Shrimp and Grits (South Carolina)

You'd be hard pressed to find a breakfast joint in South Carolina without shrimp and grits on the menu. The thick ground corn mixture forms a bed for fresh-from-the-sea shrimp, and any number of flavouring agents. This recipe gains salty depth and varied flavours from bacon (and its rendered fat), garlic, lemon juice, freshly squeezed, and if you'd like, peanut oil.

3 slices bacon, chopped
peanut oil, optional
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp. flour, unbleached
1¼ cups mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 large clove garlic, pressed
2 tsp. lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ tsp. Tabasco hot sauce
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced

To serve:
grits, cooked

In a medium skillet over low heat, cook the bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and reserve the bacon fat. (Add enough peanut oil to the reserved bacon fat to amount to make 1½ cups.) Reserve the skillet and fat.

In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with flour until lightly coated. Heat the reserved skillet and fat over medium-high; cook shrimp until they begin to turn pink, about 1 minute. Stir in the mushrooms and reserved bacon; cook 1 minute. Stir in the garlic clove (do not let brown), about 30 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, freshly squeezed, hot sauce, and scallions. Serve immediately over cooked grits.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.

Makes 4-6 servings.