Garlic Butter Shrimp with Pimento Cheese Grits

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If there is a single dish Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding Lowcountry is best known for, it’s shrimp and grits. This Garlic Butter Shrimp with Pimento Cheese Grits is a regional favorite and it’s easy to screw up!

Now, shrimp and grits recipes vary widely depending on where you are in the south and how the chef preparing the dish interprets the ingredients, he has available. His grandma generally has some influence here, too!

If there is a single dish Charleston, South Carolina and the surrounding Lowcountry is best known for, it’s shrimp and grits…

We could spend hours diving deep into the semantics of the South’s most ubiquitous dish; Cajun shrimp and grits, cheesy creamy shrimp and grits, shrimp and grits with gravy…the list goes on and on. So, what then is the best shrimp and grits recipe? The best recipe for this totem of southern cuisine is the recipe YOU and YOUR EATERS can all agree on.

I am sharing a garlic butter shrimp recipe herein. I flavor it yes with garlic, but also with a scant amount of honey. Not to make it sweet, rather to highlight the sharp cheddar in the pimento cheese grits. Yup, flavor profiles really do work that way…

This is actually a two-part method for a meal that can be made and on your table in 30 minutes. You’ll want to hang on to the pimento cheese grits for Brunches and quickie weekend breakfast sides. A bowl of pimento cheese grits and a broiled tomato and I am set until dinner time.

Ingredients Needed for This Recipe

• raw peeled and deveined shrimp
• unsalted butter
• soy sauce
• garlic cloves
• honey
• dry white wine
  Kosher salt
• black pepper
• stone ground grits, yellow or white
• milk
• prepared pimiento cheese

Optional

• chopped red pepper
• andouille sausage
• crumbled bacon
• green onions
• chicken broth (in lieu of water)
• bacon fat (in lieu of butter for sautéing the shrimp)
• cream cheese (in lieu of pimento cheese)

How This Recipe Came About…

Never thought I’d say it, but I love me some grits. Yes, this Jersey girl is a convert. Keep your home fries and your melon cups and give me some Carolina belly-filling comfort food. Oh, and with cheese, please…

This recipe came about in an effort to make good on conquering recipes born in the south. For me, grits to date have been THE MOST DIFFICULT ingredient to cook. Why? The salt. Salting grits is 100% necessary to make them taste like anything. BUT, salting grits MUST be done at precisely the right time during the cooking process.

To this day, I know Beenya’s (Beenya is a Gullah term for “been here,” or somebody who is native to the Lowcountry of South Carolina), who will argue with one another that to correctly salt grits, the salt must be added at the beginning of the cook. Others will profess the salting only counts if added at the very end. Who do I believe?

I don’t have to believe either because I cheat and add cheese. Let’s face it folks, Yanks add cheese to everything if we’re not sure what the heck else to do with it, so as far as my grits go, I’m only concerned with adding some cheese.

How To Make Garlic Butter Shrimp?

First, you’ll need a batch of grits. Now, you can fix your grits any way you like, but if you’ve never prepared grits, consider the method I have shared in this post. With the addition of milk and butter and cheese, this corn side is rich, creamy, and super cheesy. There is just so MUCH to love, and I can nearly guarantee that you will.

In terms of shrimp, opt for fresh IF you are able to source fresh. I am a coastal state living in a coastal seaside town, so I have access to fresh seafood daily. I know many of you do not, which is why fresh frozen shrimp are fine to use. Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight. They should be raw, uncooked shrimp, peeled, and deveined with only the tails on.

I butterfly with an additional final cut going all the way through. Like a whale tail. Shrimp look jaunty when cut this way once they are cooked through. Also, they stand up IF you’re serving a dish where the visual counts. If you prefer to butterfly and stop there, good. If you want to go old school and leave ’em whole, that’s fine, too.

How much garlic you use is up to you. The one tip I can impart here is to use fresh garlic versus anything out of a jar. First, you’ll never hear me singing the praises of jarred garlic EVER. So with me, always assume fresh cloves that you’ll chop and/or mince.

I specify two cloves minced in this recipe, however I myself use four. Why? I’m looking for that caramelization that garlic undergoes as it heats and I LOVE IT. I cut the garlic butter with one teaspoon of honey. Again, flexibility is yours in this recipe, so go additional honey or omit altogether if you have strong preferences where honey is concerned.

Modifying The Norm To Make It Not Entirely Average…

I made this once for 150 guests to a piano drop-in at my friend Bubbies house. Just your average Saturday afternoon on Charleston’s Battery for nibbles and a good sing along. How did I make this dish not entirely average?

I added both bay and sea scallops to the lineup in addition to the shrimp. And rather than offering little plates, both the seafood mixture and cheesy grits were assembled in ceramic appetizer spoons and offered as heavy hors d’oeuvres. Genius.

If the grits were going to be changed up in any way from the pimento cheese, consider shredded smoked gouda or shredded truffled cheddar. Smoke and truffle are two earthy elements that scream fancy schmancy, so use them to your advantage when you can. In grits, you absolutely can.

What To Serve With Garlic Butter Shrimp?

Well, pimento cheese grits of course. For this dish, less is best. I personally keep it simple with a summer peach caprese salad and sometimes also a fresh corn and tomato toss. If sticking to a Lowcountry theme, serve okra or pickled vegetables.

If you felt the need to serve a bread, consider a mixed bread basket on the table with smaller slices of zucchini, Pecan Streusel Banana Bread, Spinach Feta Cheese Bread, buttermilk, and corn breads. An herby citrus compound butter would compliment all three breads very nicely.

What To Drink With Garlic Butter Shrimp?

The lemony quality of a good Chablis or a steel-aged Chardonnay pairs well with shrimp. I also love a white sangria with this dish, one prepared particularly with pears or grapefruits.

If beer is the ever thirst-quencher for you, Abita beer is hard to beat. The pairing of Abita with most shrimp dishes is impressive to the palette.

Can Garlic Butter Shrimp Be Made In Advance?

Yes and no. To get as far ahead with this as you can, prep your shrimp and place them on ice. I do this the day before and simply bag my prepared cleaned shrimp and place over some ice in a deep bowl and pop into my refrigerator.

The remainder of ingredients may be prepped and measured out, too and held over by 1 day until ready to cook. Because this dish cooks in a matter of minutes, it is best to cook it hot and cook it only once.

How To Serve Garlic Butter Shrimp?

I appreciate individually prepared bowls for this one. Grits can be messy because they tend to clump, so the least amount of shoveling from bowl to bowl a person has to do is best.

Consider plating in your kitchen or butlers pantry and serving guests individually at the table versus family style from a single serving bowl. You also get greater portion control this way, ensuring EVERYBODY gets some of the beautiful shrimp.