So I always thought that I hated grits. I tried them when I was a kid, and I distinctly remember them having a nasty taste to them, so I never had them again. Until a couple of weeks ago, at a dinner we went to, I had some jalapeno cheese grits, and they were awesome. So I started making them at home, and I use this recipe. Oh my god, it’s so good.
Do you like or dislike grits? I still have a sneaking suspicion that there might still be a nasty taste if you just had them plain, or with just butter and sugar or whatever. True or false? Do you have any special recipes for them?
I love grits. But really, they are a delivery system for everything I put on them. I’ve made the recipe you linked to. Pretty good, I will say. But plain old diner grits are good if you hit them with enough butter, pepper, salt, hot sauce, cheese, chilis and bacon.
Instant grits used to be more common, I think, and they’re horrifying. Real grits, though, especially yellow grits (IMO–this may be totally psychological), have a slight corny flavor that’s really delicious. I’ll happily eat them just with butter and salt, but if you cook them with milk and salt and stir in tons of butter and cheese, they’re excellent.
[My Cousin Vinny] “'Course I’ve heard of grits. I just ain’t ever actually SEEN a grit.”
Actually, now that I think of it, I don’t think I have ever had grits. Where can I get them? I don’t recall ever seeing them on a menu or in the grocery store.
Our favorite cafe for breakfast has them on the menu, and I’ll order them instead of hash browns about every 5th breakfast. The waitresses know to bring the necessary adjuncts.
Grits would be a part of many-a “perfect” meal of mine but they would never feature. They’re pretty much the mashed potatoes of the southern breakfast. I love them, but don’t try to make them more than what they are.
I’m weird. In a breakfast setting like Waffle House, I treat their grits like I would Cream of Wheat…butter and sugar on them. In many other scenarios though, savory grits are sublime. I’m thinking of butter, cheese and bacon bit infused grits with sauteed shrimp mixed in. Ye gods that’s good.
They’re great if you gussy them up enough that you’re not eating grits! The Paula Deen baked garlic cheese grit recipe is fantastic and I don’t care who hears me say that. (But you’l want to at least halve it.)
They sell grits in almost all large grocery stores in the U.S. I can find them in Massachusetts just fine. Look next to the oatmeal on the cereal isle.
I never understood the fascination or disgust with Southerners eating grits. It is a little trendy and more acceptable now but they are the same thing they have always been. Relabel it ‘Polenta!’ and put them on a fancy Italian menu and people are thrilled to eat it.
It is the same thing as claiming white rice or oatmeal is disgusting. Grits don’t taste like much of anything on their own. It just depends on what you put into it and that could be anything. I like a snack of instant grits :eek: with a little olive oil and Louisiana seasoning. You can use anything though including sweet things if you want.
Yes, they take a while to cook (50 to 90 minutes of simmering and stirring). They don’t need anything other than salt and butter. Yeah, you can put cheese and jalapenos and all that other stuff in there but you owe it to yourself to try them as simply prepared as possible. After all, they are just coarsely ground corn.
Honestly, I’m puzzled by the people who have posted in this thread commenting on how they think grits have a nasty flavor. Do you think polenta tastes nasty? Because they are basically the same thing. What kind of heathen corn hating people are you? Damn.
If placing a specialty order with Anson Mills seems like too much of a bother then keep an eye out in your local supermarket for Bob’s Red Mill Corn Grits, Also Known as Polenta. They are actually my go to, easy to make grits, though they are not as quick and simple as the abomination known as Quick Grits. Very tasty and much more of the yummy flavor of corn. All you really need is salt and butter with these but again you can always add other things as well.
And before anyone starts the grits vs. polenta argument - for all practical purposes they are the same thing. So there.
I think the people who hate grits probably ate it plain. It’s not bad but it is bland. It would be like eating a bowl of plain white rice. Grits, like rice, need to have some flavor added.
