Blackened Shrimp and Grits

Stone-ground grits cooked slow with milk and sharp cheddar, under shrimp seared dark in bacon fat and a quick gravy built on stock from their own shells.

Buy the shrimp in their shells. Fifteen minutes of simmering those shells in water gives you a stock that tastes more like shrimp than anything in a carton, and it costs you nothing. That stock is the gravy.

Chef's shortcut: Dirty South Crack is the blackening spice here: 1 tablespoon on the shrimp before they hit the pan, the rest in the gravy. It's already salted, so taste before you add more. Get it at Crack Spice

Ingredients

• Grits
• 2 cups whole milk
• 3 cups water
• 1½ tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup stone-ground grits, not instant
• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 oz sharp white cheddar, grated
• Shrimp and gravy
• 1½ lb large shell-on shrimp, 16/20 size
• 3 cups water, for the shell stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 oz thick-cut bacon, diced
• 1½ tbsp Dirty South Crack cajun seasoning, divided
• 1 shallot, minced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 lemon, half juiced, half in wedges
• 3 scallions, sliced

Method

1. Peel and devein the shrimp and keep the shells. Put the shells, 3 cups water and the bay leaf in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes. Strain, pressing on the shells. Measure out 1 1/2 cups for the gravy. Keep the shrimp in the fridge.
2. While the stock simmers, bring the milk, 3 cups water and salt to a simmer in a heavy 3-quart saucepan. Pour in the grits in a slow stream, whisking the whole time.
3. Drop the heat to low and cook, whisking every 5 minutes and scraping the corners, until the grains are tender with no raw bite, 40 to 45 minutes. If they stiffen before they're tender, add hot water 1/4 cup at a time.
4. Off the heat, stir in the butter and cheddar. Taste for salt. Cover to keep warm while you do the shrimp.
5. Cook the bacon in a 12-inch skillet over medium until crisp, about 7 minutes. Lift it out and leave about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pan. Top it up with a little butter if you're short.
6. Pat the shrimp dry and toss with 1 tablespoon of the Crack Spice. Raise the heat to medium-high and sear in two batches, about 1 minute a side, until dark outside and barely opaque. They finish in the gravy, so pull them early.
7. Lower the heat to medium. Add the shallot and cook 2 minutes, scraping up the dark bits, then the garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and the rest of the Crack Spice and cook 1 minute.
8. Whisk in the 1 1/2 cups shell stock and simmer until the gravy coats a spoon, about 4 minutes. Thin with more stock if it gets heavy. Stir in the lemon juice and taste before you add salt.
9. Return the shrimp and bacon to the pan for 1 minute, just to heat through. Spoon the grits into wide bowls, top with the shrimp and gravy, and finish with scallions. Lemon wedges on the side.