Shrimp and Grits: From Creek-Side Breakfast to Menu Star

This classic Southern dish stirs something deep inside.

I was sitting in the shady courtyard at 82 Queen in Charleston last spring, where the air smells faintly of jasmine and fried oysters, when my waiter slid a plate of shrimp and grits in front of me like it was a crown jewel. The shrimp glistened in a buttery sauce, perched atop a soft pillow of grits that would’ve made any Southern grandmother nod in approval.

The table next to me was full of tourists from Ohio, bless their hearts, and one of them leaned over to ask the waiter, “Now, do y’all grow grits here?”

Without missing a beat, the waiter smiled the way only a Charlestonian can and said, “No ma’am, they don’t grow on trees. Though I’ll admit it’d be mighty convenient if they did.”

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From Fishermen’s Fuel to Queenly Fare

Shrimp and grits didn’t start its life on fine china with parsley sprigs and waiters in starched shirts. No, ma’am. This dish began as nothing more than a fisherman’s breakfast. Back in the day, a shrimper would take a pot out on the creek—grits, shrimp, maybe a little bacon grease if he was lucky—and let it bubble until it was edible. Practical. Filling. Cheap.

And if you believe food historian Michael Twitty—and you should—its story goes back even further, to Mozambique, where people were cooking cornmeal and shellfish long before Charleston was even on the map. Enslaved Africans carried that knowledge across the Atlantic, and in time it took root in the Lowcountry, bubbling up in plantation kitchens and fishermen’s boats.

So yes, the dish has a complicated past. But it also has a long memory, one that deserves respect—even when it’s being topped with pork belly croutons in Baltimore or Wagyu beef in Houston.

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The Crook’s Corner Makeover

Fast forward to the 1980s, when Bill Neal of the venerable Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill took shrimp and grits off the back porch and marched it right into the spotlight. He fancied it up with cheese, mushrooms, and bacon, and before you could say “pass the hot sauce,” it became the darling of the Southern menu.

New York Times food editor Craig Claiborne wrote about it, and suddenly folks from Manhattan to Memphis were ordering shrimp and grits like they’d grown up on it. (Of course, real Southerners knew better—we were just sitting back thinking, “Well, bless their hearts, they finally discovered breakfast.”)

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Back at 82 Queen

Fork in hand, I asked my waiter, “So what do the tourists think of this dish?”

He leaned in and whispered like it was a family secret. “Most of ’em love it, but now and then I get someone asking if they can have it without the shrimp. Can you imagine? That’s just buttered grits, ma’am. And if you’re paying Charleston prices for buttered grits, well, you’re either a Yankee or you’re in love.”

A Dish with Soul

That’s the magic of shrimp and grits. It may have started as creekside fuel, but today it holds court as the Lowcountry’s ambassador on every respectable Southern menu. From the humble pots of fishermen to the polished plates of Charleston’s finest restaurants, it’s a dish that tells the South’s story—hardship and survival, ingenuity and pride.

And as I scooped up one last bite of those creamy grits topped with smoky shrimp, I couldn’t help but think: shrimp and grits may have gone fancy, but deep down it’ll always be the dish that makes Southerners smile and tourists scratch their heads.

My Best Shrimp and Grits

Our Tides of Traditions online cookbook features soft, buttery, cheesy grits with a savory, bacon-studded sauce surrounding lots and lots of shrimp. For color and crunch, they have a little parsley and green onions. It’s a combination of all my best experiences with this dish.

This recipe all starts with the grits, coarsely ground from one of our mills in South Carolina, like Marsh Hen Mill on Edisto Island, 2975 Highway 174. Their focus is on providing the best heirloom products and milling the finest grits and cornmeal for you and your family.

https://marshhenmill.com/

Creamy Southern Stone Ground Grits

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Marsh Hen Mill Stone Ground Grits (any type)

• 4 Cups Water (I like to use part chicken broth and part half-and-half for more flavor)

• Salt and pepper, and butter to taste

Directions:

1. Bring water or broth and half and half to a rapid boil in a heavy saucepan. (see note)

2. Add salt and butter.

3. Add grits and stir well until the liquid boils again. Whisking will help prevent grits from becoming clumpy.

4. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking for 25-30 minutes, stirring often and adding water or more broth as needed. Adding cheddar cheese, hot sauce, bacon, garlic, and other spices is delicious.

5. Add additional salt and butter to taste. Be sure to salt during this early stage of cooking. Whatever you do, do not add sugar!!

6. yields about 4 cups of cooked grits. Add more butter, and adjust salt and pepper if needed.

Note: You may start with 3 cups of liquid and add a 4th as needed while cooking, in case they are too thick, as this may reduce cook time, but will require a closer eye and more stirring.

*Cooking time may vary depending on the stove top and the conditions in the kitchen. Elevation and humidity affect cooking times.

I always soak the grits the night before and pour off the chaff and hulls that float to the top after soaking. This is a crucial step because they will never soften during cooking and can create a gritty texture in the finished dish. Soaking allows them to be skimmed easily.

Shrimp and Grits

4 servings

Shrimp and grits are best served immediately. You can get the grits going ahead of time and keep them warm on the stove for an hour or so, if you like. But the shrimp part is best made just before serving.

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups water

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup stone-ground white grits

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 ounces white cheddar cheese, shredded

• 4 thick slices bacon

• 1 cup chopped white or yellow onion

• 1 cup chopped green pepper

• 2 cloves garlic , minced

• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

• 1 cup chicken stock

• 3 green onions, chopped (white and light green parts only)

• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

• Juice of 1 lemon, about 1 to 2 tablespoons

  Method

• Cook the bacon:

  Fry the bacon in a large sauté pan on medium heat until crispy. Remove the bacon and chop it. Pour off all but about 3 tablespoons of the fat. Turn off the heat.

• Cook the grits: (see above instructions)

  Chop the shrimp:

  Reserve about 1/3 of the shrimp whole and cut the rest into 3 to 4 pieces each. Set aside.

  Sauté the vegetables, bacon, and shrimp:

  1. When the grits have cooked for 30 minutes, heat the sauté pan on medium-high. When the bacon fat is hot, sauté the onion and green pepper over medium-high heat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the bacon, garlic cloves, and shrimp and toss to combine. Let this cook another minute.

  2. Add the stock, then reduce:

     Add the chicken stock and let this boil down for 5 minutes.Add the cheese and butter to the grits:

     Meanwhile, stir the cheddar cheese and butter into the grits. The dish might not need any more salt, but add some if you'd like.

  3. Serve:

     To serve, spoon out some grits into individual bowls. Add to the shrimp the green onions, parsley, and lemon juice to taste. Add salt if it needs it. Spoon some shrimp over the grits and make sure at least one whole shrimp is on everyone's plate. Serve at once.