Ana

Ana is a Southern stay-at-home mom of three who bakes the way most people breathe — constantly, naturally, without making a fuss about it. She shows up at new neighbors’ doors with a tin of cookies before the boxes are even unpacked, and she has never once come home from a potluck with anything left in her dish. She Brings Food is where she puts the recipes her family counts on and her neighbors keep asking for.

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Southern Shrimp and Grits

by Ana | Main Dishes, Seafood, Southern

I made this for a dinner party and three people asked where I trained. I said my own kitchen. They still didn’t believe me. Southern Shrimp and Grits looks like restaurant fare. It tastes like someone who went to culinary school made it. It takes 30 minutes from a home kitchen with no special equipment. That gap between how this dish presents and how hard it is to make is one of my favorite things about cooking it.

Creamy stone-ground grits, sautéed shrimp in savory sauce. Under 30 minutes. Looks fancy, eats humble, satisfies completely. This is the Southern coastal dinner that I make for dinner parties when I want to impress without laboring over the stove all day.

If you’ve only had instant grits, real stone-ground grits cooked low and slow in broth and finished with butter and cheese are a completely different experience. The whole dish rides on the grits, and the grits are worth doing right.

This one has a reputation on my street. Three people have asked where I trained since I started making it. I keep telling them: my kitchen.

Why This Recipe Works

Stone-ground grits, cooked slowly in broth, are entirely different from quick-cooking instant grits. The stone-ground variety has more texture, more corn flavor, and a creaminess that comes from the starch being released gradually rather than pre-processed. They take 25 to 30 minutes. Every minute is worth it. Cook them while the shrimp sauce comes together.

The shrimp sauce is built in the same pan as the sautéed shrimp, using the fond left behind. This technique means all the flavor from the seared shrimp goes into the sauce rather than being left in the pan. Deglaze with white wine or chicken broth, build the sauce around the shrimp drippings, and the result is deeply savory with almost no extra effort.

Andouille sausage or bacon adds the smokiness that elevates this from shrimp in butter sauce to shrimp and grits. The rendered fat from the sausage is what the shrimp sauce is built in. Don’t skip the sausage if the dish is supposed to taste like Southern shrimp and grits.

Ingredients

Stone-Ground Grits

1 cup stone-ground grits
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
4 tbsp unsalted butter
¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar
Salt to taste

Shrimp Sauce

1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 oz andouille sausage, sliced (or 4 strips bacon, diced)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
½ cup chicken broth or white wine
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 green onions, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch cayenne

How to Make It

1 Start the Grits

Bring broth and water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Slowly whisk in grits. Reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring every few minutes, 25 to 30 minutes until thick and creamy. Stir in butter and cheese. Season with salt. Keep warm on low heat, stirring occasionally.

2 Cook Sausage

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook andouille sausage until browned and fat is rendered. Remove sausage and set aside, leaving rendered fat in the pan.

3 Sear the Shrimp

Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and cayenne. In the skillet with the sausage fat over high heat, sear shrimp 1 minute per side until pink and just cooked through. Remove and set aside. Don’t overcook — overcooked shrimp is rubbery and that’s not recoverable.

4 Build the Sauce

In the same pan over medium heat, sauté shallot and garlic 1 minute. Deglaze with broth or wine, scraping up all the browned bits. Cook 2 minutes until slightly reduced. Swirl in butter and lemon juice. Return shrimp and sausage to the pan and toss to coat.

5 Serve

Spoon creamy grits into bowls. Top generously with the shrimp and sauce. Garnish with green onions. Serve immediately. This is a dish that waits for no one.

Things I’ve Learned From Making This Too Many Times to Count

Stone-ground grits only. Quick grits are not the same dish. Stone-ground grits cooked in broth are rich, creamy, and deeply flavored. The 25 minutes of stirring is what makes this dinner look like it came from a restaurant.

Don’t overcook the shrimp. One minute per side in a very hot pan. The moment they’re pink and opaque, remove them. Overcooked shrimp are rubbery in a way that can’t be fixed and ruins an otherwise perfect dish.

Build the sauce in the same pan as the shrimp. Every bit of flavor from the seared shrimp and rendered sausage is in that pan. Deglazing and making the sauce in the same pan captures all of it.

Three people have asked me where I trained since I started making this. Thirty minutes. My kitchen. Every time. That’s the gap between how this dish looks and how hard it actually is to make.

What to Serve With Southern Shrimp and Grits

This is a complete meal in two components. A simple green salad alongside is the only addition needed. The Classic Southern Coleslaw makes a cool, crisp contrast to the warm, rich grits and shrimp. For the full Southern seafood dinner, serve alongside Southern Salmon Patties as a starter.

Variations Worth Trying

Low Country Boil Style: Add diced green peppers and celery to the sauce stage for a more vegetable-forward version.

Bacon Instead of Andouille: More widely available and equally good. The smoky pork fat base is the same. Crumble the bacon over the finished bowls.

With Tomatoes: Add a cup of diced tomatoes to the sauce after deglazing. The tomato-shrimp combination is classic and beautiful.

Gouda Grits: Substitute smoked Gouda for the cheddar in the grits. Deeply smoky and a perfect match for the andouille. Use what you’ve got — this recipe has manners, it won’t fuss.

Storage and Reheating

Grits and shrimp sauce are best served immediately. The grits solidify considerably when refrigerated. Reheat grits on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of broth, stirring frequently, until creamy again. Shrimp reheat quickly but can become rubbery if overheated — add to the warm sauce at the last moment. Best made fresh, but components can be prepared ahead separately and assembled at serving time.

FAQ

Can I use frozen shrimp?

Yes — thaw completely and pat dry before using. Excess moisture on the shrimp prevents the proper sear and makes the sauce watery. Thaw in cold water for 15 minutes, drain, and dry thoroughly with paper towels before seasoning and cooking.

Do I have to use stone-ground grits?

For this recipe as described, yes. Quick grits give a mushy, less flavorful result that doesn’t anchor the dish the way stone-ground grits do. If quick grits are what you have, they’ll work in a pinch, but the dish is significantly different. Stone-ground grits are available in most grocery stores and online.

Why are my grits lumpy?

Usually they were added to liquid that wasn’t hot enough, or they were added all at once instead of in a slow stream while whisking. Bring the liquid to a full boil, then slowly whisk in the grits while stirring constantly. This disperses the starch granules evenly and prevents lumps from forming.