American
Shrimp & Grits
Stone-ground grits crowned with shrimp, bacon and a bright pan sauce — Lowcountry cooking at its finest.
Recipe by Cyman Huang
Cooked, styled and photographed in his kitchen.
Shrimp and Grits is the signature dish of South Carolina's Lowcountry, where shrimp from the tidal creeks have been cooked with stone-ground grits for centuries.
For most of its history it was humble working food. It became a fine-dining sensation in the 1980s when chef Bill Neal of Crook's Corner elevated it for a restaurant audience — and there is a reason it spread everywhere.
Watch it come together
Ingredients
For the grits
- 1 cup stone-ground yellow or white grits (NOT instant)
- 4 cups water or chicken stock
- 1 cup whole milk
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 oz sharp cheddar, grated
- 2 oz Parmesan, grated
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp white pepper
For the shrimp sauté
- 1½ lbs large shrimp (16–20 count), peeled and deveined
- 4 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne
- Kosher salt and black pepper
Method
- 1
MAKE THE GRITS: Bring water (or stock) and milk to a gentle boil in a heavy saucepan. Slowly whisk in the grits in a thin stream, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to the lowest setting.
- 2
Cook, stirring every 3–4 minutes and scraping the bottom and corners, for 25–35 minutes until completely tender and thick. Add water if they thicken before they are cooked.
- 3
Stir in butter, cheddar and Parmesan until melted. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep warm over the lowest heat, adding splashes of warm water to maintain a creamy, pourable consistency.
- 4
COOK THE BACON: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon; leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan.
- 5
SAUTÉ THE AROMATICS: Add onion to the bacon fat and cook 5–6 minutes until softened. Add jalapeño and garlic and cook 1 minute.
- 6
COOK THE SHRIMP: Season shrimp with paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium-high. Cook in a single layer 1–1.5 minutes per side until just pink and curled. Remove and set aside.
- 7
MAKE THE SAUCE: Add chicken stock and lemon juice to the hot pan, scraping up browned bits. Reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Swirl in butter until emulsified.
- 8
Return shrimp and bacon to the pan and toss briefly to coat.
- 9
SERVE: Spoon hot grits into wide, warm bowls. Top with the shrimp mixture, spooning sauce over everything. Garnish with parsley and green onions.
Substitutions
- Chef's Tip: The most common mistake is overcooked shrimp. They are done when opaque and curled into a C shape. An O shape means overcooked.
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