (Forgive me.) The third course was Cane River Country Shrimp , sauteed with mushroom, bacon and garlic over crispy grits. I almost wept, it was so good and the grits really were crispy! I cooked Grillades and Grits last night, a triumph if I do say so myself, but I couldn't get the lunchtime leftovers sizzled to that level of crispiness.

(Oops! On reading upthread I see that I consistently misprounounced s'rimps. Well, no one was about to mistake me for a native anyway -- I looked pale, northern and, to put it politely, glowing. God, and I thought Chicago got humid. Do not even ask about my hair.)

[tanabutler]

A soft, steamy slightly gritty golden sea lapping at the shore of the saucy grillades. I seem to remember beating my fork against the rim of the plate and bouncing in my seat.

I love it.

[foodie52]

Maggie: check out the Louisiana forum: there's a thread devoted to Upperline restaurant.

I was there a few weeks ago and had the Jefferson menu as well. I agree with you that it was simply one of the most delightful meals I have ever had.

Did you get to meet JoAnn, the owner? Or the chef? Both are wonderful.

[rhiannonstone]

This is foodlore rather than food science, but I was always taught that if you don't salt the water thoroughly before adding the grits, you will never get them seasoned right. I also start with a generous pat of butter in the salted water, and add more at the very end (well, just before I add my cheddar). Other than that, all I add is more salt, pepper (LOTS of pepper!), and a pinch of garlic powder. Sometimes I will add paprika, but not usually. These are the grits I grew up on and eat at least once every weekend.

Other cooks I know use stock or 2:1 water:milk (or cream) to cook their grits in, or simmer garlic cloves (which they remove before adding the grits) in the cooking liquid.

[Malawry]

That's funny. I usually use Damon Lee Fowler's technique and he swears the key to grits is to avoid seasoning them until the last few minutes of cooking. This flies in the face of common culinary wisdom (which clearly sides with Rhiannonstone), and I don't know if it makes a big difference, but my seasoning-come-lately grits usually taste pretty good. (Maybe that's just the butter, cream and chicken stock talking!)

[Mayhaw Man]

I had grits tonight, with smothered skirt steak. Cooked them in pork stock. Delicious.

[Gifted Gourmet]

TRUE GRIT

The Ten Commandments of Grits

  1.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits

  2.Thou shalt not eat thy Grits with a spoon

  3.Thou shalt not eat Cream of Wheat and call it Grits for this is blasphemy

  4.Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors Grits

  5.Thou shalt only use Salt, Butter and Cheese as toppings for thy Grits

  6.Thou shalt not eat Instant Grits!

  7.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits

  8.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits

  9.Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits

  10.Thou shalt not put sugar on thy Grits either

the source of all things gritty