PORTLAND, Maine — David’s Restaurant
Shrimp and Cheesy Grits
Yield: Four Portions
Ingredients for grits:
1 QT Chicken broth
1 T Butter
1 C White grits or cornmeal
2 T Cream cheese
¼ # Cheddar cheese
1 T Chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation for grits:
1. Bring chicken stock and butter to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan
2. Whisk in the grits or cornmeal and reduce heat and simmer stirring regularly for about 10 minutes
3. Stir in cheddar cheese and chopped parsley when ready to serve. Taste grits and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper (feel free to add water or more chicken broth if you want the grits to be a little looser).
Ingredients for the shrimp:
16-20 Jumbo shrimp deeply butterflied—I like to use Individually quick frozen, 13-15 size, peeled and deveined
¼ # Slab bacon, cut into lardons
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 T Parsley, minced
1 T Cajun seasoning blend
Method of Preparation for the shrimp:
1. Slowly cook the bacon lardons in a large sauté pan to render the fat – reserve the fat for cooking the shrimp
2. Deeply butterfly, wash and pat the shrimp dry
3. Combine the reserved bacon fat with the garlic, Cajun seasoning, parsley and prepped shrimp and set aside until the grits are almost ready
4. Place the shrimp mixture into the warm (not hot) sauté pan and cook the shrimp until fully cooked, add the bacon lardons
Plating and garnish:
Plate the grits and spoon the shrimp over the grits with a slotted spoon if you don’t want all the bacon fat.
Serve with wedges of lemon