Out of all of the breakfast dishes that exist, I would say Grits have to be the most controversial of them all. Why, you ask? There are two very stern schools of thought when it comes to how grits should be made and eaten. Some will insist that you should only eat grits with butter & salt (as well as maybe some cheese thrown in there as well). Meanwhile, there are other people who will insist that grits are best enjoyed sweet with a healthy heap of sugar. Me personally, I can enjoy them both ways. That being said, in this post, I’m going to share my recipe for the most savory southern-style grits you’ve ever had.
The History of Grits
Grits originated from the United States during the pre-colonial era. It is often the Native American community, particularly those tribes who were/are established in the southeast part of the country, who are credited with discovering what is now known to us as grits.
Once European settled arrived to the US in the 1600s ad 1700s, they learned how to make and prepare Grits from the Native American tribes. Grits were initially foreign to these new settlers because they came from a part of Europe (primarily the UK) where the climate and soil isn’t really conducive for growing Corn (they were more familiar with grains such as wheat or barley). That said, Grits quickly became a huge hit for them once they got a taste of it. African Americans who were enslaved by the European settlers also contributed their own cooking styles and flavor to enhance the Grits that Native Americans were already making.
Over time, Grits have become a mainstay in many household across the country, but especially in their native region of the Southeastern United States. The primary reasons for this is because of their historically low cost, which made them accessible and affordable to poorer populations. The way Grits are cooked has evolved quite a bit over time as well.
Key Ingredients for Savory Grits
These Grits are made with your standard ingredients: Water, Butter and Table Salt. That said, what makes this recipe stand out from the rest is the use of Chicken Broth, Smoked Paprika as well as Garlic + Onion Powder.
- Chicken Broth vs. Water: While using just plain water to make them is perfectly fine (and to be fair, this is the standard way to make them), I find it leaves the grits tasting a little too bland for my liking. With the addition of chicken broth and its savory profile, the grits gets a significant boost in flavor. That being said, adding too much chicken broth can also lead to the chicken flavor becoming way too intense and overpowering the other flavors in the grits. So for this recipe, I opted to split the difference between the two by making the Grits with half chicken broth as well as half water to dilute some of that chicken flavor.
- Garlic + Onion Powder: Why, you ask? It’s for a couple of reasons. While they taste perfectly fine with just salt and butter, I felt the flavor could use a bit more complexity and depth. So while testing my copycat recipe, I opted to give both Garlic Powder and Onion Powder a try in this dish and it makes a huge difference in terms of taste. What the garlic powder does is it gives the grits a bold, earthy and somewhat sulfuric flavor. Meanwhile, with the onion powder, turns out it actually does a great job of complimenting the flavor from the garlic powder by giving the grits a more pronounced umami flavor and adding a hint of sweetness.
- Smoked Paprika: The Smoked Paprika does a couple of things with the Grits in this recipe. It is fairly common knowledge one of the benefits to paprika is that it can make good look pretty, and this dish is no exception. It’s also believed that paprika doesn’t infuse much flavor into dishes by giving it a subtle silky red hue, and there’s truth to that when we’re talking about regular Paprika. But smoked paprika is a bit of a different story. The nice benefit about smoked paprika, as the name implies, it that it gives the grits a subtle smoky flavor, mainly because it was produced by drying over wood fires. Its addition really helps to enhance their savory taste.
And that’s all there is to it. These are great by themselves, as a side, for breakfast as well as for dinner. By the time you finish reading this post, you will also be a pro at making this dish yourself and you’ll have your family & friends begging to make these all the time!
Tips for Making this Recipe
For enhanced corn flavor, soak your grits. Now this step is very much optional, and to be perfectly honest, I typically skip it myself. That being said, for those who may not know, Grits are made from dried corn kernels that have been dried, hulled and coarsely ground. That being said, by soaking them for at least 6 hours (though ideally overnight), you’ll be extending the hydration process for the Grits, which helps them to preserve more of their corn flavor versus if you were to immediately cook them. There’s also the belief that it will tend to speed up the cooking time for the Grits (possibly even significantly) as a result of the corn kernels being hydrated beforehand.
Be patient. I understand we all have demanding lives and our time is valuable, so it’s always great when we can find “hacks” that make cooking easier / faster. Unfortunately, if you want the dish done right, this is a dish where there aren’t any real short cuts to the process. It may be tempting to want to constantly fiddle around with the heat as they cook (thinking they’re not cooking fast enough), but I advise against doing so. Grits are best when cooked low and slow. It may seem like the grits will never get done when you first add them, but trust and believe those grits will suck up all of that liquid a lot faster than you think.
Add more liquid if too thick. Perhaps the biggest pain point with this dish is it tends to get thick very quickly as they cool. That said, if this ends up happening to you, not all hope is lost as the dish is still redeemable. All you would need to do is add a splash (or small amount) of hot liquid at a time (and this liquid can be broth or water) then stir them briskly to get rid of any lumps and smooth them out. Of course, the best way to avoid any of this happening is to eat the grits immediately once they’re done cooking and you place them on a plate or in a bowl.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add Cheese, Bacon or Shrimp to this recipe?
Absolutely! These are all very common add-ins that you find will only further elevate the dish.
Can I top my Grits with vegetables and other garnish?
Absolutely! I’m personally of having items like this of stuff on top of mine, which is why I officially excluded them from my recipe. That being said, if you prefer having these extra items as toppings on top of yours, you can certainly add them once they are done cooking and you’re ready to eat/serve them.
Can you substitute the Butter with Margarine?
The answer to this question always gets tricky.
I do understand that not everyone is able to eat dairy products and that butter is simply not an option for such individuals. In such cases, you *COULD* replace the butter with a shortening, but with a couple of important caveats. For starters, while shortening and butter are both different type of fats that can be used in baked goods, their fat composition is not entirely equal. Shortening tends to have virtually no water in it (thus is 100% fat), whereas Butter typically has a water content of 20-25% (depending on the brand).
The other caveat is that the use of cooking oils will change the flavor profile of the dish. Seed oils (I.E. Vegetable Oil, Canola Oil, etc.), which margarine is made from, are known to be neutral-tasting (meaning they have no flavor). So you will be losing the subtle nuttiness / sweetness that Butter offers.
All of that said, the short and sweet answer I can give you is I don’t recommend it. For a more detailed answer, see above.
Can I substitute the Old-Fashioned Grits With Quick or Instant Grits?
I don’t recommend it. The reason why is because quick and instant grits have been ground to a much finer consistency to allow for faster cooking time (thus the texture will end up significantly different). In addition, the corn flavor with quick / instant grits will not be as pronounced.
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The Best Savory Grits
Equipment
- 1 3qt Saucepan
- 1 Whisk
- Measuring Cups/Spoons
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Old-Fashioned Grits
- 2 Cup Chicken Broth
- 2 Cup Water
- 1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 TSP Iodized Salt
- 1/2 TSP Garlic Powder
- 1/2 TSP Onion Powder
- 1/4 TSP Ground Black Pepper
- 1/4 TSP Smoked Paprika
Instructions
- To 3qt saucepan, add broth, water and heavy whipping cream then whisk until combined.
- Warm saucepan on medium heat until boiling.
- Reduce heat to medium low and slowly add grits to saucepan while whisking non-stop until there is no clumping.
- Cook grits for 10 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to break up any clumping.
- Once grits have cooked for 10 minutes, add spices and butter then whisk until fully incorporated, then allow grits to cook for an additional 5 minutes
- Remove grits from the heat and serve hot.