How to Make Grits

print recipe card
posted in Breakfast and Brunch by Kathy Maister

Difficulty:

My niece Fiona is in graduate school here in Boston studying teaching English as a Second Language. She came up with the idea of doing a cooking demonstration to help someone trying to learn English to understand better the use of prepositions (in, on, under, beneath, against, beside, etc.)

Since she is from South Carolina, cooking grits seemed the obvious choice! My post today will focus on “how to make grits”, not “the use of prepositions” – for that, you’ll have to ask Fiona!

Grits are a grain made from ground corn or “hominy.” When cooked, they have a porridge-like consistency. They are a common food in the Southern portion of the United States. Depending on how they are prepared, grits can be eaten as part of breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Plain grits take 2 minutes to prepare and about 40 minutes to cook. Instant grits are available but (quote) “no true Southerner would serve instant grits”. (Does anyone remember the movie “My Cousin Vinny”?)

To make two servings of grits, measure out 1/2 cup of grits….

…and 2 and 1/4 cups of water.

Measure out one Tablespoon of butter and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

(I personally felt that this was too much salt, but that was what the recipe called for.)

Put the grits, butter and salt in a sauce pan and add the water.

Stir everything together.

Set the stove to high and bring the grits to a boil.

Cover the pot and lower the temperature to simmer.

Simmer the grits until all the water is absorbed and the grits develop a smooth and creamy texture – about 40-45 minutes.

There are numerous variations to this basic recipe. Perhaps Fiona (or any of you who wish to join in) will share some with us.

Thanks Fiona!

If you are new to startcooking, or are a regular visitor here, please consider subscribing for free.

subscribe |

8 Comments

KGWagner said:

Yes, I remember “My Cousin VInnie”. Excellent flick, I thought Grits are a curious thing, though. They’re nutritionally almost empty. Flavor-wise, they’re not much to write home about, either. If it weren’t for the butter and salt, I don’t know how much of them would ever get eaten. I suspect they’re popular because they’re inexpensive and filling. But, anything that marries up with corn or cornbread would work well with grits as a side dish or a garnish.

rachie said:

I absolutely LOVE grits! A little bit of butter and a little bit of brown sugar or syrup and theyre absolutely amazing!

Kathy Maister said:

Since I had a big bag of grits in the Pantry, I decided to make with cheddar cheese. My oh my oh my…they were tasty!

Angie said:

YUM! I love grits! Alas, I have only made them from the box. But I still love them!

Niall Harbison said:

Hi there

I just found your blog through stumbleupon and am loving the design, nice and clean and simple. The recipes are looking nice as well and can certainly see myself making some of them in the future. I am actually looking for people with excellent food photos who want to share them with the world and interact with other foodies. I started by blogging myself about a year ago and was frustrated that not enough people were seeing the quality content I had and saw huge potential for people to share their food photos and videos with a bigger audience and ultimately drive more traffic back to their own site. Check me out at http://www.ifoods.tv and let me know what you think and keep up the good work on the blog!

Arthur Perkins said:

Am writing a cookbook for people cooking for one. “Tea for Two, Dinner for One. Grits was one of my staples. I lessened the salt (sea salt causes less high blood pressure issues) and I added black beans (goya). It is quite filling. “Remember, it’s not just for breakfast anymore.”