Stone Ground Grits

Hi,

Yesterday while reading my way through back issues of Saveur magazine at the library. I found an article by John T. Edge, who will be in Chicago in October, on stone ground grits. I had bought some this Spring in Mississippi and New Orleans, then stuck them in the freezer for safe keeping.

Ever since I had the excellent buttery grits at Harry's Hot Dogs this summer, I have been thinking grits on a much higher level of appreciation. Thus when I found methods of preparing stone ground grits, there wasn't much more I needed to persuade me to make them.

In this same article was a discussion of Anson Mills of Columbia, SC, which I heard about last Spring from a NYT article forwarded by Peter Daane. Glenn Roberts has not only researched heirloom strains of corn commonly used for grits in the past, which he commissions farmer's to grow. He learned this corn was chilled by winter weather before processing. To reproduce these conditions, he chills his corn to -10 F before grinding. According to this article, he processes in batches which will be shipped the same day. He indicated his grits are sweet and corny tasting unlike those usually procured today. I'm going to a conference in October, where Anson Mills is a sponsor, so hopefully I will have an opportunity to learn more.

Basic Grits adapted from John T. Edge article in Saveur:
(Serves 4-6)

1 cup stone-ground grits
Salt
2 tablespoons butter

1. Here is the step I did not see on the stone-ground grits I bought: Put grits into a bowl, cover with cold water and stir to allow the chaff to rise to the top. Skim off the chaff, then drain grits in a fine strainer.

I used yellow stone ground grits, I found skimming off the chaff a pain though doable. If you have the yellow variety then I found a short cut: start to pour the water and grits into the sieve, the first group to hit the sieve is the (white) chaff, which I could easily discriminate from the yellow. You will find this chaff is maybe 25% of the volume, which is not insignificant. After you first try this, then I would increase the amount of grits to compensate for the chaff which was removed.

2. Bring 5 cups water to boil in a heavy bottomed pot. Stir in grits and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Reduce heat to medium low and cook grits, stirring often until soft and creamy in 1.5-2 hours. Frequent stirring prevents a skin from forming or grits sticking to the bottom. Add water if grits become too dry. Finish with butter and season to taste.

Not having any long term in-kitchen cooking projects, I was smoking pork shoulder outside, I wasn't in the mood to babysit one pot. Instead I followed an alternative using a crock pot (my first time):

Set Crock Pot temperature indicator to high. Follow step one to seperate the chaff. In the crock pot, put in 5 cups unheated water, grits, water, butter and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low, cover and cook grits until soft and creamy about 8 hours.

&&&

I ate these grits with some hot links slices I smoked with the pork shoulder last night.

Hi Cathy.

Growing up in the deep south, I always thought of grits as the most pedestrian of foods worthy only of consideration if they should be given a sharp grate of or slab of cheddar.

That changed one night in the late 1970s when my family dined at a realtively new restaurant near our vacation home on Edisto Island called "The old Post Office". It was creatively named The Old Post Office because it occupied the building that was the Island's old post office for years- you know the kind of place- you had to actually go there to pick up your mail because delivery to the entire Island would have been prohibitively costly.

The grits served there, were creamy and savory and soft- totally different from the tepid watery Jim Dandy brand slopped on my plate by my saintly mother when those dastardly winter temperatures would dive into the 40s.

The recipe is one that is widely published today. Back in the 80s, I coaxed it out of the chef along with 5 bucks for a bag of his custom stone ground grits. In the past, i have used a double boiler to make them, setting them on a gentle roll overnight. However, I imagine that your crock pot method would work equally well.

These grits are more than pedestrian breakfast food. They're excellent served at dinner (the noontime meal pronounced 'dunnah") or for a wonderful southern supper. They are diverse and make wonderful accompaniments to something as simple as some fresh creek shrimp sauteed in garlic, butter, salt and pepper or as sophisticated as a roasted veal chop with a roich demiglace. I've had the pleasure of eating smother quail over them as well as a roast duck with a blackberry compote.

Old Post Office Grits

1 Cup Milk
1 Cup half and Half
1 Cup veal stock (chicken is an acceptable substitute)
1 Cup water
1 Cup stone ground milled grits (no instant or quick cook)

In a large pot combine all of the ingredients and bring them to a slight boil over medium heat. Transfer to a double boiler and cook over a slow roll covered for 6-8 hours. Add a splash of milk from time to time to keep the grits from getting to thick and/or dry.

The Old Post Office Restaurant
Hwy 173
Edisto Island, SC

Hi Will,

Thanks for the slice of life history of your grits awakening. Special thanks for your recipe, which I will try very soon.

Have you separated the chaff from your stone ground grits before? This was news to me, but then again this was my first effort with stone ground grits. Erik M when he lived in the Carolinas was able to purchase fresh-ground-that-day grits. He also read somewhere about removing the chaff, which he practices. He indicated people frequently used the grits as-is without any consideration of the chaff. In this case, were people being frugal (stretching their food dollar) not separating the chaff or it just never occured to them?

Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock have a grits recipe in Saveur where they also separated the chaff out. They take a dim view of fancy ingrediants added to grits. "People should really leave grits alone," says Lewis.

Adaptation of Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock's Old-Fashioned Creamy Grits
(serves 4-6)
2 cups water, or more
2 cups milk, or more
1 cup stone-ground grits
Kosher salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Put grits into a bowl, cover with cold water and stir to allow the chaff to rise to the top. Skim off the chaff, then drain grits in a fine strainer.

2. Heat 2 cups water and 2 cups milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until just simmering. Stir grits into the milk and water. Cook, stirring often, until grits are tender to the bite and have thickened similar to thick oatmeal. As grits thicken, increase the rate of stirring to avoid sticking. Stone ground grits take an hour or more to cook and may require additional water and milk.

3. Season grits with salt, then stir in cream and butter. Remove from heat and let rest, covered, until serving. Serve hot.

&&&

I have a double boiler also, which could have been used. However, I am uncomfortable having the gas run at night unsupervised. Still taking safety into consideration, I left the electric crockpot in my stainless steel sink for the night. You never know when something can go wrong but I feel the sink somewhat confines most problems which may occur.

Will, thanks again for sharing your hard-earned recipe.

I think of wheat as having chaff and not grits, but probably a high falutin way to make them a smoother texture. While wheat chaff is totally indigestible, not sure that corn "chaff" is....I think it is little pieces of the hull, which may also be indigestible. Not my point anyway, because I can't recall ever making stoneground grits, but have used them in other ways.

I did try ordering from Anson Mills at one point. I think they prefer to sell to wholesale, but after a few emails back and forth, I gave up. I don't know if persistence would pay off the hype, but they seem to have the pr machine making the right moves.

Here is a link to their site: http://www.ansonmills.com/

LTH,

This thread had me in the mood for grits, so I stopped at the Place Grill for a quick fix around 11am. No such luck, grits sold out by 9am today.

I've never had the grits at Palace Grill, but I knew, from past posts, they were on the menu. I'm going to make a point of trying both Palace Grill and JimInLoganSquare/JeffB's pick for grits, Harry's Hot Dogs, in the next week or two and report back.

Edgebrook Diner, my current favorite spot for breakfast, has grits, but, while Edgebrook's grits taste pretty good to me, I'm not so sure they'd make a son of the South weep for joy. Edgebrook Diner's hashbrowns are another story, crisp, flavorful, pure potato goodness. I like them crisp with onion and giardiniera.

Edgebook Diner Hash Browns with giardiniera and onions.


Enjoy,
Gary

Palace Grill
1408 W. Madison
Chicago, IL
312-226-9529

Harry's Hot Dogs
Corner of Randolph and Franklin in Chicago

Edgebrook Coffee Shop and Diner
6322 N Central Ave
Chicago, IL 60646
773-792-1433
M-F 6:30am to 3pm
Saturday 6:30am to 2pm
Closed Sunday

HI,

When you go to Harry's Hot Dogs for the grits. I suggest you come between 6 to 7 AM or after 9 AM, because there is no parking from 7 AM to 9 AM. Also bring lots of quarters, because the meter charges a quarter per 5 minutes.

If you give me an 8 hour advance notice, I could pick you up to go there for the 6 to 7 am period. I will do grits JeffB style with two eggs on top.

Harry's Hot Dogs
300 West Randolph Street Floor 1
Chicago, IL 60606
312-782-7386

Hi,

University of Georgia has a slide show presentation on how to make grits.

If grits are bolted (an old fashioned word for sifted), "the bolted grits have the finer particles sifted out. In grinding corn meal the coarser particles which are separated in the bolting are used as cereal. (sift or bolt corn flour through a 32 mesh screen, and sift grits through an 16 to 18 mesh screen)"

An alternative method to bolting is fanning: "... The laborious process of 'fanning' the grits to release the chaff. Fanning involves the use of a specially made shallow rim basket, locally known as a fanner basket. In this vessel, the grits are tossed and turned with the lighter chaff blowing away in the breeze."

An unimpeachable definition of chaff related to corn could not be found. However, chaff was used by the Illinois Crop Improvement Association in a general discussion of testing corn: "Wet Milling larger amounts of broken corn lost in cleaning (screening to remove chaff, broken grain and small kernels), lower starch yield due to high-temperature drying."

OPINION: I would hardly consider the extra step of removing the chaff as high falutin (no entry in my dictionary for falutin). It is an extra step of care, which the home cook can easily do, to improve the quality of their stone ground grits served to friends and family. Of course, you can skip it when you buy your grits already bolted; which is likely premium priced.

Cathy2:

Today while shopping at Fox and Obel, I noticed that they had Anson Mill's stone ground grits oin their frozen section right next to the veal stock. I have to admit that, in my years of southern cooking, I have never tried the frozen product. But I bought an expensive pound (nearly $7.50) which I will prepare ala a cross between the Scott Peacock version that requires soaking the grits to remove the chaff and slow cooking with veal stock, milk and cream.

Stone ground grits and veal stock displayed together. Hmm. Makes you wonder if someone at Fox and Obel is reading LTH.

Yourpalwill wrote:Stone ground grits and veal stock displayed together. Hmm. Makes you wonder if someone at Fox and Obel is reading LTH.

Hey Will,

You are a trendsetter!

I am quite interested to learn your opinion of those grits. Erik advised he looked up the Edna Lewis/Scott Peacock book to read more about grits. The issue of the chaf was exclusively to stone ground grits. From everything I have read about the Anson Mills grits, these should be a startling contrast to the grits you grew up with. They are supposed to taste sweeter and for lack of a better word: cornier.

Maybe we could arrange a side-by-side tasting? I have those non-Anson Mills stone ground grits which I could prepare a parallel recipe to your Anson grits. My stone ground grits I already found to be an improvement over the Quaker Oats variety.

&&&

As for veal stock, I was at Charlie Trotters on Friday night. They were preparing a veal stock in the kitchen in an electric hot pot about 3-4 feet wide and maybe 4 feet tall with a spout at the bottom. They had begun making this stock Friday morning and expected to finish Saturday for a final quantity of 3-5 gallons. Now maybe I should have brought over my quart jar begging cup?

I plan on being in South Carolina next week and will pick up some high quality milled grits to add to the comparison. That, in my experience is the highest and best quality product that I have used.

We'll have to give this grits comparison a try. I take a break in my southern fried college football tour after next weekend, so maybe we could organize a Grits tasting along with some superb accompanying entrees. Sadly, my first sampling of anson mills grits won't last that long as I plan on cooking them in the crock pot tonight while I sleep.

I still have one quart of my lowcountry shrimp frozen in blocks of creek water in the freezer. So, those sauteed in gfarlic butter, along with the grits will make my first foray cooking a lowcountry breakfast on a Tuesday morning in Chicago will come early tomorrow.

Yourpalwill wrote:I still have one quart of my lowcountry shrimp frozen in blocks of creek water in the freezer. So, those sauteed in gfarlic butter, along with the grits will make my first foray cooking a lowcountry breakfast on a Tuesday morning in Chicago will come early tomorrow.

It may well be call low country, but I am certain you are living the high life.

Enjoy your breakfast!

Hi,

At the Southern Foodways Conference, I met Scott Peacock whose recipe for grits, along with Edna Lewis, I had referred to earlier in this thread. Of course, I had to discuss with him my experience with stone ground grits and their technique of removing the chaff. I advised my grits had as much as 25% chaff, which startled him.

I did learn something which the Saveur article did not include, the cooking time of 1.5 hours is modest, it can sometimes be as long as 4 hours. He advised if he told the truth, then he felt nobody would entertain making them. I offered I have been making mine in a slow cooker overnight, which he thought was a method for the home cook. He doesn't favor adding cheese or getting too fancy with the broths: just milk, water or a mixture of both.

I mentioned Anson Mills and the challenges ordering from them, and got rolling eyes from everyone in this conversation. Anson Mills is a one-man operation everyone agreed who needs more help with his operation.

Scott Peacock's orders his stone ground grits from Logan Turnpike Mill (Blairsville, GA) ~ 706-745-5735 or 800-84 GRITS. Scott's preference is for white grits because they taste sweeter and cornier.

A t-shirt I still kick myself for not buying: GRITS: Girls Raised In The South.

Hi,

Last night before retiring, I started to slow cooker grits. I used 2 cups water, 2 cups milk and 1 cup grits. In the morning, I added salt to taste and cream.

The grits used were bought in Mississippi. Just last night I read the label for the first time: whole grain grits. My assumption these are regular long-cook grits as opposed to instant type from Quaker Oats.

If there had been time, I was meeting an early deadline, then I would have had at least one sunny side up egg to egg with it. Anyway, they endured an 8-hour cook and were quite delectable all by themselves.

I have been doing a lot of the slow cooking grits and oatmeal. I use about 1/2 2% lowfat milk and half water.

Personally, I can't tell an enormous difference between the high-end (read expensive) oatmeal/grits than those I pick up at Aldi's. However, I will admit that hot oats and grits are a great comfort food when you know that you have to spend a day out in the blustery weather on a day like Saturday.

As for the grits, try folding in about 1/2 cup of a sharp cheddar to the mix for a different taste.

Joe,

Could you comment on the slow cooking oatmeal? We always buy the slow cooking oats, which I will soak overnight before cooking. It never occurred to me to slow cook these, which will be usefull over the holidays.

This morning, I had totally forgotten my starting up the grits. Oh, that was a lovely surprise this morning to see them. Scott Peacock's assistant suggested finishing them off with some unsalted butter in the morning, though cream probably did just as well this morning.

Thanks for the cheddar idea, I did indeed do that for my late lunch today.

HI,

While Stone Ground Grits are a long, long cook. My spur of the moment decision for grits is satisfied by regular grits as opposed to instant grits. Yet regular grits is still a pot to be stirred and watched over for twenty minutes or so.

A few months ago, I saw an article proposing alternative uses for kitchen appliances. It was proposed to make grits in your regular (non fuzzy logic) rice cooker. I tried it this evening to very positive results.

Mind you I wasn't in the kitchen when they cooking. I was probably gone far longer than necessary. They were on warm cycle having finished cooking, which meant the bottom was a bit cakey. Once I stirred the grits together to even things out, then the grits were excellent.

Regards,

hi cathy, i buy stone ground grits from Charleston Favorites (www.charlestonfavorites.com). there are 2 brands of white grits, both good.they also carry yellow grits. the grits come in cotton sacks and do include the step of letting the chaff float up and away. (and there is lots of it). they are both excellent and only take about 30 minutes to cook. i'm a big fan of a dinner of cheese grits with shrimp and mushrooms sauteed and then topped with lots of chopped scallions and a squirt of lemon juice. justjoan

justjoan wrote:hi cathy, i buy stone ground grits from Charleston Favorites (www.charlestonfavorites.com). there are 2 brands of white grits, both good.they also carry yellow grits. the grits come in cotton sacks and do include the step of letting the chaff float up and away. (and there is lots of it). they are both excellent and only take about 30 minutes to cook. i'm a big fan of a dinner of cheese grits with shrimp and mushrooms sauteed and then topped with lots of chopped scallions and a squirt of lemon juice. justjoan

Joan,

Having just returned from Charleston last night, you are making me real hungry!

i was tempted to post this in the ongoing discussion of the good grits at moon's sandwich shop, but was afraid it would be moved here....so, i wont. anyway, grits are/is easy to make, it just requires some freshly stone ground grits and about 1/2 hour on the stove. i buy mine mail order from the website charlestonfavorites.com. they sell the Mill at Riverside grits in both white and yellow. the white are the way to go. easy directions right on the muslin sack. they are $4.99 plus shipping for 2 lbs. and must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. feel free to use them as you would rice, potatoes or polenta- under an entree with sauce, as well as plain for breakfast. one of my favorite dinners is cheese grits served under shrimps and mushrooms.

i was tempted to post this in the ongoing discussion of the good grits at moon's sandwich shop, but was afraid it would be moved here....so, i wont.

While a recipe is more appropriate for Cooking and Shopping, a deviation to a recipe in a restaurant thread isn't unheard of or likely to be moved.

Regards,

Hi,

When I was in Oxford, Mississippi recently, I used my wee bit of free time to visit grocery stores. I was in search of stone ground grits without necessarily going to a gourmet speciality store. When I visited my sister in Hattiesburg, MS a few years ago, I got fairly inexpensive stone ground grits in a vegetable store.

The first store to visit was Krogers, which was the cleanest, best maintained and well stocked of the two grocery stores I visited. When I visited the cereal aisle, there were multiple vendors of grits to choose from. However the grits were either instant or quick 5-minute grits, but no regular or stone ground grits. I did an aisle by aisle inspection of the entire store looking for regional products. As I approached the 'health food' section, I almost did a bypass then reconsidered this because maybe stone ground grits resided there. They did offer coarse ground grits, which the label also noted was polenta. I bought a one pound package for around $3.

I also visited Larson's Big Star grocery, which is not on par with Kroger's. I also revisited the cereal aisle to find a lesser selection of grits in quick or instant varieties. I buy a box Jim Dandy quick grits for $0.79 when I want a quick fix. There was no health food section to keep the stone ground grits flame dream alive.

I finally caved to visit the local gourmet shop for a 32-ounce tub of local boutique stone ground grits for $8.

I will be in Mississippi next May, so I have plenty of time to evaluate my selections for the next shopping tour.

Regards,

Hi,

Who says grits are not pretty?



These were prepared at Evanston Grill.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:The first store to visit was Krogers, ....<snip>.... They did offer coarse ground grits, which the label also noted was polenta. I bought a one pound package for around $3.

Hmm. I wonder if the Food4Less here carries it. Thanks for this info, Cathy2. I'd like to try instant vs. coarse ground side by side.

I've been on a bit of a grit kick recently, so I'm happy to see this thread bumped.

I bought the bulk yellow grits at Whole Foods, and the eaters of the grits and grillades all commented on how corny and good the flavor was. I doubt they're stone ground, but they're tasty and--most important--not white.

I'd like to start a campaign preaching the good word of yellow grits. I know they're not as common up here, but for hominy's sake, people, they're so much better.

Great thread. Having grown up (barely) Southern - Missouri and Maryland - I've had some appreciation for grits.

I have seen no discussion of Bob's Red Mill brand of stone ground grits, which he labels as polenta as well. His line of stone ground grains and mixes seems to me to be pretty good.

It's carried at Whole Foods, as well as other places.

Any opinions on this brand, as opposed to the southern artisanal brands?

OK - correct me if I'm wrong, here, but technically aren't grits and polenta two different things? IIRC Polenta is just coarsely ground cornmeal. Grits are ground hominy - which is corn that's been processed with lye; it's more similar in composition to Mexican masa than straight-up cornmeal.

Doesn't this make a difference?

I have never been clear on the grits/polenta thing either. This is pure speculation on my part, but it seems like most southern grits, and virtually all the quick or instant grits, are hominy grits. I am guessing that using the treated hominy is similar to using rolled oats in that the cooking process is speeded up. Most stone ground stuff seems to be untreated, whole kernel cornmeal. I make grits quite a bit, and use the coarsest grind I can find, usually yellow cornmeal. I am pretty sure that it is not treated hominy. On the other hand, most restaurants, both here and in the south, seem to use white grits, and whether they are hominy or not I dont know, but they seem to be at least degerminated because they are very clean.

-Will

This led me to think that yellow grits might be ground cornmeal, while white might be evidence of nixtamalization ($10 word for corn soaked/cooked in lye or lime - thank you, Alton Brown)

Nope: I did a search on "yellow hominy" and "yellow hominy grits." Yellow hominy is out there, it is referred to as "sweeter."

Alton Brown covered grits vs. polenta in a show.

Transcript here:
http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season8/ ... _trans.htm

Hi,

This cold snap has been inspiring me to eat more grits than normal for breakfast. I almost never eat them plain, so a bit a cheddar cheese is usually present. I ran out of cheddar, then began fishing around the cheese box (a freezer ice storage box with a new purpose) to find some feta. This feta and a spoon of sour cream turned my breakfast grits into a variation of the Romanian national dish: Mamaliga with cheese and sour cream (mămăligă cu brânză şi smântână)).

Regards,