Ina Garten is one of the few people who I think I’d take a shrimp and grits recipe from. She is skilled and when it comes to picking ingredients she second to none. One of the things I really like about the way she cooks is that she wants you to be simple but use high quality so you can taste everything in your dish.
This recipe is super quick (40 minutes) and tastes great. You make a quick shrimp stock here, which is why you buy shrimp with shells on. The quality of shrimp here is important, because not only are they the main focus (and one of two things in the title) but you are tasting them in the sauce. There is also a fair amount of pepper in the dish, so if you can’t handle that, feel free to turn it down a notch (no offense to any Emeril fans)!
The scallions on the top do add that zing that’s needed, so don’t skip that! Start the Grits first and as they are cooking (25 minutes) you can do the whole shrimp recipe, just make sure the sauce gets thick enough.
We are going to work through her whole new cookbook, cook like a pro so expect to see a lot of her ideas. Thing being, I do tweak some things, so don’t be shocked these are not identical!
Shrimp and Grits, Ina Garten’s style
Equipment
- Medium Saucepan
- Large Sauté Pan (I used a 9 inch enameled cast iron)
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (divided into 1 tbsp portions)
- 1 cup quick-cooking grits (found mine in the breakfast aisle)
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1 ½ lbs fresh large shrimp (remove shells and save the shells for the sauce)
- 1 tbsp quality tomato paste (get the tube in the Italian section)
- 2 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 4 inch pieces (cut long way into 4s and small diced slices going the other way)
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ½ tsp sriracha
- 4 scallions (thinly sliced)
Instructions
Grits
- Melt 1 TBSP of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the one cup of grits and toast for 3 minutes, until they start getting color
- Add 2 cups of milk & 2 cups of water, 1 tsp of salt and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat to a simmer and cover and cook for 25 minutes (stir occasionally).
- When done, add another TBSP of butter. 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp of pepper.
Shrimp
- In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1 TBSP of butter.
- Add the shrimp shells and cook for 5 minutes, or until pink and toasty! You are making the broth.
- Add the tomato paste and stir it with the shells, cook for 1-2 minutes or until starting to dry.
- Add two cups of water and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Drain liquid in a measuring cup and discard shells and anything over 1 ½ cups of broth.
- Clean the sauté pan quick (wipe it out) and heat to medium heat
- Add bacon and cook till crispy (5 minutes)
- Stir in shrimp, garlic, 1 tsp of salt and ½ of pepper and cook for 2 minutes. REMOVE and transfer to a plate.
- Melt 1 TBSP of butter in the pan, whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute.
- ADD stock and bring to a boil while whisking to make sure there are not bumps.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook 5-10 minutes or until thickened into a sauce.
- When thickened, add shrimp and cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice, Sriracha and 1 TBSP of butter.
- Put the grits in a bowl, top with shrimp and sauce, add the scallions and ENJOY.
