Southern Style Cheese Grits.
Southern Style Cheese Grits comes from a recipe card in my mother’s collection and is attributed to J. Ross. It’s tasty but very rich; feel free to cut back on the butter or cheese to your preference. The final step of baking is something I have not seen elsewhere and it is optional but makes for a nice presentation.
Ingredients:
1 c grits*
4 c water
2/3 stick butter
8 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
1 ½ t “Savory” (can sub a BBQ rub)**
1 t Kosher salt
Few drops of tabasco
2 eggs, well beaten
If you were serving at your canasta club, the extra baking step makes for a more formal presentation.
Method: add grits to water in a pan with deep sides. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens. This might take 5-15 minutes depending on the grits you are using. Remove from the heat and stir in butter, cheese and seasonings. Stir in eggs after temperature has reduced so they won’t curdle immediately. Serve immediately, or transfer to a greased pie plate and cook 1 hour at 250 degrees.
*I used Anson Mills Quick Grits which required the additional steps of skimming chaff off soaking liquid and soaking overnight.
**J.Ross’ recipe calls for “Savory”, not the herb but a spice mixture which was popular at the time. Ingredients include salt, sugar, paprika and cayenne so a typical BBQ rub would be a good substitute.
