The nitty-gritty about Shrimp and Grits and where to find the dish in Weld County

Gourmet Grub Scratch Kitchen’s current version of Shrimp and Grits blends Creole and Cajun influences. Pan-sautéed shrimp in a bacon-brandy sauce nestle into creamy grits finished with a touch of cream, white cheddar and lemon beurre blanc. Photo by Emily Kemme.

By Emily Kemme

There’s something about foods from the southern United States that gives them a distinct cachet. Some dishes are homespun and unfussy; others have names notable for their obscure pronunciation. Regardless of which group into which they fall, southern cuisine is memorable because it nonchalantly ignores dietary cautions we sometimes get uptight about. 

The foods of the South send a clear message: life is more about the celebration of eating than obsessing about our waistlines.

That might be why — when you nail the pronunciation — the names of Southern foods roll off the tongue like drawn butter: remoulade, étouffée, andouille, jambalaya and gumbo. Then there’s eggs Sardou (poached eggs pillowed in creamed spinach), barbecue, and chicken fricassee. 

And although the dish doesn’t come with a fancy name tag, nothing can touch shrimp and grits for its creamy, satisfying decadence.

“For me, growing up in Houston, the dish is tied to the New Orleans atmosphere,” chef and owner of Gourmet Grub Scratch Kitchen Justin Brown said. “Mine’s more Creole and Cajun-inspired. It used to have tempura shrimp on top but now it’s more traditional.”

Brown’s current version of the dish includes pan-sautéed shrimp in a bacon-brandy sauce, with roasted corn and diced red bell peppers for color and flavor. The traditional New Orleans shrimp and grits includes brandy, — “They love their brandy down there,” Brown said, noting the liqueur’s essentiality when going for Creole flair. 

Gourmet Grub cooks the grits to a creamy consistency and finishes them with a touch of cream, white cheddar and lemon beurre blanc. Brown also adds Cajun tasso ham, a salty, dry-cured ham that’s rubbed with mace, paprika, pepper, cayenne, cumin, coriander and allspice.

“It’s super salty and has African influences. You wouldn’t eat it by itself and don’t have to use much of it,” he said. “It’s flavoring for a soup, stock or the grits.”

There’s also a distinct South Carolina version of shrimp and grits. Often called Low Country, the region includes upper Georgia and combines culinary elements from the indigenous Native American population and African influences from the slave trade heritage.

If the three regional distinctions are confusing, join the club. Chef Clay Caldwell of Betta Gumbo, with restaurants in Loveland and his newest location in Windsor, explains the differences on his website.

The term “Cajun” comes from “les Acadians,” French colonists in Canada’s Acadia region who emigrated to the southern U.S. colonies. Cajun cuisine is the most country-style of the three and is centered on the holy trinity of celery, onion and green bell peppers. Heartier elements include heavier seasoning and plenty of garlic.

Cajun food encompasses much of the southern culinary tradition: andouille, gumbo, jumbalaya and étouffée are good examples, as is the well-known Cajun boil.

Creole food is more delicate, pulling recipes from French and Spanish settlers in Louisiana predominantly near New Orleans. While Creole cooking also incorporates the holy trinity of aromatic vegetables — often considered the starting point for many southern dishes — Creole recipes add tomatoes and there are influences from African, Native American and Caribbean cultures.

Many Cajun dishes also appear on Creole menus, but classics like shrimp Creole, po’boys (a variation of subway sandwiches layered with shrimp or fried oysters) and fried doughnuts called beignets are mainstays.

Low-Country cuisine is coastal: think sandy beaches, marshy tidewater and coastal waters. Oysters, shrimp, crawfish and rice are standard ingredients. Again, there’s crossover with the other two categories.

The partnership of shrimp with humble grits — they’re basically corn (or hominy) ground down into a gritty texture — is somewhat of an enigma, pulling from all three southern styles. 

Shrimp is often considered upscale: served as appetizers like shrimp cocktail, graced with a squirt of lemon juice and spicy cocktail sauce, shrimp is the life of the party.

Betta Gumbo’s two locations in Loveland and Windsor serves up cheesy grits topped with shrimp cooked in a spicy butter sauce. Photo courtesy of Betta Gumbo.

According to Deep South Magazine, grits originated from the Native American Muskogee tribe’s method of preparing dried Indian corn by grinding it in a stone mill, which gives it the distinctive “gritty” texture.

Descendants of West African slaves, known as the Gullah Geechee, paired grits with shrimp or fish when they received special allotments of food. The recipes were handed down through the generations after slavery was prohibited. 

Grits, like oatmeal, porridge and other warm cereals, are known for their ability to “stick to your ribs.” Paired with shrimp or fish — all plentiful along the southern coastline — and the dish rose in popularity with dockworkers as a sustaining, hearty breakfast. 

But cooks like to tinker with recipes and unsurprisingly, grits took on a fancier look when restaurant chefs expanded the dish out of the breakfast genre. In the early 80s, Southern chefs began adding cheese, butter sauce, sausage, bacon and other flavorful personalizations. As they tinkered, the dish morphed from sustaining to swanky.

Just like getting dressed up for a cocktail party, it’s all about the right accessories. But the quality of grits is a factor.

Gourmet Grub uses Bob’s Red Mill grits because they’re milled according to the traditional stone ground method which keeps them coarser and fluffier, Brown said.

But like that cocktail party, the toppings make a difference. It’s up to individual taste preference to decide which bowl of shrimp and grits is the belle of the ball.

Shrimp and grits around Weld County

Gourmet Grub Scratch Kitchen

2118 35th Avenue, Greeley, CO 80634

Betta Gumbo

277 North Lincoln Ave, Loveland, CO 80537 | 526 Main Street, Windsor, CO 80550