Grits!

[Blackwater]

I know some absolutely hate them, but I can't for the life of me understand why. They're just ground corn, and who doesn't like corn? Here in the south, they've long been a real staple, and very few here hate them, and most love them. Grits are one of the main things I miss being able to eat as much as I want of. Cheese grits (grits with cheese melted in them) is a real treat here!
I can't help but think it's a problem of not seasoning them right or well enough? We salt them, and put a good bit of butter on them (just like you'd do with corn on the cob) and gee golly wow are they good! You DO have to have something with them, like bacon, ham or sausage, or gravy made with those things, to get them up to their best flavor, but hot buttered grits (salted just right) are something I cannot understand more folks not liking.

What is it about grits that turn some off of them? Was what you had un-salted? NEVER put sugar in them!!! You wouldn't put sugar on corn on the cob, would you? Don't put it in grits, either.

As a kid, Mom used to say they'd "stick to yer ribs," and indeed, if I was going out for a long day's quail hunt, where you walk untold miles in pursuit of those feathered delacacies, the energy they provided was pretty crucial. A big breakfast, with lots of grits and anything else I could find, and a ham and cheese sandwich, and I was good to go until dusk! But boy could I scarf it away when I got back home!

So what is it that makes some hate grits so? Did you salt them? Put butter in them? Or what? I tried some once with some sugar in them, and couldn't eat them either! Is that part of the problem? We're so blessed in this country to have such a great variety of foods, but it hasn't always been like that. When folks grew whatever they wanted to eat, corn was a natural, and I don't know how long it took to grind it up and make grits and corn meal to make "lacy cornbread," but it couldn't have taken long at all, I'd think. I love my grits! It's a shame and a burden to not be able to eat them regularly now! So what's your take on grits, and any special things you put in or on them to make them better?

[DerekP Houston]

*shrug* we enjoy them sweet or savory here, I'm partial to cheese grits for dinner though. Also good with a few slices of pickled jalapenos.

[Sur-shot]

There is really no wrong way to eat grits, other than just plain, then they are like trying to eat unsalted cardboard box. I like mine salted and peppered, spooned over my eggs with runny yokes, with lots of black pepper on top, some sausage patties, with a liberal splash of Tabasco on grits, a hot buttered biscuit or two and a hot cup of coffee. Way better than those frozen, shredded, fake fried potatoes for sure.
Ed

PS: Cheese grits with fresh mullet, cooked in hot batter (made with Tabasco) is just wonderful eats.

[Boaz]

Can't tell you why many don't like em besides not growing up eating them . We had them quite a bit . I just put butter on mine .

[tallwalker]

Grits are good. For breakfast it is sort of a replacement for hash browns but they aren't limited to just breakfast. "Grits and Grillades" is a staple comfort food around here, so is shrimp and grits. Food is part of just about everything we do down here, even (or maybe especially) hunting. I wouldn't think of grilling game at the camp and not saving some bits and pieces (grillades) for breakfast the next day. If there are grits left over we just press a few into rounds, skillet fry them and take them to the stand for a snack. Grits are high living too and traditional at balls and formal affairs. Of course, best I ever ate was in the woods though.

http://www.nola.com/food/index.ssf/2...grits_a_c.html

[shoot-n-lead]

I love grits...most anyway you want to do them.

[Spooksar]

Not having grown up eating them I tried them and like them, to only problem is I'm diebetic and corn really spikes my blood sugars. So I only eat them once in a while

[farmerjim]

I love grits. I like them with white sausage gravy, a couple of easy over yard eggs, and a homemade biscuit. They are good with just butter and salt and pepper. I too am diabetic, so I will have them at breakfast when I am going out to work. I burn off the sugar as fast as it comes up. If not active, corn will send my sugar through the roof.

[Grits]

Here I am.......

Grits is the 1911 of breakfast foods. Highly customizable.

One of the finest meals my bride ever made was a meal of pork chops, green beans, and grits. This was for supper one night. She didn't have rice or potatoes so i suggested the grits.

Problem with some people.is they don't know how to eat grits. Just butter and salt for me.





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[Hogtamer]

Ok, here's how to do it.....Don't buy the instant stuff like quick grits, 5 minute, etc. Buy some stone ground yellow grits with a little size to them, not mealy. The ratio is 4 parts liquid to 1 part grits. Start with a quart of chicken stock and being to a boil. You can use a large bullion cube to a quart of water. Add about a teaspoon of salt, prolly not enough but thats good for now. Stir in about 3 tablespoons butter and stir in grits. Reduce to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes or so, stir occassionally. Add a little garlic powder and cracked pepper. Also either a little tabasco or cajun seasoning...not much, you just want the flavor, not the heat. Oh, keep lid covering most of pot as this stuff is like napalm when it splatters on you. Total time simmering maybe 30 minutes and finish with a little heavy cream or half and half, taste for seasoning. Prolly need more salt. If too thick add a little more dairy. If too thin cook a bit longer. You can add cheese (a touch of parmesan is nice) whatever kind you like. Top with an over easy fried egg, sauteed shrimp, sausage or nothing at all. Good stuff!

[RogerDat]

Wife is grits with salt, pepper and eggs, I'm buttered and syrup. Not that many place up here have them but Cracker Barrel does so we make it a point to go there for breakfast every once in awhile. And when we go down south to visit family we tend to enjoy the local cuisine as much as possible while we are there.

[too many things]

i would bet they are hard to find outside of the 15 "reb" states

[frankenfab]

Cheese grits, yes! Shrimp and grits, yes! Butter and salt as well.

Yellow grits can be harder to find. I stumbled across them in the gluten free section at Walmart. Ordered some on Amazon as well.

[Boaz]

Ok, here's how to do it.....Don't buy the instant stuff like quick grits, 5 minute, etc. Buy some stone ground yellow grits with a little size to them, not mealy. The ratio is 4 parts liquid to 1 part grits. Start with a quart of chicken stock and being to a boil. You can use a large bullion cube to a quart of water. Add about a teaspoon of salt, prolly not enough but thats good for now. Stir in about 3 tablespoons butter and stir in grits. Reduce to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes or so, stir occassionally. Add a little garlic powder and cracked pepper. Also either a little tabasco or cajun seasoning...not much, you just want the flavor, not the heat. Oh, keep lid covering most of pot as this stuff is like napalm when it splatters on you. Total time simmering maybe 30 minutes and finish with a little heavy cream or half and half, taste for seasoning. Prolly need more salt. If too thick add a little more dairy. If too thin cook a bit longer. You can add cheese (a touch of parmesan is nice) whatever kind you like. Top with an over easy fried egg, sauteed shrimp, sausage or nothing at all. Good stuff!

Sounds good !

[KenH]

Cheese grits with fresh mullet, cooked in hot batter

Now ya' talking.... we had cheese grits with shrimp last night - now that was good!!!

[DougGuy]

Love grits! Not the store bought generic white purified petrified powderfied produced kind, but stone ground coarse, and not fully sifted or bolted as they call it.

I am somewhat of a "designer grits" connoisseur and have hunted out 3 specific brands that stand out well above all others. These are all stone ground, coarse, and cook up with big grain pieces, and cook up thick and creamy all on their own without using milk or cream..

1st up, Pencil Cob grits, ground from Pencil Cob corn, cultivated by Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills in the SC low country. This corn is an antebellum holdback that was very popular with the moonshiners but wasn't grown much after the advent of mechanized farming. Now brought back to well received production, chefs are saying these are the best grits in the USA. I would tend to agree with them, as they are the most flavorful and aromatic grits I have ever cooked! The whole house smells like fresh corn when you cook them, and they are fully in their own right without any salt or pepper or any other add-ons, I salt and pepper them on the plate.

http://www.ansonmills.com/products/12

2nd, another antebellum favorite by Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills, also brought back from nearly total extinction by a farmer who happened to grow a few plants and save a handful of seeds, no kidding, this is how close to extinction that James Island Red corn came!! Called "Jimmy Red Grits" these are stone ground coarse grits that have large pieces of dark rusty red grain, but cooks up to a bluish near purplish color, a little different to get used to but one good serving, and you won't complain about the color, as the whole grain flavor comes through. Anson Mills doesn't list these for sale, but if you place an order and ask them to swap some Jimmy Red Grits they will be glad to do so.

A little background on the James Island Red corn and the grits made from it:

https://www.slowfoodusa.org/ark-item/jimmy-red-corn

Also sold by Geechie Boy Mill, Jimmy Red Grits are in a league all their own:

http://geechieboymill.com/product/ji...mmy-red-grits/

Lastly, the 3rd kind of grits I want to tell you about is made from white Hickory King corn, grown and milled by Barkley's Mill in North Carolina. This is a family operation, from fields to table, and they grow and mill this corn with great pride, and the grits are nothing short of awesome either! They are a bit pricey, but these are pretty much hand made grits from seed to milling and bagging, and they are creamy and delicious!

https://www.barkleysmill.com/

I don't expect everyone to order these varieties online just from reading my post but I can tell you any of these will elevate your perception of what really good grits are, and we only live once so enjoy it while you can!!

[Hogtamer]

+1 on the Anson Mills...

[frankenfab]

The Anson Mills is what I bought from Amazon. Good grits!

[RogerDat]

Wife is grits with salt, pepper and eggs, I'm buttered and syrup. Not that many place up here have them but Cracker Barrel does so we make it a point to go there for breakfast every once in awhile. And when we go down south to visit family we tend to enjoy the local cuisine as much as possible while we are there.

Wife made me correct this. She likes grits with butter, salt, pepper and eggs. Busted my chops over forgetting she puts butter on too.

[CastingFool]

I buy Bob's Red Mill organic corn meal. It's yellow, not white, recipe calls for 3 parts water, 1 part cornmeal. add a little salt to the water, when it boils, dump the cornmeal in it, and shut the burner off, let it sit for 4:30 minutes. We have a solid surface stove, you shut the heat off, and the top stays warm for a while. May not be grits to you, but it is to me. When stationed at Ft. Benning, I was the only Michigander that would eat grits for breakfast. The other guys just didn't get how good they could be. Lived in FL for 2-1/2 yrs, that's where I picked up my taste for grits. The school cafeteria served them every Friday, with fish patties.