I love grits. I like them in just about any form. And it’s not just the flavor and Southern breakfast tradition, it’s how versatile they are. Grits is a blank slate. (And “grits is” is proper grammar.)
In the past I’ve written about my Zen of Grits™, but my philosophy has changed just a bit since then. I still think that when served with a traditional breakfast of eggs and some sort of fried dead animal, the grits need to be right there on the plate, as if it belongs there, and not segregated in a side bowl.
However, I’ve been leaning more and more toward a bowl with a grits base and toppings. Sure, it can include the traditional breakfast items, but I’m going to mix everything together anyway. This just makes it easier.
I used to just do instant grits with a few additions. This works for camping and for very quick breakfasts, but it’s not really cost effective. I started experimenting with quick grits instead of instant, but I was still taking shortcuts.
I’ve been to several restaurants lately that have challenged my concept of grits. Tupelo Honey was the first by including black-eyed peas in their grits bowl, but I haven’t been back in ages. Now they only serve breakfast on weekends and don’t seem to have that dish. Biscuit Head has some of the best grits around. They put a dollop of pimento cheese in theirs, and it really adds to the flavor. I love the shrimp and grits bowl at Eggs Up Grill. In addition to shrimp and andouille sausage, they add Hollandaise sauce. I’ll add a bit of Tabasco to kick things up a bit.
The one thing all of these places have is super creamy grits, something I had yet to achieve with my endeavors. I’m sure they use some sort of curated specialty grits slow-cooked with heavy cream, but I just don’t have the energy for that. I think I’m getting close, though.
Here’s my new method of cooking grits at home…
- 1 cup of instant grits. I use Jim Dandy because it’s cheap
- 4 cups of water. Yep – 1:4 ratio. I was getting it so wrong before.
- 1 tsp salt. I use Himalayan pink
- 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 1 tsp Tajin powder
- 2 tbsp powdered milk
The powdered milk is a new twist. I add all this together in a pan and bring it to a bowl for five minutes, stirring occasionally to get rid of lumps. No microwave cheating like I used to do.
If I’m feeling especially inspired, I might throw in a splash of bourbon as the mixture is boiling. The addition of the powdered milk adds a creamier texture, and the Tajin gives it a salty, citrus kick.
I’m the only one in our household that eats grits, so this large of a pot is too much for one breakfast. I take what I don’t eat that morning and put it in the refrigerator. THEN I’ll break out the microwave for subsequent breakfasts until this batch is consumed.
I only cook bacon on rare occasions. I use the Real Bacon™ pieces from Publix, which are pretty good. However, lately I’ve gotten where I’ll cook up a whole batch of sausage and freeze what I don’t eat in individual serving packets. With the leftover grits, frozen sausage or bacon bits, I can put together a tasty breakfast quickly.
I have learned that a 2 minute microwaving for mediocre grits versus 5 minute boiling for decent grits is a false economy. Plus, I can do the leftovers more quickly.
In addition to bacon or sausage, I add butter and have gotten so that I like my homemade Hoppin’ John. I use black-eyed peas with diced tomatoes and green chilis. Hunts fire-roasted diced tomatoes work well, too. I’ve added pimento cheese and it’s great, but most often I just use pre-grated Mexican blend cheese. About the only time I add scrambled eggs is when I have a pan already heated up to do the sausage or if I’m cooking real bacon. I haven’t figured out how to do those quickly and save them for later.
One other topping I’ve come to love is crispy jalapeños. These add a nice bit of texture and punch to the bowl. I’ll add these as the penultimate ingredient, then top with the cheese. I’ll microwave for about a minute to melt the cheese.
So that’s my grits evolution. I haven’t tried making my own Hollandaise sauce, but if I even attempt shrimp and grits I’ll have to do that.