Restaurant Recipes
High Cotton Shrimp and Grits
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
Grits
- 6 cups water
- 1/4 pound butter
- 2 1/4 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups stone-ground country grits
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
- 1 pound claw crab meat
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons prepared yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoons lemon juice
- 6 dashes Tabasco sauce
- 1/4 cup cracker meal or 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 pound butterflied shrimp
- 1 1/2 pounds bacon, lightly cooked
Collard Greens
- 6 strips bacon
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup pepper vinegar
- 1 bunch collard greens, cleaned and chopped
Pepper Gravy
- 1 carrot
- 4 ribs celery
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 pound butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 2 cups shrimp stock
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
Grits
- Bring the water, butter and heavy cream to a boil, add the grits and simmer for 1 to 2 hours until grits are creamy.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Crab Stuffed Shrimp
- Pick through the crab meat to be sure there are no shell particles. Mix together crab meat, peppers, onion, egg, 1/4 cup heavy cream, mustard, lemon juice and Tabasco.
- When thoroughly mixed, stir in cracker meal or bread crumbs until mixture is dry enough not to stick to hands easily.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pack a small amount of the crab mixture into each shrimp and wrap each one with the cooled precooked bacon slices. Set aside.
Collard Greens
- Sauté the 6 strips bacon and onions in a tall pot.
- When brown, add vinegar and boil for 5 minutes.
- Add collard greens, cover the pot and steam until tender. You may want to add a little water to keep them from drying out.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pepper Gravy
- Puree the carrot, celery and onion in a food processor.
- Sauté pureed vegetables with pepper and salt in the butter until tender.
- Over medium heat, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir well. The mixture will become pasty. Continue to stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add sherry and shrimp stock. Bring to a boil. The mixture will thicken as it comes to a boil.
To serve
- Roast the shrimp in a hot (400 degrees F) oven until the bacon is crisp.
- Place a portion of the grits in a bowl.
- Top with collard greens and the shrimp.
- Lightly cover with the pepper gravy so there is an even, thin layer over the shrimp, collards and grits.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.
Attribution
Chef Jason Scholz, High Cotton, Charleston, South Carolina