FOLIO
I ran across a trailer from one of my old favorite movies My Cousin Vinny. You remember the breakfast scene where Vinny asks, “What is a grit anyways”, and the cook says, “Them’s hominy grits.” Well, it got me thinking about this old Southern staple and how much its popularity has grown, especially with foodies.
I can still remember my first experience with grits. I was traveling in the South on vacation as a child when I was served this mound of watery, tasteless mush topped with butter. I was not impressed. They were terrible, and it took many, many years before I would try grits again.
Quality grits somehow fell victim to the convenience food demons. The process of grinding grits changed from using cold stonerollers to produce a course, nutrient packed meal to using steel rollers to produce a fine, flavor and nutrition free, grain. The other blow to grits came from switching the strains of corn. The industry began using corn strains in which corn flavor was exchanged for maximum yield. The result of this: Quick Grits. Yuck!
But lucky for us, Anson Mills came to the rescue. In the late 1990s Anson Mills, a small startup company near Columbia, South Carolina, began grinding an antebellum strain of corn discovered in an old moonshiner’s field. In 2000 Anson mills began to distribute these high quality stone ground grits to chefs in the South.
I can still remember the first time I tasted these white hominy grits. I was running a restaurant in a Ritz in Northern Virginia when I was given a sample bag. Wow, freakin’ awesome! These are the stuff that dreams are truly made of. I can shut my eyes right now and see them simmering away; blop, blop, blop, like molten lava, delicious, creamy, corn flavored, molten lava. Unfortunately for the average grit-loving consumer, these Anson Mills stone ground grits were only available in bulk.
It was still many years before Anson Mills began to offer these flavor bombs for retail sales online. Now there are other companies selling equally awe inspiring stone ground grits. The best is Geechie Boy from Edisto Island South Carolina.
If you haven’t experienced these wonderful, soul satisfying flavor sensations then I feel very sorry for you. I’m shutting my eyes right now, and there they go, blop, blop, blop, now for a little cheese and lots of butter. That’s it. Time to make my dream a reality; I’m gonna cook some. Try this version of mine.
Chef Bill’s stone ground grits
Ingredients:
• 1 cup stone ground grits
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 3 and 1/2 cups milk
• 1.5 oz. butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 4 oz. white cheddar, shredded
• 2 oz. goat’s cheese
• 3 oz. butter
• Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Heat stock and milk in a saucepan, whisk in the grits.
2. Add a little salt and pepper and continue stirring.
3. Simmer on low heat for about 45-60 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. After 45 minutes, check to see if the grains are beginning to soften, then add the cheese and butter.
5. Adjust the seasoning and enjoy!
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