John's GRITS Not-So-Basic Recipes

GRITS are a food in desperate need of seasoning, so good GRITS recipes call for good ingredients (besides GRITS).

There are two basic ways to fix/correct/improve GRITS.

The first thing you can do with GRITS is pepper them, either while cooking or just before sculpting. You should not need a recipe to do this, nevertheless, it is obvious to me that not everyone knows how to add black pepper to GRITS.

A NOTE ABOUT BLACK PEPPER

Use a pepper grinder/mill and put freshly ground pepper on your GRITS.

Freshly ground black pepper adds far more flavor to GRITS, and remember, GRITS need all the help they can get.

If you are still with the program and are ready to advance past Plain Old GRITS (POG), you can try some truly spicy "MAJIK GRITS". This is a trick that I picked up from Chef Paul Prudhomme's books and TV programs and his clever packaging of herbs and spices in his "Vegetable/Meat/Pork/Etc. MAGIC" products.

First, let's make the GRITS MAJIK seasoning mix.

GRITS MAJIK

This stuff is potent, so you only need 1/8 teaspoon of GRITS MAJIK per serving. Add this to your GRITS when they start chattering.

Note: When serving MAJIC GRITS, be kind to you table mates and put a box of tissue on the table.

CAUTION: Do attempt the following recipe if you have not mastered POG or are not a fan of MAJIC GRITS.

This recipe demonstrates the use of fat (and other stuff) to jazz up GRITS. I call it ANDOUILLE GRITS.

You have to start this process by getting some ANDOUILLE, which is a really spicy "Cajun" sausage. I get mine at Fritz's Meats in Kansas City.

Select the amount of ANDOUILLE based upon how much you want to eat, then put the ANDOUILLE into a food processor and slice it to tiny bits.

Put the ground ANDOUILLE into a fry pan and do what comes naturally. The ANDOUILLE that I get is wonderful, but it is strange stuff. It is not a particularly fat sausage and/or it does not give up its fat easily. Combine this with that fact that there is some dextrose (sugar) in it and you have the potential of turning your ANDOUILLE to cinders. Use a relatively low heat and stir often.

When the ANDOUILLE is crisped up as you like it, remove the crisps from the fry pan to drain on paper towels. ANDOUILLE is fully cooked (I think), but I like mine well crisped.

Leave as much fat in the fry pan as you can stand, and remove the rest. Now comes the fun part. Add the dry GRITS to the fry pan over medium-high heat and start to toast them. They will soak up the fat. As they toast you will smell roasted corn. At that point, stop the toasting before the GRITS burn by adding the water. Add salt and the drained ANDOUILLE.

The GRITS may not foam as usual, and will probably start chattering right away because the fry pan is so hot. Reduce heat to low after one minute.

Because they are toasted, ANDOUILLE GRITS cook up differently than POG. They tend to stay coarser longer or cook slower, depending on how you look at it. I have a hard time looking at toasted GRITS for very long, so I tend to eat then too soon. Let the GRITS cook for 5-10 minutes, the let then set them off the heat to allow cooling. It is not necessary to sculpt ANDOUILLE GRITS.

Use the same proportions as BASIC GRITS.

 

Last revised: 5-1-97Kiss my button.