Great Grits
Really excellent grits are never soupy. They are sticky like sushi rice and could likewise be eaten with chopsticks if necessary (which I totally did in college cause our suite-mates kept thieving the silverware and it was all I had left.)
1. Boil one jar’s worth of water. (Or cup or several cups) Measure out about a third that much in dry grits.
2. SPRINKLE in grits and stir as to avoid clumping.
3. Return to boil for one minute and turn off heat. Allow to sit for a few minutes until it’s stiff like this:
4. Add salt and butter/margarine to taste, which in our house = LOTS. ( I use smart balance light, though, so that big blob you see below isn’t quite as bad as it seems.)
5. Shhhh….here’s a secret. If you want them to be EXTRA good. Put in a few pinches of sugar. Nothing beats the combination of salt, fat, and sugar!
And for all my fellow southerners who just hit the ceiling…I’m not making SWEET grits for crying out loud. I’m making salty-buttery grits with an accent of sweet. Just like you put a pinch of salt in your chocolate chip cookie recipe.
lol! Its ok! I promise. Sometimes, we do that with left over grits {We live in Louisiana}. Its actually pretty good if You don’t put too much sugar. The Man puts grape jelly in His.
But now You’ve made Me hungry for some.
I like grits with a slice of a really juicy, homegrown tomato on top. Or, as my family says, “Throw me a slice o’ mater on that.”
A shame I already had breakfast!
Just recently, I started poaching eggs in my grits to save having to clean the egg pan! It works great and we love our egg in our grits. We use quick grits, not instant, and when grits are done, crack egg into grits, it will start to drop, and then cover it up, remembering its location. In one to two minutes, scoop it out onto your dish. DELISH!!!
I’m from Northern Virginia and I’ve never heard of grits until high school when we stopped over at McDonald’s in Georgia (on our way to Florida for a band competition). I saw grits on the menu and, clueless, asked the cashier “What’s a grit?” She kind of stared me for a second and started laughing. What’s so funny?!
In college I told this story to my friend (from Southern Virginia) and she too started laughing. She said: First off, it’s “grits”, not “a grit”. Secondly, really? You’ve never heard of grits? Who’s never heard of grits?
I introduced it to my parents. Interestingly enough, they like it with soy sauce.
Thank you for the Smart Balance comment! In my humble opinion, since it raises your good cholesterol, more must be better, right? RIGHT???
We love grits around here. Except we add lots of cheese.
I had to laugh, I was about to get upset at the added sugar to the grits, only yankee’s do that. Then I read the next line LOL.
I looovvve grits. I eat a bowl every day for breakfast with 2 pieces of bacon…sigh..I know I know. Salt/pepper/butter. Never thought about a pinch of sugar…just might try it.
Come over and visit me at my blog. I have enjoyed my visit here at yours.
DH likes his with garlic. Chopped, fresh, sauted garlic. And chives.
Yummy! And so easy to make. Down south, grits are served with almost every meal as an alternative to potatoes. My mom used to make a large batch, put the leftovers in a buttered loaf pan and pat them down firmly. She then left them in the fridge overnite. In the morning she would slice them thinly and fry in bacon grease till slightly crispy on both sides. A little salt and pepper and you had a wonderful breakfast. It was so good, think I will go make a batch right now! The fried version she called fried cornmeal mush. We all loved it.
I love this post as I grew up in the Heart of Dixie! We did have grits with breakfast nearly every day. To make them extra creamy, decrease your water by half, bring the water to a boil, then add either milk or cream. Let the heat rise on this, but don’t let it boil. Then whisk your grits into the liquid (I’ve found that a whisk is even better than a slotted spoon for cutting down on the lumps). If you really, really want to ramp up the grits, add shredded sharp cheddar cheese to the mix.
If there are any left-overs, put them into a bread/loaf pan and chill. When set and firm, flip this out onto a cutting board and slice into bread sized pieces and fry in a hot skillet. This goes excellent with deep fried fish, cole slaw and hush puppies. I know that gives corn two ways in one meal (well, actually 3 if you count the breading on the fish). My guess is that most folks in the South were strapped for cash and corn meal was cheap and plentiful.
Thanks for the post, it’s a great topic!
Debbie…(O:
>
Love them grits….any which way…..although I have to admit I have never sprinkled sweet on them..I like mine savory…and sprinkle garlic powder on them……..OMGoodness……:) Comfort Food….can’t live without it…..Grits are good anytime…..mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm GOOD.