Fish ‘n’ Grits
From the Florida Keys up through coastal Carolina, there may be no more iconic regional dish than fish and grits. If you ain’t from around here, the combination might seem a bit sketchy, but let me assure you, once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never forget it. The classic is shrimp and grits, of course (and boy do we have a recipe for that!), but you can also pair the grits with any mild and flaky fish like tripletail, grouper, snapper, hogfish … and freshwater fish too. Grits are great with trout, but if you happen to have a mess of bream or crappie, deep fry them, throw them on some grits and you’ll be in high cotton.
2 cups grits
2 cups fish or chicken stock
3 cups water
Salt
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I use white cheddar)
1 1/2 pounds tripletail fillets, or similar fish
1/4 pound bacon
1 pound fresh mushrooms, chopped
5 or 6 plum tomatoes, diced
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
zest and juice of 2 lemons
Worcestershire sauce to taste
Black pepper to taste
Boil the water and stock and add salt to taste. Start stirring it and pour the grits in slowly; this prevents lumps. Drop the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, salt the fish fillets and set aside on the counter. Fry the bacon in a large pan to render the fat. Remove the bacon, chop and set aside.
Pat the fish dry with paper towels and place in the hot bacon fat, the flattest side down. Keep the heat at medium-high. Use a spoon to ladle bacon fat over the top of the fillets until they turn opaque. Keep doing this for about 1 minute. Do not flip your fish unless the pieces are more than 1 inch thick. When you have a nice sear remove the fish from the pan and set, seared side up, on a cutting board.
If you have less than about 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in the pan, add some more. Add the mushrooms and sear them well. They’ll sear, then give up their water. Let this happen without moving the mushrooms. This should take about 3 minutes.
Right before serving, stir the butter, cream and cheese into the grits until the butter and cheese melts in.
When the mushroom water subsides, add the remaining ingredients and stir-fry them about 90 seconds. To serve, give everyone some grits, then some fish, then pour the mushroom-tomato mixture over.
owned and operated by Tim, Heather and Danny O’Leary.
They have supplied Central Florida restaurants and residents
with prime seafood for more than a decade.
Their commitment is to always have
only the freshest seafood for your table.
101 N. Country Club Rd.
Lake Mary, FL 32746
407.330.2425
8780 E CR 466
The Villages, FL 32162
352.751.1755