Cajun Shrimp and Grits - My New Favorite

My Honey got home from St. Marten on Friday, just in time for her Sat. birthday and all of us boys are really happy.  Her little boy (only child and now 53) sent her flowers and I'm making one of favorite meals tomorrow.

I’ve been desiring some grits and eggs for several days and we still had royal red shrimp in the freezer that needed to be used and I saw a recipe for Cajun Shrimp and Grits on DDD, so a plan was born.  Many years ago, a friend made shrimp and grits for us and I’ve had the dish in Charleston, SC and another couple of places and they were all delicious and they all included a sauce, unlike the DDD recipe which was just grilled shrimp over grits.

So I went to the web in search of a recipe and I found one on the “Cooks Well With Others” site that was simply tilted Cajun Shrimp And Grits.  It is described on the site as “Cajun Shrimp and Grits is a great recipe for creamy, cheesy grits with spicy shrimp and andouille sausage in a Cajun cream sauce” and it includes andouille, which I also had in the freezer.  I used this recipe for the shrimp.

I wanted to use the quick grits that I had on hand so I amended the recipe from “Trendgredient.”  for them.  I used the shrimp shells to make shrimp broth to use in place of the chicken broth.

Cheesy Quick Grits - Amended from Trendgredient

Ingredients:

1½ cups quick grits

3 cups whole milk

3 cups chicken shrimp stock

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. coarsely ground black pepper

2 tsp. garlic powder

8 oz. shredded cheddar

4 tbsp. butter unsalted

¼ cup white wine

Instructions:

1. Add the shrimp shells to a pan with 7-8 cups of water and simmer for an hour - the broth had a light shrimpy taste so I didn’t want it any stronger. 

2.Strain the broth - I used 3¾ cups for this meal and froze the remainder.

3. Assemble the ingredients for the cheesy grits.

4. In a 3 - 4 quart saucepan set over high heat, bring milk and shrimp broth to a boil.

5. Whisk in 5-minute quick grits.

6. Stir in salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook quick grits according to package instructions, about 5 minutes, until the grits have absorbed most of the liquid.

7. Remove pot from heat. With a spatula, stir in cheese, salted butter, and a splash (about ¼ cup) white wine.

8. Taste and adjust seasoning.  Serve immediately.

Cajun Shrimp and Sausage – Adapted from Cooks Well With Others

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. butter

1 lb jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined

1½ Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

1 lb andouille sausage diced

1 onion diced (1 cup)

1 red bell pepper diced (1 cup)

kosher salt, pepper

4 cloves garlic minced

1¼ cups heavy cream

1 tbsp. cornstarch (added by Larry)

1 tbsp cold water (added by Larry)

¾ cup chicken shrimp broth

½ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Optional: Tabasco sauce, lemon wedges to squeeze over top and parsley for garnish.

Instructions:

1. Season the shrimp on both sides with Cajun seasoning.

2. Set a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot add 1 Tbsp of the butter and shrimp and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side and remove the shrimp from the pan, set aside.

3. In the same skillet add the remaining Tbsp butter and diced andouille sausage. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until seared on all sides. Remove from skillet and set aside. I put it in the toaster oven on the warm setting.

Note: The sausage is already cooked, we just want some crispy, seared edges.  I almost burned it but it still tasted very good.

4. When the grits are about done, add the onions, red peppers, kosher salt, and pepper to the same skillet and cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.

5. Add the remaining tbsp. Cajun seasoning, heavy cream, and chicken broth. Reduce the heat and simmer 4 to 5 minutes.

6. Mix the cornstarch and water and add to the sauce (I wanted the sauce a little thicker)

7. Stir in the parmesan cheese and once melted, stir in the cooked shrimp and sausage.

8. Taste for seasoning and add more Cajun seasoning if needed, and more cream or both if you'd like a saucier sauce.

9. Stir in a few dashes of Tabasco sauce if using.

10. Serve the Cajun shrimp and sausage over the cheesy grits with lemon wedges on the side and garnish with parsley if desired. 

The Verdict:

I made this meal for Friday card night which included friends Joe and Russ and his daughter Cynthia – I found it interesting that Mississippi boy, Joe, had never heard of shrimp and grits. The meal was a big hit with everyone and it was as good as any shrimp and grits I’ve had go it will be the recipe for the future.  I also loved the grits and will use this recipe going forward as well - the quick grits worked just fine but next time I'll use whole kernel grits.

I came in fourth (last) at the 5 Crowns game and Joe won by a point with only seven points from top to bottom and no one over 100 – both very unusual.

For breakfast (the real reason I wanted to make grits), all I had to do was nuke the grits for two minutes before topping with a couple of  fried jumbo eggs for an awesome breakfast.

If you are a runny egg yolk person, you have to like this last pic with the eggs chopped up and everything mixed together.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/12-13/2024 meal dates