Grits - who loves 'em?

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Are grits and corn meal interchangeable? Would like to try them, but alas, I cant find any. Loads of maple syrup, but grits? Nope.
 
Grits are not native to Kentucky, so you are kinda lucky that all them foreigners have moved there. LOL
bear1889 said:
Guys I tell you I have cooked white grits, I have cooked plain ol' yellow grits, I have messed with blue grits but the best I have found is here in Dear Ol' Kentucky. I found a family that mills yellow popcorn grits and let me tell y'all here they are the best I have ever had. A little browned onion with shrimp and some cheddar cheese mixed in, Oh my gosh Nellie on a hand car headin' down the holler!!!! They are good.

PS some day I will tell you about corn flour that they do.
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This ol' boy told he preferred them over store bought because you can taste them, I thought sure you can, I bought a coupe three bags and then went back for about 8 lbs of them along with the corn flour.
 
Hominy? Is that a corn type?
edit:
I see, a processed corn. No hull, or germ.
 
PierreRodrigue said:
Hominy? Is that a corn type?
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Hominy is corn that has been treated in an alkali solution, causing the kernel to swell. The seed coat and germ is removed, and after it dries, the hominy is ground into hominy grits.

Corn grits, on the other hand, are just ground dried corn, including the seed coat and germ. This provides more intrinsic flavor than hominy grits, but it requires refrigeration to keep it from going rancid.
 
Man, now I want to try them. Where can we get them in Canada? Pierre, let's find some and split the bushel...or barrel, or box(?) :D
 
Hominy is a whole 'nuther thread topic. I love hominy and Posole is a wonderful concoction. It can be like Mexican Cassoulet and can taste just as good in a different context.
 
The other purpose of making hominy is that it kills the seed, so to speak. It can be left whole and it won't germinate. Also, any treating with alkali converts the niacin in the corn to a usable form and eliminates mycotoxins.
 
Mike9 said:
Hominy is a whole 'nuther thread topic. I love hominy and Posole is a wonderful concoction. It can be like Mexican Cassoulet and can taste just as good in a different context.
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Feel free to start a Posole thread....That's good eats right there:thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Lefty said:
Man, now I want to try them. Where can we get them in Canada? Pierre, let's find some and split the bushel...or barrel, or box(?) :D
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If you can find out if it is legal to ship them to Canada, then PM me your address and I will take care of it. I already have Pierre's.

AJ
 
Hmmmm. I'll look into it, AJ. Thanks for the offer :D
 
As a yankee that lived in Louisiana for a while as a kid I tried to like them but never really cared for them (more of a texture thing than taste). But later I discovered cheese grits and bbq shrimp and I learned to love em.
 
If you Canadians can send your "bacon" down here, I'm sure it's legal to ship you guys some grits. I'll send ya'll a couple different brands after the holidays!
 
From what I understand, some corn grits are whole corn ground (with germ) and are usually stone ground. Other grits have been de-germed and hulled (not using nixtamalization as is used in making hominy corn). Hominy grits have been de-germed and hulled using alkali treatment (nixtamalization) and then ground.

Polenta can be fine to coarse grind, while grits are usually coarse ground.

And from Anson Mills' website, they say that US grits are usually ground from dent corn, while polenta is made from flint corn -- the main difference being that flint corn holds its texture longer when cooking.

Btw, most grits you find today in stores and online are not grits made from hominy corn. There might be a debate about 'true' grits but grits, polenta, and cornmeal all fall into a category of ground corn -- with grind being the major difference. The process of making hominy corn does change the taste though, so it has that added difference.

k.
 
So, can polenta substitute for grits, in a recipe? Polenta-a-plenty, around my parts!
 
Lefty said:
So, can polenta substitute for grits, in a recipe? Polenta-a-plenty, around my parts!
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I think the main thing is matching coarseness of grind and avoid 'quick cooking'. Quick-cooking grits and polenta have been par cooked and you lose most of that corn flavor.

k.
 
Thanks, K! I'll follow a recipe with those substitutions and see how it turns out.
 
Btw, here is the transcript from Alton Brown's Serious Eats where he talks about polenta and grits. If you go all the way to the bottom, AB talks about how they accidentally edited out the portion of the show that talked about the difference between hominy grits and whole ground cornmeal which is predominantly sold today. In later shows they added that distinction back in. He also gives some recipes to make southern-style grit and an Italian polenta.

k.
 
One of my rituals when I visit New Orleans is to visit Pat O'Brians as soon as I get to the French quarter and order a hurricane and their shrimp and grits!
 
After reading Alton Brown's piece on grits, I decided to try making some of my own, when I got home from work. I guess it's a way for me to unwind after a long day...anyways... I went at them with a bunch of milk, water, black pepper and salt. I added shredded cheese and some fried chorizo and mushrooms. I then topped them with eggs. I'm thinking grits are normally a bit runnier, but whatever it is that I made - grits, or polenta - it's freakin' delicious!

How'd I do?

9D58E498-3F58-4EE9-8957-D3D6AD29DC69-880-00000075C67BF992.jpg
 
A difference between grits and polenta, aside from what the stuff is actually made out of is how it is treated when cooking it, at least when I do it. With polenta I want it to remain somewhat sweet so I never get the water or milk very hot, but with grits I don't mind walking the edge of scalding the milk because sweet grits, like sweet cornbread, are a Yankee abomination.

Lefty, I don't know if you cooked the grits well, but the picture looks like my ideal hangover breakfast.

On the subject of Pat O's go in, get your 'cane, get your picture taken, but please dear god don't eat the food. Even in the quarter, and if you are willing to wander the rest of our lovely city, there are too many good places to eat. For shrimp and grits I like Gautreau's and Dick and Jenny's, though I don't know if it is on the menu at either place right now.

I have my own French Quarter ritual though. I like to go to the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Montleone, at least four, maybe five generations of my family have enjoyed cocktails at that bar. My great grandparents always stayed there when they came in from Ville Platte. The bar got a remodel recently and started selling "foodie" apps, I am very apprehensive about checking it out.
 
Good job Tom, they could be a little more 'loose,' but that looks delicious!
 
After a couple of hurricanes, they could serve you Alpo on boil in bag rice and you probably wouldn't know the difference, but I digress.:lol2:
Dardeau said:
A difference between grits and polenta, aside from what the stuff is actually made out of is how it is treated when cooking it, at least when I do it. With polenta I want it to remain somewhat sweet so I never get the water or milk very hot, but with grits I don't mind walking the edge of scalding the milk because sweet grits, like sweet cornbread, are a Yankee abomination.

Lefty, I don't know if you cooked the grits well, but the picture looks like my ideal hangover breakfast.

On the subject of Pat O's go in, get your 'cane, get your picture taken, but please dear god don't eat the food. Even in the quarter, and if you are willing to wander the rest of our lovely city, there are too many good places to eat. For shrimp and grits I like Gautreau's and Dick and Jenny's, though I don't know if it is on the menu at either place right now.

I have my own French Quarter ritual though. I like to go to the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Montleone, at least four, maybe five generations of my family have enjoyed cocktails at that bar. My great grandparents always stayed there when they came in from Ville Platte. The bar got a remodel recently and started selling "foodie" apps, I am very apprehensive about checking it out.
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I honestly don't think I have ever had good grits. It's like corn bread. Dry and oh ya did I mention dry? But then again I don't want to see if I am wrong either.
 
Mine weren't dry, and I think they were drier than most! Haha.

I bet you'll like them. Just sayin'....
 
how did this thread escape me? i love polenta. i just made some to go with my Lamb shank osso bucco. i always make extra so i can chill it hard to pan fry the next day. i love the "cakes" with soft boiled eggs.

damn
 
Crothcipt said:
I honestly don't think I have ever had good grits. It's like corn bread. Dry and oh ya did I mention dry? But then again I don't want to see if I am wrong either.
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put a pinch of baking soda in the water. it helps breaks down the outsides of the grains.

google, Americas test kitchen, no stir polenta.
 
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