The first time I ever encountered this dish was when Tom and I were newlyweds. We were staying with my friend Jacky and her husband, who happened to be Tom’s boss. The tide and the moon were right, so the boss invited Tom to go out shrimping in the tidal creeks behind their house, which turned out to be an all-night outing. In the morning, Jacky and I joined the guys in heading a 52-quart cooler full of shrimp. As a special treat, the boss decided to make us a real Savannah breakfast. The cheese grits sounded delightful, and the skillet with chopped bacon was also promising. Then, to my complete and utter horror, he proceeded to add shrimp to the pan! Shrimp for breakfast seemed like an absolutely barbaric concept. It took me years to get over my aversion to this dish. But somehow, I did. I recently made this for Andy and five of his best fishing buddies for breakfast (after I made them peel and devein the shrimp)—to raves. My version makes a slightly soupy shrimp gravy to pour over the grits. If you like less sauce, just cut back on the amount of chicken broth. Use wild-caught shrimp if you can, and always, always, put your guests to work with the deveiner!
2 ½ to 3 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup stone-ground grits
2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup (½ stick) salted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 slices bacon
1 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and minced (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley for garnish
2 Tbsp. chopped chives for garnish
1. Bring 2 ½ cups of the broth and the half-and-half to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the grits. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the grits are tender and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.
2. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain, reserving the drippings in the skillet. Crumble the bacon.
3. Sauté the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño chile, if using, in the bacon drippings over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
4. Increase the heat to medium-high. Add ¼ cup of the broth and stir with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits from the skillet, adding additional broth, if necessary. Add the shrimp and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the shrimp turn pink.
5. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the lemon juice, crumbled bacon, and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the shrimp mixture over the grits, sprinkle with the parsley and chives, and serve.
