Cheesy Shrimp and Grits
| Prep Time | Total Time | Servings |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Min | 30 Min | 6 |
INGREDIENTS
- 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 c. water
- Kosher salt
- 1 c. corn grits
- 4 tbsp. butter, divided
- 1 c. shredded cheddar
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp. paprika
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
DIRECTIONS
- In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth and water to a boil and season generously with salt. Reduce heat so mixture is at a simmer then whisk in grits. Simmer, stirring often, until grits have absorbed liquid and are very tender, 10 minutes. Stir in butter and cheese, then season with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy, about 8 minutes. Leave about 2 tablespoons bacon fat in skillet and drain bacon on a paper towel-lined plate before chopping into small pieces.
- Season shrimp with oregano and paprika then add shrimp, green onions, and garlic to skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until shrimp is pink and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.
- Serve shrimp over grits and top with chopped bacon.
NOTES
- The shrimp cooks in bacon fat.
Because shrimp cooks so quickly (only a couple minutes per side!), you can sauté it in bacon fat without a risk of burning. If you want to keep it vegetarian, cook the shrimp in butter instead.
- We use chicken broth + water to cook the grits.
Cooking grits (or rice or quinoa) in broth is an easy way to add flavor. To make sure that it's not too overpowering, we generally use a combo of equal parts water and chicken broth. If you want to use vegetable broth, go ahead. And if you want to skip the broth all together, just use 4 cups water.
- The grits are CHEESY.
All great grits have cheese. Ours has a ton of cheddar, which gets mixed in with butter at the very end. The grits will be so creamy, you can just skip the heavy cream all together.
- Lemon juice rounds it all out.
There's a lot of richness going on here. Bacon! Butter! Cheese! To cut all the fat, you need some acid. Enter: freshly squeezed lemon juice. It'll brighten your bowl up BIG TIME.
