Grits, Gravy??
So who can help me make some of this Grits and Gravy I keep hearing about....??
Thanks,
FOTD
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As a North Carolina native, I have to say that the only gravy that should come anywhere near grits is red-eyed gravy! Surely he wouldn't put sausage gravy, or any kind of white gravy, on grits?? Gravy belongs on biscuits and mashed potatoes! lol That said, I've had many kinds of "sauces" on grits - one of my favorites being fried green tomatoes with a kind of rémoulade .... nom nom nom.
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re: FriendOfTheDevil
paulj
Mar 14, 2012 12:22 PM
Red eye gravy is pan drippings (preferably from frying country ham slices) diluted (or deglazed it you will) with leftover coffee.
While there are fancy grits preparations, as seen in this Savannah dinner menu
http://www.americascuisine.com/menus/georgia/savannah/OPHMenu.pdfmore often grits are a breakfast side, sort of equivalent to hashbrowns in other parts of the country (and possibly offered as an alternative).
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes...
you make the grits; you fry the country ham; you make the quick 'gravy'. The grits are served with butter, while the 'gravy' is served over the ham. -
re: FriendOfTheDevil
danna
Mar 14, 2012 01:26 PM
you generally wouldn't eat red eye gravy w/ shrimp, because you already have ham when you make it. But....now that I think about it...it sounds pretty good. You usually start shrimp and grits w/ bacon or tasso ham, so you could do it w/ country ham, and then the only unusual thing would be the coffee. damn. you may have yourself a signature dish, there.
Typically country ham and grits and red eye would be breakfast fare, but i've eaten it at dinner before , too. Oh, and Paulj, I would definitely put the red eye on my grits. Butter is for the 99% of the time I'm not lucky enough to have any red eye.
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tim irvine
Mar 13, 2012 06:10 PM
Fortunately for me my family was "geographically expansive," even in the 50s and 60s. As a result combinations atypical for any given region would find their way to our table. I can confirm that grits are great with brown gravy made from a roast beef or with chili gravy like you would put on cheese enchiladas. There is not much that isn't good with grits. The award or best grits I ever ate, however, goes to Melissa Harris when she threw goat cheese and green chills in the grits for an office breakfast.
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I do not know the grits Romney is referring to but the best grits I ever had were at the Four Seasons in Jefferson, TX. I was told that they were cooked in a cream gravy. Now I imagine that it was not straight gravy, but definitely creamier and butterier. I had forgotten about this. Might have to make chicken fried steak with extra gravy so I can have grits and gravy the next day. And then maybe a bypass.
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In my family (breakfast) gravy was for biscuits. My mom made only cream gravy. I've had the red eye gravy a time or two and liked it but since I didn't grow up eating it, or country ham, it's not something I do.
I prefer my grits with salt, pepper and butter.
Grits, cheese toast, bacon or sausage.
Biscuits, gravy, bacon or sausage.Those are my "authentic" southern breakfasts.
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Here's a classic line from the movie 'My Cousin Vinnie.' "WHAT'S A GRIT?"
I suggest that you access Google and use 'grits and gravy recipe' as key words. It's a Southern thing.
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Make some grits . . . from scratch - not instant.
Make some southern style milk gravy - with lots of pepper.
Pour gravy over grits and eat as your starch with a good breakfast. (Eggs any style, sausage patty, a couple of strips of bacon, and maybe some biscuits with honey butter.)
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re: drewpbalzac
danna
Mar 13, 2012 01:17 PM
what part of the South is that common to?
good point, hazelhurst. red eye gravy is the bomb. unfortunately, i don't like country ham, so I never make it, but occasionally I luck into some at my aunt's house. it's a delicacy. how would you get the eye without coffee?
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re: danna
You can't do it without the coffee but I saw a recipe, in Gourmet, no less, about 25 years ago that said the coffee was optional. Whatever you get without it might be decent but it sure as hell ain;'tred-eye gravy. I used to love it in the mountains of North Carolina and it would be served in a "crater" on top of the grits. Then I could cut little canals and the red-eye lava ran down the side
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re: FriendOfTheDevil
The best ones I've ever had was where they made cheese grits with plenty of good sharp cheddar and spread into a pan to cool overnight. Turned out the "loaf" and cut into squares, floured and fried in butter until crisp. Served with shrimp gravy. This is one of those things I keep meaning to cook but pretty much only eat in restaurants.
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danna
Mar 13, 2012 12:32 PM
hmmm...never heard of it. where and in what context do you hear about it? I could talk to you about grits OR gravy, but the only time I've ever seen them together is occasionally a misguided soul gets a little too "saucy" with the shrimp and grits and it sorta looks like tomato-gravy.
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re: danna
“Gov. Romney indicated yesterday morning that it was the first time he tasted grits,” Mr. Gingrich told a crowd at a Mobile restaurant where the Republican Party in Mobile and Baldwin counties was holding a breakfast meeting. “I just wanted to reassure all of you that I have had some acquaintance in a variety of forms whether it’s with shrimp, with cheese, with gravy, whatever.”
So I have had it with cheese, had it with shrimp, but never had it with Gravy.
I am perfectly able to Google.
I hoped to get some true southern personal insight....
I see grits with shrimp AND gravy... Or ........-
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re: hazelhurst
LOL. It's not that I care about what HE is talking about. I just answered the person who did not seem to know grits and gravy had been mentioned.
What is "typical" gravy? Does it vary by location? Alot of what I see on line is Carolina based. Just looking for some personal input. The gravy is intruiging to me....FOTD
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re: FriendOfTheDevil
I'm glad you answered otherwise I wouldn;t have known what a shoddy response Newt gave. Red-eye gravy is typical to Kentucky/the Carolinas, some in Georgia or Alabama, far enough up (you'll see stuff called red-eye farther down and it might be the real thing but they had to import a country ham). We don't have the true country ham in Lousiana so down here the grits are with a meat gravy in grillades. Shrimp and grits has become popular all over...that that is really a South Carolina creation. I've never heard of the white gravy idea...I'd guess that would be more to the West of teh grits belt but only a guess. But you sure could do it like Cajuns with substituting the grits for the rice (but the rice is whatis growing outside the back door so....) And that's just a skillet gravy./ Check any cajun recipe online..you'll get the idea.
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re: hazelhurst
Alot of the recipes catching my eye seem to use Chicken Stock or a mix of cream and stock. With a roux, so sort of a brownish gravy or a skillet gravy perhaps.
This one uses a "dark roux" so I am imagining a brownish gravy.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/charleston-shrimp-n-gravy/
This one is a mix but a lighter gravy
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs...
Then I see some with a "tomato" gravy. So there is lots out there I can try but wanted to get some input from people that make/have them first.-
re: FriendOfTheDevil
You're on the right track. remember that, if you have left over grits, put it in a biscuit pan before it sets up then refrigerated. next morning, melt some butter--or whatever--a litlel garlic and onion in this and then fry that little hockey puck up. You won't need gravy....but it can't hurt.
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re: hazelhurst
Sal Vanilla
Dec 13, 2012 05:41 PM
Coughity cough cough. I eat grits and sausage gravy all the time. Milk gravy style. Best thing ever - unless you smarsh in a bacon grease fried egg - then you have just zoomed past heaven.
I have only seen grits one time in the west and I think they consider them a novelty for the hipsters out here. usually put something weird with them. Mistreat them in a way that grinds my gears!
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re: FriendOfTheDevil
danna
Mar 13, 2012 05:04 PM
Interesting. I make a point to Tivo past the idiotic, substanceless sound bites from the campaign trail.
I've lived in SC all my life and confined my southern travels mainly to the Carolinas and Georgia. In my experience, he must have been talking about red eye gravy. For that, just saute some country ham slices and then deglaze w/ coffee. see hazlehurst's excelent post below about "red eye gravy lava".
OR...if you really want to make some kind of thick gravy to go on grits, try the Lee Brothers s&g recipe. I've made that, it tastes alright, I just disaprove in general ;-)
But as for the white gravy often called sawmill gravy, milk gravy, sausage gravy, etc. I've never seen that offered w/ grits, ever. But as someone mentions below, the south is a big place.
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