Big Shrimpin’ Down in ENC

I’m so, so sorry for the title of this post. Really. I just got it in my head and couldn’t help myself. So it’s here to stay. You’ll just have to deal with it. God, I’m sorry.

But I mean, who doesn’t love shrimp and grits?

As I mentioned in my monthly wrap-up of the things I was lovin’ recently, there’s a plethora of shrimp being caught and sold right now down in eastern North Carolina (yes, lovingly, “ENC”). As soon as I heard this, my brain kicked into meal-planning overdrive for our recent weekend in Beaufort.

But there was one condition when I requested shrimp appetizers and entrees (ALL SHRIMP EVERYTHING!) for the crowd of family members in attendance:

I had to peel all the requisite shrimp. Never fear, I wholeheartedly volunteered Charlie and myself for this duty. And after several beers on the beach, we were shrimp-peelin’ machines! Really, you get into this groove and just start feeling the flow, and before you know it you’re done.

Hard at work

Funnily enough, this was the first time I’d willingly deveined shrimp, and I’d never used one of these nifty little red tools that does it for you. They’re genius. (Of course, I’m pretty sure they don’t have to be red.) It’s a pretty simple process really…

It goes like this.

Then like this (but you know, you go more, until it’s all the way pushed through). And then your shrimp shells are almost off and easily removed by a little pinching and pulling of the tail.

Gratuitous “tail” shot, courtesy of mom // Oh, hey Peanut, not helping at all I see

As for dinnertime, at the mention of shrimp, I’d had one immediate thought:  Shrimp and grits! (surprise, since I already told you at the beginning of the post!) And because, as you know, I’m a brunch connoisseur and this is a dish that’s difficult for me to not order anywhere when it’s on the menu.

Shockingly, my grandmother has never made shrimp and grits before. Okay, it’s not so shocking, as she’s actually not a typical, super Southern grandma. She’s more of a shrimp Destin, shrimp creole, clams linguini type of gal. But guess what? She can make ANYTHING! So she just asked that I find her a recipe.

Her motto is “make it by the recipe the first time, then modify.”

Yes, it does go a little against the grain of my “substitute and cut corners if necessary or it’s cheaper.”

I gladly glanced around her kitchen, grabbed the most readily available Southern Living cookbook from a shelf of many, and flipped to the shrimp category. And just as I thought, there were two options: a Charleston style and a New Orleans-esque version.

Since I like my shrimp and grits a little soupy and sometimes a little tomato-y, we opted for Wesley’s Gulf Coast Shrimp and Grits which combined parmesan grits with a caper and tomato shrimp sauce. Yeah!

Don’t you just love her mise en place and those tiny containers?

But you know what’s difficult? Trying to take pictures of the food and ingredients when grandma says it’s time to add the grits. She does not pause for photo opps and did not appreciate my intrusion with the camera, as you can see in the accidental action shot below.

In other words, she is not willing to sacrifice quality FOR THE BLOG!

I stuck around in the kitchen, however, and created my own marinade for the appetizer of shrimp skewers that went on the grill. Out of my brain came all the things that I love:  soy sauce (obvi), lemon, honey, chopped garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes.

Delicious… even though it only yielded about one skewer per person.

Yeahhh. I may have accidentally tasted a little bit of the marinade after the raw shrimp went in…

But they turned out so nice!

Back to the entrée. The grits were made with lots of Parmesan cheese, white wine, and chives. Not complaining about that.

Obviously, living on the coast forever, grandma’s cooked her fair share of shrimp. But if you haven’t, do NOT overcook them!

Again with the action shots…

We set the shrimp aside for the creation of THE SAUCE.

Plenty of olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes, and capers.

Tip:  If you make this recipe and your preferences are anything like mine (aka SAUCY), after the tomatoes burst, add some leftover white wine and additional chicken broth to maintain the sauciness. Even grandma agreed this was a good modification.

Separate bowls for presentation. My apologies for not taking a picture of my plate. Like really, after a long day on the boat and at this point I’d switched to wine, I couldn’t wait to eat. You’ll have to imagine those saucy, savory shrimp on top of these creamy, perfectly-cooked grits. You like those descriptive adjectives? Too much? Okay.

Oh, like we’re not going to have homemade cornbread in a cast iron skillet for this meal. What do you think we are? Animals?!

And even though I find salad extraneous half the time, I did appreciate the homemade blue cheese dressing that grandma just whipped up earlier that day. She’s the best.

GLORIOUS…

And we all lived happily ever after… and fell fast asleep at 9 PM.

Night night, Beaufort. Sleep well for now, shrimps.

Do you guys like shrimp and grits? Have you had them? Are you sad there was no bacon in these?