Grits are a side dish in the south, somewhat like soft polenta, but usually made from a more coarsely-ground corn meal, hence the name “grits.” Basic grits are not mysterious to prepare, but are rather boring without some sprucing up. In this recipe we enrich cooked grits with cream, butter and cheese.
Boil the grits first with just water and salt, until the grits are cooked. At this point, the grits may be cooled and stored, even frozen, and warmed back up later for final seasoning and use. Grits which have had dairy products added can also be frozen and brought back, but more care must be taken not to scorch the dairy.
Grits tend to form a gel on the bottom of the pan as they cook, so they must be stirred frequently. They may not require ceaseless stirring like a custard, but almost. Especially as they get closer to being completely cooked, care must be taken not to let them form a thick gel layer on the bottom of the pan which will burn while it slows down heat transmission.
For this recipe, any decently-hard melting cheese may be used to season the grits. Cheddar, parmesan, romano, manchego are all fine choices. In the video we use asiago. In the restaurant we used a locally-produced gouda-style goat cheese which was pretty aged and so it was almost as hard as parmesan. With such a cheese make sure to use the small holes on your grater.
Makes enough for 3-4 servings, rougly 32 oz.
Equipment:
• medium to large saucepan
• cheese grater
• wooden spoon and/or heatproof spatula for stirring and handling grits
• ladle for serving grits (optional)
Ingredients:
1 cup grits
4 cup water
1 Tbsp salt
4-6 oz cheese grated firm to hard cheese
2-4 Tbsp butter
1⁄4 cup cream
to taste Tabasco, lemon juice, salt, pepper
Procedure:
1. Combine grits, salt and water in the saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Bring grits to the simmer and reduce heat so that they bubble without splattering everywhere.
3. Stir frequently to prevent gelatinization from forming a thick later stuck to the bottom of the pan.
4. Once grits have cooked their apparent color will be darker due to some of the white starches becoming transparent as they gelatinize.
5. At this point, grits may be set aside and stored or simply finished later.
6. With grits simmering, add grated cheese, butter, cream and some black pepper.
7. Stir together thoroughly and taste.
8. Adjust seasonings as desired.
9. Serve immediately with other yummy things, or allow to cool and store in a tightly-lidded container in the fridge for a 1-2 weeks.
10. When reheating seasoned grits, adding a small amount of whole milk to the pan around the solid lump of cold grits can help keep the grits from sticking to the pan too badly. Grits also reheat very well in the microwave.
Music: [ Ссылка ]
