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Shrimp and grits is a favorite meal of mine. I said if I ever go on the show “Beat Bobby Flay,” the dish I would choose to challenge him with would be my shrimp and grits. For my version of this dish, we replace traditional grits with parmesan polenta. It’s SUCH an upgrade. It’s creamier than grits. Adding sugar helps take out that raw cornmeal flavor and the parmesan makes it nice and creamy and adds the perfect amount of salt.
The real star though is the sauce the shrimp is cooked in. Onions, red bell pepper, garlic and tomatoes get cooked down low and slow in bacon fat. The slow cooking creates a jam-like consistency. Cooking in the bacon fat is non-negotiable. The flavor rendered is unlike anything you’ve tasted. White wine deglazes the pan and everything gets rehydrated with heavy whipping cream and seasoned with just the right amount of salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.
Large shrimp get cooked to pink perfection in the cream sauce and everything is ladled over the creamy polenta. Top each serving with the crispy, salty bacon and green onions. It’s a culinary experience.
While you’re here check out more dinner ideas here!
Tips for the Best Shrimp and Grits
- Use a vegetable chopper for the onion and red bell pepper. It’s a major time saver!
- Make sure to buy the 1lb of bacon and not the smaller packages.
- Cook off bacon in two rounds. If you do it in one, the bacon will render so much fat that it will splatter uncontrollably all over the stove.
- Strain the fat through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. You don’t want brown and black bits in the fat, or it will make everything taste burnt.
- After you cook the first round of bacon and strain the fat into the bowl, wipe down the pan with paper towels and remove any cooked on black bits.
- Strain the tomatoes!
- Don’t use anything smaller than large shrimp.
Shrimp and Grits
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1 lb bacon
- reserved bacon fat
- 1 purple onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes drained
- 1/4 C white wine
- 2 1/2 C heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 lbs large shrimp thawed, shelled and deveined
- green onions
Parmesan Polenta
- 1 c cornmeal
- 1 c chicken stock
- 3 c water
- 1 c parmesan cheese
- 1/4 c sugar
- salt for water
Instructions
- To a pan over medium heat cook chopped bacon in two rounds and save the bacon fat. Set cooked bacon on paper towels.
- Once the bacon is cooked, add rendered bacon fat back to the pan and add diced onions and red bell pepper. Stir and cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Stir occasionally.
- Add minced garlic and strained petite diced tomatoes, stir and cook for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Add white wine and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add heavy whipping cream and seasoning. Turn the heat up. Once hot and bubbly add the shrimp.
- Add shrimp then lower back down to medium heat. Cook shrimp for 7 minutes.
- While the shrimp cooks make the polenta.
- To a pot bring 3 cups of water to a boil and salt the water.
- Add 1 cup of cornmeal to a bowl. Add 1 cup of chicken stock to the cornmeal and mix.
- Add cornmeal mixture to the boiling water and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Whisk the polenta. Lower the heat and add parmesan cheese and sugar. Whisk until the cheese melts and the lumps are gone.
- Serve the polenta to the bottom of a bowl or plate and ladle shrimp mixture on top.
- Top with cooked bacon and green onions.