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Chorizo Beer Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
When Colin and are first started dating, he was one of the pickiest eaters I had ever met, so when he asked me if I could make shrimp and grits, I was so excited! He saw them on a tv show and thought it looked good; since he doesn't typically like to stray outside of his food comfort zone, I was happy to oblige and cook something different. I looked up a few different recipes for shrimp and grits, and then decided to just go for and use my imagination. The dish came out great; the shrimp were tender, had a little spice in a rich, savory sauce, and the cheesy grits were a perfect compliment. I took some inspiration from the recipes I had read along with some of my own preferences for flavors and Colin said it was one of his favorite meals ever!
For the prep, dice half a red bell pepper, a jalepeno, and half an onion, and grate two cloves of garlic. I had a tiny bit of yellow bell pepper leftover from an earlier recipe so I added that in as well. Finely dice a large tomato; for the tomato, only use the fleshy part, and discard the skin and the watery seeds (sorry! I forgot to get a picture of the tomato!)
I started with the grits, since they about 30 minutes to simmer. Bring two cups each of chicken broth and milk to a simmer, along with a big pinch of salt and a bay leaf. Once it starts to boil, whisk in a cup of grits and reduce the heat to a simmer, stirring often for the next half hour.
While the grits cook, make the shrimp portion. This recipe works best in a cast iron skillet because it gets suuuuper hot and distributes the heat very evenly. Start by heating the pan on very high heat and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the shrimp in an even layer with a big pinch of salt and cook just for a minute or two - you want the shrimp to get some nice color but no need to cook them all the way through; they will cook again later in the sauce. Remove the shrimp from the pan and lower the heat to medium.
Add a few more tablespoons of olive oil and then add some diced up chorizo. Cook the chorizo until it starts to brown, about three to five minutes.
Add all of the vegetables to the chorizo, except the garlic. Cook them for about ten minutes, until they are tender and starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for another two minutes or so.
Stir a tablespoon of tomato paste into the vegetables and cook for a couple minutes to caramelize the tomato paste as well.
By this point there will be a lot of browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Add in some beer and stir the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to scrape up all those delicious brown bits. Once the beer is in, add some hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice.
Add the shrimp back to the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens just slightly. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Once the grits are cooked, remove them from the heat and stir in some cream cheese, cheddar and Parmesan. Taste, and add some more salt and pepper. It's important to taste before adding more salt because the cheeses are pretty salty too.
Serve in big bowls with the grits on the bottom, and the shrimp and sauce on top.
Recipe:
Total Time: 45 minutes| Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Grits:
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1 cup yellow grits, also labeled as polenta
3 oz cream cheese
1 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp black pepper
Shrimp:
4 tbs olive oil, divided
1 lb large raw shrimp, peeled and deviened
1/4 lb Portuguese chorizo, finely diced
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 large tomato, diced (watery parts, seeds, and skin removed)
2 cloves garlic, grated or minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbs tomato paste
1 cup beer
1/2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbs hot sauce
1/2 lemon, juiced
1. Combine the milk, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaf in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Whisk in the grits, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-40 minutes until the grits are creamy and thick, stirring often to ensure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan.
2. While the grits are cooking, heat a cast iron pan to very high heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Add the shrimp with a big pinch of salt and cook just for a minute or two until they start to get a bit of color. Move the shrimp to a bowl and lower the heat to medium.
4. Add another two tablespoons of olive oil and the chorizo. Cook the chorizo for three minutes or so until it starts to brown.
5. Add the peppers, onion, and tomato to the pan with the chorizo. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the vegetables are tender and starting to caramelize. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
6. Add the tomato paste and stir it into the vegetables and chorizo. After about 2 minutes, the tomato paste should smell sweet and there should be lots of browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
7. Add the beer to the pan to deglaze it, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and lemon juice.
8. Return the shrimp to the pan with the sauce and cook for three or four more minutes until the shrimp are just cooked and sauce is slightly reduced. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.
9. Once the grits are cooked through, remove them from the heat. Stir in the cream cheese, cheddar, and parmesan. Taste, and add more salt or pepper if necessary. Cheese can range in saltiness depending on the brand so it's important to taste before adding more salt.
10. Serve in big bowls with the grits on the bottoms and a big scoop of shrimp and sauce on top.