Grits and Grillades

Grits and Grillades

Grillade [gree-YAHD] 1. French for “grilled (or broiled) food,” usually meat. 2. A Creole dish of pieces of pounded round steak seared in hot fat, then braised in a rich sauce with vegetables and tomatoes. Grillade is customarily served with grits. —Food Lover’s Companion (Third Edition) by Sharon Tyler Herbst.

I’d like to say I grew up eating grits and grillades just because it sounds so gutsy and authentic—like it gives me Southern food street cred. The truth is, if my parents ever served this for breakfast (it’s a traditional brunch dish served in homes and restaurants across south Louisiana), I would’ve said, ‘eww’ and headed to the pantry for a box of Cheerios. The only thing I can say in my defense is, I’m not as dumb as I used to be.

Grillade can be made from beef or veal round, venison or pork—any tough, lean cut, sliced thin and pounded flat. It’s basically smothered or Swiss steak, done better Creole-style.

The components (from l to r): green onions, coarse-ground grits, whole peeled tomatoes, seasoning mix (salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder), ¼” slices of beef round, leftover bottle of Carmenere, fresh ground black pepper, green peppers, onion, celery (here, a frozen block of diced celery), bay leaves, beef broth, flour and whole, toasted cayenne (to be ground for seasoning mix).



Cut meat into 2” pieces, then season and lightly flour


Pound the meat


Brown the meat




Add trinity


Saute trinity in fond/oil leftover from browning meat


Return meat to pot, along with bay leaf, wine, broth and crushed tomatoes. Simmer.








Finished grillades


After smelling this goodness cook all day, we forgot to stop and take a picture of the finished dish. So, you’ll have to use your imagination to picture this: tender, peppery, stewy grillades ladled over a steaming pile of creamy, cheesy grits, topped with a scattering of chives and parsley. A tasty dish on a sub-zero day.

Ccrush, that is one beautiful shot of saucy meat.

One question - I know that, to a southerner, this must be akin to requesting a recipe for PB&J, but - can you give us a short tutorial on grits?

Mhays wrote: One question - I know that, to a southerner, this must be akin to requesting a recipe for PB&J, but - can you give us a short tutorial on grits?

Rule #1: There ain't no such thing as "quick grits".

Making grits is like making risotto...you can't hurry perfection.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I attempted making Crockpot grits based on a recipe I found in Saveur. Bad idea. The grits were still soupy after 6 hours on low (and 30 minutes on high). I think the recipe calls for too much liquid (5:1). I had to dump the Crockpot-ed grits into a saucepan to finish.

I also use an assortment of liquids--water, broth, milk, 1/2 and 1/2--to make the grits a wee more decadent and creamy.

1 cup coarse yellow grits (white grits are for sissies)
4 cups liquid (whatever you choose--broth, water, milk, etc.)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Cover the grits with the liquid of your choice in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Pour remaining liquid into a separate sauce pan and keep it warmed.

2. Set the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cover.

3. Stir every 10-ish minutes. When the grits start to thicken and set, add a small amount of the hot, reserved liquid. Cook until the grits are creamy, but thick, up to 90 minutes. Season with s & p and stir in the butter.

Wow... you've got me drooling. Thanks for posting this and I hope to make this soon. My husband doesn't eat beef so I'm going to try making this with pork or chicken instead. (Although I personally would prefer to make it with beef!) Thanks for sharing this...

In New Orleans, you'll find places that make grillades with pork or veal. Brennan's serves veal on it's extravagant breakfast menu. I make a point to order it every time I go there.

One of Emeril Lagasse's early cookbooks, I believe that it is Louisiana Real and Rustic has a nice grillades recipe. To me, grillades are best when served with grits cooked in stock, milk and cream. It's an elegant, yet hearty,breakfast combination.

Colleen, I always appreciate a way to make brunch more interesting. Thank you.

Emeril's recipe in Real and Rustic is very similar to the recipe I used--from the Times-Picayune recipes blog on nola.com.

That looks so good! I'm trying it next weekend.

Thanks for posting it!

(I wish I had some right now)

crrush-
2 questions about your recipe. I have always added the grits to boiling liquid...do you have any lumping issues mixing them cold and then heating? Also, I have always used all the liquid at once (maybe adding a little more at the end if they get too thick)....do you do it over time to better control the consistency, or does it make a difference in the creaminess or something?

Thanks, Will

WillG wrote:crrush-
2 questions about your recipe. I have always added the grits to boiling liquid...do you have any lumping issues mixing them cold and then heating? Also, I have always used all the liquid at once (maybe adding a little more at the end if they get too thick)....do you do it over time to better control the consistency, or does it make a difference in the creaminess or something?

I've done it both ways--boiling liquid, adding grits; mixing grits/liquid cold--and I find that the starting from cold produces a creamier, more even consistency. No problem with lumping if you give the grits a good stirring the first 5 or so minutes of cooking.

Adding the liquid in batches probably isn't necessary, but I picked up that trick from making risotto--you get a better feel/sight for how much liquid the grit can hold (?); I use a variety of different grits (Anson Mills, Whole Foods bulk, "polenta"), and because they're ground differently, I find the slower process makes it easier to adjust the liquid (also to the consistency you want them--sometimes I like 'em a little runny, other times I like 'em thick and stiff).