| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 35 min |
| Cook: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup grits or coarse ground cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 ounces sharp Cheddar, grated
- 1 pound (31/35 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 ounces bourbon whiskey
- 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, optional
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- For the grits:
- Bring the milk, water, and salt to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan, set over medium-high heat.
- While continually whisking, gradually add the grits. Turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until thick and creamy, removing the lid and whisking every 3 to 4 minutes to prevent the grits from sticking or forming lumps.
- Remove from the heat, add the pepper and butter, and whisk to combine. Once the butter is melted, gradually stir in the cheese. Cover and set aside until the shrimp is ready.
- For the shrimp:
- Place a 10-inch non-stick saute pan over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp to the pan and toss once or twice. Remove the pan from the heat. Gently pour the whiskey into the pan, carefully ignite with a long match or stick lighter, and return to the heat. Toss continually until the flame extinguishes, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Saute until the shrimp are cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes more. Season with hot sauce and salt and pepper if desired. Serve over warm grits.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 574 |
| Total Fat | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 7 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Cholesterol | 253 mg |
| Sodium | 1051 mg |
Reviews
Exceptional! Even for a Yankee in the South! The ‘lighting’ of the bourbon was scary, but well worth it! M, M, M, M, M!
I am a rank amatuer cook and I found this recipe easy to follow and the results were outstanding. Family raved about it. Thank you Alton.
Made it for dinner and the Mrs. and I loved it! Will have to try the coarse cornmeal option some time. 🙂
I very much enjoyed the recipe. I apprciate that it doesn’t include some of the other more traditional southern ingredients such as bacon and sausage. Neither was missed. The shrimp flambe process imparted a delicate, slightly sweet aspect to the shrimp, that was refreshing, yet not overpowering. The polenta turned out creamy and just cheesy enough without losing its core flavors. It served as a perfect bed for the subtly flavored shrimp. The recipe was quick and effortless to prepare and may just turn a few shrimp and grits naysayers into believers.
I’ve never been a grits fan but this recipe was fantastic! I’ll probably be making this several times per month.
Easy and fabulous! We added in medium link sausage slices (Stripling’s General Store, Cordele, GA. The grits were the best I’ve ever had! I recommend this to anyone – even people like me who don’t really even like grits – I love them now : We’re serving to guests tomorrow and they are true southerners so it will be a test of my skills. Thanks for a great taste treat!
A family favorite. I make two batches – one with goat milk and sheep cheese for my wife since she is cow milk intolerant.
Rum and Jose Cuervo Black works well too if you run out of Whiskey.
The flaming aspect makes a nice show when cooking for company as well.
Simple recipe – great results.
Super easy and tasty. Don’t forget to whisk the grits because they will get lumpy. Finish by tossing the shrimp with Sriracha for some fusiony kick.
Excellent recipe! I take the grits, cool it and roll it (just like you sometime see polenta, stor in fridge and cut 1″ slices. Fry VERY slowly in a nonstick pan with olive oil/butter so the slices get a golden brown crust. Yummy!
The polenta was great, and overall very easy. I think some Old Bay on the shrimp is a good tip. Another solid recipe from AB.