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Thursday, April 10, 2008
Got Grits?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Does the Flying Biscuit in Candler Park make the best cheese grits? (Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC)
What did civilization do before the discovery of the New World brought us corn?
We’re going gonzo over grits! To celebrate the Grits Festival this Saturday in Warwick, Ga., we’ve got grits by the gobs. The festival takes place April 12, starting with a breakfast (with grits, of course) at 7:30 a.m. The festivities, which include a corn-shelling event, an eating contest and a grits-making contest, end at 5 p.m. For more grit goodies, check out accessAtlanta.
What are grits, anyway? I’m sure there are those uninitiated in the know-how’s of one of the South’s greatest breakfast commodities, so here’s a 411:
Grits are eaten with butter and salt. They are NOT eaten with sugar.
Really fancy folks make their grits with cream or broth (or both) and butter. Some folks, like chef Joel Antunes of Joel in Buckhead (who is French and must like all that fancy schmancy stuff) even put truffle oil in their grits. That makes them taste really, really good.
Even more fancy folks have gone back to using stone ground grits rather than quick or instant grits. Instant grits are for sissies and folks who live above the Mason-Dixon Line (see note #1 above on sugar in grits). Quick grits are for moms whose 11-year-olds love grits so much they will eat them off the floor, so they better not take six hours to cook. Two local mills with great grits are Anson Mills out of Columbia, S.C. (whose grains are organic), and Red Mule Grits from Athens, Ga.
Grits are basically nothing more than a coarse meal ground from dried hominy (which is white or yellow corn kernels that have had the hull and germ removed). Yellow grits (something Italians call polenta) include the whole kernel; white grits use hulled kernels. The hulls, FYI, are usually softened with lye to help in their removal. (Grind grits into a fine dust and you get masa for making tortillas, tamales and the like.)
Southerners don’t just eat grits for breakfast. Depending on the region, we eat them with everything from shrimp to sausage; ham, cheese and fried fish. We argue over how to make them and where to get them as if they were as prized as French truffles. To us, they are.
This recipe is from Sallys-Place.com, and combines milk and water for a creamy, porridge-like bowl of grits.
BREAKFAST GRITS
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup stone-ground or other good quality grits
2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter
In the top of a double boiler, stir the milk into the grits, then add the water and seasonings. Stir well, cover tightly and place over the bottom, filled with an inch or two of boiling water. Cook over low heat anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half, or more, depending on the coarseness of the grind. When the grits are soft, add butter and serve. Serves 4
Now it’s your turn. We want to know: 1. Where do you get the best grits in Atlanta? and 2. What’s the best recipe for grits?
Here’s a map to some places that serve great grits. And here are more recipes for grits.
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