Shrimp and Grits

When I went to Charleston the best thing I had to eat was the Shrimp and Grits from Hominy Grill. You should have this if you get a chance, it was incredible. As you know I really like to cook so I am constantly on the lookout for new recipes to try and if I can recreate a meal at the house I am probably going to try it.

After some pretty clever google searching, OK that is a lie I just typed it in, I found a recipe that said it was from Hominy Grill so why not right. I will admit that I didn't do too much to change the recipe except to cut it down for a large single serving or a good meal for two. I didn't really need to make 8 cups of grits... seriously that would be gross. You can find the originals here for the Shrimp and here for the grits.

Shrimp and Grits

Shrimp
8 shrimp, thawed and peeled
1/2 Tbsp flour
2 slices of bacon diced
2 oz sliced mushrooms (about 6 button mushrooms)
1 garlic clove minced
1/8 tsp salt
1 Tbsp water (should have been lemon juice but I didn't have any)
6-8 drops of Louisiana Hot Sauce

1- Toss the shrimp in the flour. You should probably pat them dry first or they will have gooey flour all over them like mine did.
2- Cook the bacon in a skillet, you can leave yours as strips if you like and crumble it after but I find that dicing it before it a tad easier. Remove the bacon and leave the drippings
3- Sauté the mushrooms in the bacon fat about 4 minutes, add the shrimp and sauté until pink. Add the garlic for about a minute (don't let it brown). Add the lemon juice (or water), salt, and hot sauce.
4- Serve over Creamy Cheddar Cheese Grits

Cheddar Cheese Grits
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c instant grits
1 c + 1 Tbsp milk
1 c + 1 Tbsp water
7 drops Louisiana Hot Sauce
1 garlic clove pressed
2.5 oz sharp white cheddar grated

1- Bring 1/2 tbsp butter, milk, water, salt, hot sauce, and garlic to a boil. Add the grits and simmer for about 14 minutes until all of the water is absorbed.
2- Stir in the cheese and remaining butter.
3- Serve immediately.

Helpful hints
1- Start the grits first
2- This is not going to reheat well so I wouldn't have it for lunch again.
3- This is good with frozen shrimp but if you can get your hands on fresh ones it will be fabulous.
4- the original recipe does give instructions for traditional grits, I just didn't want to cook them for 90 minutes but you could.

I throughly enjoyed this, I am going to make sure that I have the lemon juice next time because it was missing a little acidity. I am looking forward to making this for my parents the next time I see them. It was wonderful. Let me know if you try it.