Alabama Grits with Shrimp and Conecuh Gravy
This is a recipe I developed when trying to come up with an Alabama sourced menu – Sea, to farm to table. Serve the grits topped with the gravy. The shrimp portion is per plate.
- Creamy Gritts
- 1 cup McEwen and Sons Grits
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups quality chicken stock
- 1 cup water
- 2 ears of corn grilled and corn removed
- ¼ cup onion
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Cajun spice
- Butter
In a large pot Sauté onion and corn in olive oil until it starts to caramelize, season with Cajun, salt and pepper as you go.
Deglaze corn mixture with a little stock. Add the rest of the liquid and bring to a boil. Whisk in grits and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20-25 min, stirring along the way. Adjust spice and add butter to taste.
- For Shrimp Gravy
- 1/3 lb Alabama medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
- 1/3 lb spicy Conecuh Sausage, diced into ½” pieces
- Bacon fat
- ¼ cup diced onion
- ¼ cup diced red bell pepper
- ¼ cup diced celery
- A few tablespoons of flour
- Quality shellfish or chicken stock
- Salt and pepper
- Cajun spice
In a large skillet, brown sausage and remove from pan (set aside to drain). Drain excess grease from pan. Add a teaspoon of bacon fat. Sauté onion, pepper, celery and cook until the onions just start to render. Season along the way with the S&P and Cajun spice. Sprinkle shrimp with Cajun spice and add shrimp to the pan and give it a few stirs. Sprinkle with flour and give it a few stirs to combine. Add stock and blend to create a veloute sauce being careful not to overcook shrimp.