Y’all I make my Southern Shrimp and Grits a lil different. Most folks just make plain ole grits and depend on the shrimp to pull everything together. I love to build the flavor by cooking my grits in a homemade seafood stock. Then I make a shrimp gravy that I flavor with a ton of spices and veggies so you get that bomb texture too! Trust me when I tell ya, this recipe ain’t disappointing.
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Shrimp and Grits Ingredient Notes
- Stock & Grits Base: Shrimp shells, pancetta, green onions, and water to build it. You can also swap in chicken stock and leave this process out.
- Old-Fashioned Grits: Don’t grab instant grits.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted is fine.
- More Pancetta: Bacon is the usual go to but trust me with this swap. We elevate the savory flavor with some delish COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta.
- Onion, Celery, and Green Bell Pepper: The Holy Trinity of Southern cooking.
- Creole Seasoning: I grab no-salt since we have salt in the recipe. Old Bay also works.
- Large Shrimp: Deveined and peeled. Don’t forget to save the peels for the stock.
How to make shrimp and grits
Step 1: To make the stock, combine shrimp shells, pancetta, and green onions with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
Step 2: Strain the stock into a heat-safe container. Make sure you press on all the solids to get as much liquid out as possible. Discard the remaining solids. Reserve some of your stock for your shrimp sauce. You will use the rest for the grits.
Step 3: Bring 4 cups of the stock to a boil. Whisk in grits, 1 tablespoons of butter, salt and pepper. Whisk consistently for the first 30 seconds. Once it comes back to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Grits will thicken up as they cool.
Step 4: In a large nonstick skillet, add COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta and cook over medium heat until lightly crispy and fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons cooked pancetta. Add butter to the skillet. Once melted, add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook until the veggies are softened, about 6-7 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
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Step 5: Whisk in flour and Creole seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Whisk as you slowly pour in 1 ½ cups stock. Let mixture simmer vigorously, continuing to whisk as it thickens.
Step 6: Stir in shrimp and tomatoes plus a little salt. Cook until the shrimp go from translucent to opaque, about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. Simmer until mixture continues to thicken, about 2-3 minutes. Serve over grits with green onion and reserved pancetta if you desire.
Shrimp and grits
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Stock and Grits
- shells from 1 pound of large shrimp*
- 2 tbsp COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta
- 3 green onions white parts only, but reserve green parts for garnish
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup old-fashioned grits
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter divided
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
For the Shrimp
- 3 oz COLUMBUS® Craft Meats pancetta
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 small onion diced small, about 3/4 cup
- 1/2 cup celery ribs diced small, about 2 ribs
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper diced small, about 1/2 a green bell pepper
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp no-salt Creole seasoning
- 1 1/2 cup reserved stock
- 1 lb large deveined EZ-peel shrimp*
- 1 small Roma tomato diced
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- reserved dark green parts of green onions sliced thinly
Instructions
For the Stock and Grits
- To make a flavorful stock for grits, combine shrimp shells, pancetta, and green onions along with water in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, then simmer for 15 minutes.
- Strain stock into heat-safe container, pressing on all the solids to get as much water out as possible. Discard solids.
- Reserve 1 ½ cups stock for shrimp. Set aside.
- In the same saucepan, bring 4 cups stock to a boil. Whisk in grits, 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper. Whisk consistently for the first 30 seconds. Once it comes back to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 12 minutes, whisking occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Grits will thicken up as they cool.
For the Shrimp
- In a large nonstick skillet, add pancetta and cook over medium heat until lightly crispy and fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Set aside 2 tablespoons cooked pancetta.
- Add butter to skillet and once melted, add onion, celery, and bell pepper. Cook until vegetables are softened and just beginning to get color around the edges, about 6-7 minutes. Add in garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Whisk in flour and Creole seasoning and cook for 1 minute. Whisk as you slowly pour in 1 ½ cups stock. Let mixture simmer vigorously, continuing to whisk as it thickens.
- Stir in shrimp and tomatoes, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook until shrimp go from translucent to opaque, about 4 minutes, flipping halfway through. Simmer until mixture continues to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately over grits. Garnish with dark parts of green onions and reserved pancetta.
Notes
How to store & reheat grits and shrimp
I like to store the leftovers separately in airtight containers in the fridge. You can also add to freezer bags if you want. When you want to reheat, add the grits to a small pot and add some additional milk or broth to loosen them and return them to a creamy texture. For the shrimp sauce, you gotta heat on low heat so they don’t overcook.How long will shrimp and grits last in the fridge?
They will last in the fridge for up to 3 days.Can I freeze grits and shrimp?
Boos you can but I don’t recommend it. The freezing and reheating of the shrimp can make them super rubbery. The grit texture will also change.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Go Quality: Go with the good high-quality shrimp boos. They will taste so juicy and flavorful if you do.
- Don’t Skip The Homemade Stock: We add the homemade shrimp stock to this recipe because it makes the flavors pop even more in those grits and the gravy.
- Don’t Overcook: Shrimp cooks quickly y’all. You wanna cook them until they just turn pink and opaque. If you overcook them, they will taste super tough and rubbery.
- Taste and Adjust: I keep the sodium down because I want you to flavor both the grits and the shrimp sauce to your liking and preference. Do you boo!
- Serve Immediately: You wanna serve the shrimp while hot and tender and not overcooked. And you wanna serve those grits when they are nice and creamy before they get too thick in texture.
Recipe Help
Absolutely boos. Just make sure they are completely thawed and dried before you use them.
Ahh you probably didn’t whisk the grits into the liquid continuously. You can help make them smooth and creamy by whisking them up and adding more liquid if you need to.
You can easily thin them out by whisking in more liquid.
Shrimp and grits are best enjoyed as soon as you make them boos. However if you need to make ahead, you can reheat both separately over low heat. Just be careful not to overcook the shrimp making them tough.
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It looks delicious.
Thank you, doll! You’ll have to let me know what you think after you make it!
AWESOME
Thanks, boo!
There’s no water amount listed for the stock.
6 cups of water added to make the stock. Let us know if you have any other questions at all. Happy to help.