The Impatient Chef Recipe: Ham and Grits with Red-Eye Gravy

"Them Damn Grits" - George Carlin

The Impatient Chef has presented a couple similar recipes in the past.  The first was Blue Grits with Ham and Red-Eye Gravy, and the second was Cadillac Ham and Grits with Red-Eye Gravy.  The first is a decent recipe, but The Impatient Chef has moved away from that style of gravy for this dish because the version presented here is simply better, and it's highly Impatient.  The second recipe was done on a lark, and while the lark lived to tell the tale, it is not something one would want to do all the time unless money was not an object, and, again, this recipe is better.  

Notes on ham:  If you have a honest-to-goodness butcher shop in town, hie ye thither to procure your ham.  The Impatient Chef has found that the good hams are not in the supermarket.  An exception is Beeler's ham, which can be found in natural food stores.  

This is a great dish for leftover ham after a holiday meal. You can save ham fat, and you also can pick all of the yummy ham scraps off of the bones.  What?!?  You got a boneless ham?!?  Shame on you.

With practice, you should be able to get all of the ingredients done at the same time, which is important so that it goes together hot. 

The Impatient Chef uses Bob's Red Mill White Grits.  They get the job done with style.  If you dare, you can use Anson Mills Antibellum Coarse White Grits.  However, they are decidedly not Impatient, and you have to soak them overnight.  They are fabulous, though.

Serves 2.  You can get this breakfast done in less than fifteen minutes with a little practice.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chopped ham fat scraps (substitute with 2 tbsp bacon grease if necessary) 
• 1 well-packed cup cubed ham 
• 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill white grits 
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper 
• 1 tablespoon butter 
• 1/2 cup brewed coffee 

Directions:

1. Make coffee. Reserve 1/2 cup, into which you will add 2 dashes of cayenne pepper. 
2. Render the ham fat in a medium iron skillet on medium high heat until there is enough grease in the pan to fry the ham. If you are using bacon grease, or (shudder) vegetable oil, you can skip this step. 
3. While the fat is rendering, cook grits. In a small saucepan, add 2 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Add the grits and stir. When they return to a boil, lower heat until they barely simmer. Cover, and stir every 30 seconds at minimum. Be careful to stir the bottom of the pan because they will stick.  
4. Remove the ham fat scraps from the skillet (do not discard the oil), and add the ham. Fry the ham, stirring them often, until they start to brown. You want a nice fond in the bottom of the pan. 
5. When the grits are almost done, add the butter, salt, and pepper. Stir.  You can use less salt if you are so inclined.
6. When the ham is browned, remove from pan. Set aside in a bowl. 
7. Return the pan to the heat. Stir the coffee to suspend the cayenne. and add it to the pan, Stir with a flat end wooden spoon to deglaze, scraping the bottom to suspend the fond in the coffee. Turn off the heat. You now have red-eye gravy. 
8. Turn off the heat for the grits as well. 
9. Divide the grits into two bowls. Add ham over top. Swirl the red-eye gravy in the pan, and then pour half of it over each bowl. 
10. Serve.

The Quay Gang Cookbook Recipe: Chili-Lime Shrimp and Grits

Grits and I go way back.  I served in the US Army in the 1980's, and spent some tme in the South.  At breakfast one day in Basic Training, I decide to try the grits.  A fellow soldier saw this, and sat at my table (his last name was Maldonado, if memory serves), and said, "I'll show you how to eat that.  All these people putting milk and jelly into it are wrong.  I'll show you how we do it in the South."  He put a pat of butter into my grits, and sprinkled some salt and pepper onto it.  Then he stirred it in.  I am ever grateful that he saved me from milk and jelly, so Mr Maldonado, if you are out there reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  Grits have been a constant companion since that day.  

My exploration of Southern Cooking has taken me to Cajun Shrimp Boils, Red Beans and Rice, Nashville Hot Chicken, Ham annd Grits with Red Eye Gravy, Cornbread, and, of course, just grits.  This dish is truly a joy in the morning.  I have been working on it for a few years.  It started with using just butter, lime juice, and some pepper flakes, and ended with a bit more complexity, but much less of a greasy feel in the mouth.  It takes about 45 minutes to prepare, so get to it.  

Equipment:

• 12” cast iron, or stainless steel skillet 
• Small sauce pan 
• Two wooden spoons 
• Strainer 
• Stainless steel or glass (heat resistant) bowl 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound raw shrimp (with shells) 
• 1/2 cup quick grits (I prefer Bob’s Red Mill) 
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 4 large garlic cloves, sliced 
• 1 jalapeño, membrane and seeds removed, and diced 
• 6 tbsp butter 
• 4 1/4 cups filtered water 
• Juice of one lime, about 1 ounce 
• 4 tsp corn starch 
• 1 tsp Chili Sauce (I use Oregon Brineworks, but other's will work.  Do not use chili oil or paste)
• Salt 
• Freshly ground pepper 

Directions:

1. Peel and devein the shrimp. Put the shrimp meat into the refrigerator uncovered to dry out. 
2. Add olive oil to a 12” skillet on medium high heat. Sauté the shrimp shells along with the garlic and peppers until the shells appear spotty, about 5 minutes. Add 2 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to medium. Simmer for 10 minutes. 
3. Right after putting the lid on the skillet, put 2 cups of water and 1/2 tsp salt into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add grits and stir immediately. Bring back to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat until it’s barely bubbling, and cover. Stir regularly and often until smooth and soft. Remember to stir the bottom to keep them from sticking. Adjust heat if necessary to keep them from cooking too fast or sticking to the bottom of the pan. There should be no hard little nuggets left when done. Note: Bob’s Red Mill suggests a 1:3 ratio grits to water. I use 1:4. 
4. After cooking the shells and garlic / peppers for 10 minutes, strain the liquid into a bowl. discard the shells with the garlic and peppers. Add the liquid back to the skillet, add lime juice, and chili sauce. Stir the bottom of the pan to suspend that wonderful shrimp fond into the sauce. Reduce to 1/4 cup liquid, stirring constantly. Remove to a bowl. 
5. Keep an eye on the grits. If they are done early, simply turn off the heat, and keep the lid on. 
6. Increase skillet heat to medium high. Add 2 tbsp butter. Quickly stir to melt, and add the shrimp in one layer. Be careful to not burn the butter. Reduce heat if you see it turning brown. Sauté for about a minute on both sides, and add the reduced sauce. Stir cornstarch into remaining 1/4 cup of water, and add to sauce and shrimp. Stir until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in 2 tbsp butter. Salt and pepper to taste. 
7. Stir 2 tbsp butter into the grits, and salt and pepper to taste. 
8. Divide grits evenly in bowls, and then divide the shrimp and sauce evenly. 
9. Feeds up to 4 happy people.

The Impatient Chef Presents: Cadillac Ham with Grits and Red Eye Gravy

Swimming in Coffee!

The Impatient Chef has been experimenting with southern cooking for a few years, having watched Sean Brock on Parts Unknown and a few other cooking shows. A Cajun seafood boil at a local restaurant called “My Brother’s Crawfish” also played a big role in nurturing the southern foor urge.  

Sean Brock is a southern chef who has taken southern cuisine back to its roots and to new heights. The Impatient Chef suggests seeking his cookbooks out. 

 

Brewing up a new take on an old dish.

The Impatient Chef likes to, as it were, fiddle with traditions while culinary Rome burns. The following recipe is an example. What would happen if the ante on the ham was, as it were, upped.

The word “Cadillac” is used mostly with cocktails to denote expensive drinks that use premium spirits. The Impatient Chef once bought a Cadillac Margarita at a local upscale restaurant. It was very good.

With that in mind, The Impatient Chef presents: Cadillac Ham with Grits and Red Eye Gravy. 

Feeds 2.  

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb slab of prosciutto, about 3/8” thick.
• 2 eggs 
• 1/2 cup Anson Mills Coarse White Grits 
• 2 cups water 
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt 
• 1/2 tsp white pepper 
• 3/4 cup freshly brewed coffee 
• 2 dashes cayenne pepper 
• vegetable oil 
• olive oil 
• 1 tbsp butter 

Directions:

1. Anson Mills Coarse Grits require an overnight soak and careful cooking the next morning. The Impatient Chef grits his teeth, and uses these very patient grits because they are really good. You will find the recipe for making them here: https://ansonmills.com/recipes/489?recipes_by=grain. If you do not have the patience, use Bob’s Red Mill White Grits because they are a close second. Impatience ≠ bad food. For Bob’s Red Mill Grits, add the salt and pepper about half way through cooking. 
   
2. While the grits are cooking, cube the prosciutto. 
   
   
   
   
   
3. Make coffee. Set aside 3/4 cup. Add 2 dashes cayenne pepper to it.
4. When the grits are almost done, add the salt and pepper.  Stir.  
   Note: If you use the Anson Mills grits, wait until they are just about done to start frying the prosciutto. They take about 50 minutes if you follow the directions, and about an hour and a half if you don't. 
5. Heat an iron skillet on medium high, and add a couple teaspoons of vegetable oil, or, better yet, bacon grease.
6. Fry the prosciutto until the sides are browned like almost-done bacon. Do not fry it crisp because it will become too hard, but you want to have fond on on the bottom of the pan to deglaze with the coffee. Remove from pan when browned. 
7. Pour the coffee into the skillet and stir with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Work the bottom of the pan with the spoon until the fond is suspended in the coffee. Turn off the heat.  It is now red eye gravy. 
8. Fry the eggs over easy, or however you like them in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil, or, better yet, bacon grease. 
9. In two bowls, put half of the grits into each, followed by about a teaspoon of butter. Spoon on the fried prosciutto, and then lay a fried egg on top. Pour half of the red eye gravy onto each. 

Enjoy!

The Impatient Chef

Visit my photography website at www.quaygang.com

Blue Grits and Ham with Red-eye Gravy

My take on a popular southern breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped fatty ham scraps (substitute with more butter if necessary)
• 2 (3/8 inch thick) slices ham, cubed
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (add more if necessary to make roux)
• 2/3 cup brewed coffee
• 1 cup white or blue corn grits (I prefer Anson Mills Antebellum blue or white grits)

Directions:

1. Cook grits by package instructions.  Anson Mills’ directions can be found on their web site.  
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir ham scraps until browned, about 5 minutes. If you don’t have the ham scraps, substitute 3 tbsp butter.  Remove to a plate, reserving the grease in the pan.
3. Place ham cubes in the pan and cook over medium heat until browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. 
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and sprinkle flour over the pan drippings and ham cubes. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and pour in coffee into the pan. Cook and stir until combined and thickened. Season to taste. Serve over grits.  

Adapted from Allrecipes.com