Last week I shared our good fortune when a friend shared a hunk of a genuine Southern country ham with us. After he spied our Country Green Eggs and Ham recipe he fired this one over with a note –
This plate will run you 14 bucks and change downtown at (redacted), though is the best dam (sic) way to use up those ham scraps. YOU MUST get some locally milled, stoneground grits – none of that instant crap, and its (sic) far better with the ham stock. They serve it with a pickled radish though just fresh slices radish (sic) are better. My wife won’t eat this at home without the greens either. And get the ham scraps crispy in the butter and keep the eggs soft. Yall will thank me for this one.
You were indeed right, JK, thanks for this one.
She Who Must Be Obeyed and I both grew up in the Southern part of the country and were served cheese grits for company and holiday meals since we can both remember. Those were great dishes, though typically made with quick cooking or instant grits, and we’ve kept a box of quick cooking grits in the pantry for decades.
However, the difference in flavor when cooking a true stoneground grit, slowly in a combination of broth and light(er) dairy pending what the grits will be served with / used for, has been a bona fide revelation for SWMBO and I. Stoneground grits taste like fresh corn with a more substantial, toothy texture.
Even if they do take a bit more time and a tad more effort (stirring), you have to try these at least once. And who can argue with a dish you can serve at any meal of the day and come off looking like a hero.
1 cup white or yellow coarse, stoneground grits
3 cups ham or chicken stock (see ham stock below)
1-2 cups water
1/2 cup half and half
3 tbsp butter
Your favorite good salt and fresh ground pepper1/2 cup country ham scraps
Ham scraps from making stock
4 large eggsGarnish: Sliced radishes, handful of spring greens or arugula, chopped green onions
Ham stock
1/4 cup country ham scraps
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
1 tsp fresh coarsely ground pepper
5 cups water
Ham stock (optional). Into a small pot go the ham scraps, soy sauce, pepper and water; simmer for about an hour. Add the onion and simmer another 40 minutes; strain reserving the stock and the ham scraps.
Grits. Add the grits and the stock (3 cups) to a medium sized pan and cook, covered, over low heat, stirring every 6 or 7 minutes until the grits are hydrated and thick enough to stand the spoon upright. Now add the half and half, stir and cook until thickened again. Repeat 3 to 4 more times, adding 1/2 cup water at a time, cooking until the grits are creamy and your preferred texture. Stir in 2 tbsp of butter, salt and pepper to taste; hold covered.
Prep the garnishes while the grits are cooking.
Ham and eggs. As the grits get close to finished, in a skillet crisp up the ham scraps in the remaining 1 tbsp. of butter, remove. Now fry the eggs as you prefer in the same pan, though keep those yolks soft.
Put it all together. Ladle the hot grits into serving bowls (4 for recipe as written), add the crispy ham and eggs and garnish at will. It sounds sorta strange at first read, but the sliced radishes and greens really add to the dish. Try it, you’ll like it.
Enjoy.
