It's crazy how all your life you assume pimiento cheese is only for spreading on Ritz crackers and then one day realize it can be a regular part of your diet, whether your doctor agrees or not—that's a question for another time. So today we're making shrimp cooked in bacon fat + cheesy pimiento grits and it's going to be a wonderful journey we take together. If you're pescatarian, don't start tweeting at me just yet, you can cut the bacon part and cook the shrimp in vegetable oil.
(Don't want the step-by-step? Get the recipe here)
Cut 4 oz. bacon into bacon-bite strips. (Bacon comes in 12- or 16-ounce packages, so...yeah, division.) Rinse and devein your shrimp, which isn't as surgical as it sounds, but just removing that grayish-blackish vein along the curve of the shrimp, and pinch off the tails (or ask your fishmonger to do it!). It's sort of relaxing! Just me? Chop ⅓ cup parsley for garnish later.
The recipe calls for 1 cup medium-grind grits, but it took me three grocery stores to find any grits at all (New York City has everything and nothing at the same time), so take what you can get, as long as it isn't instant.
Into the pot goes 2 tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, and 4¾ cups water. When the water's boiling, whisk in the grits and reduce the heat to medium-low.
Here's the thing about grits that always drives me crazy: They look like they're ready to eat in 5 minutes, yet the recipe says stir them constantly for 10–12. Senior food editor Rick Martinez told me that this is because grits are SUPER starchy, so they thicken very quickly—but they're not ready to eat yet. They'll keep cooking and become tender, creamy, delicious, the only way to tell is to taste. If they're gritty, sandy, grainy in any way, then they're not done yet. So yes, they're called grits, but they shouldn't taste...gritty.
When they're creamy, increase the heat to medium, stir in 1 cup pimiento cheese and 2 tsp. sambal oelek, and keep stirring until it's all mixed together, about 2 minutes. Salt and pepper it up.
While you're somewhere in the grits-making stage, get your bacon going in a skillet over medium-high heat with 1 Tbsp. olive oil.
Look at that gloriously golden brown bacon, which took approx. 5 minutes. Let it chill on some paper towels while you...
COOK THE SHRIMP IN BACON GREASE.
Until they're lightly browned and just cooked through, about 1 minute per side. You might need to do a few batches depending on how many fit in your pan. Once they're not too hot to touch, chop them into bite sizes.
Time to doctor up that shrimp. In a bowl, mix the shrimp with parsley, 2 tsp. lime juice, bacon, and remaining 2 tsp. sambal oelek—oh right, don't forget salt + pepper. Almost there! Put grits into bowls. Put shrimp on grits. Put spoon into grits...and I think you can figure out the rest.
Get the Recipe:
