Some of you might recall last year when I wrote an article about gulf shrimp. Plump sweet local wild American shrimp. Along with the story was a recipe for wild shrimp tartar, which in my opinion, is the only shrimp that you would dare eat without being cooked. Soooo this year we ditched the tartar and cooked greens, beans and a big pot of shrimp stew to bring in the new year.

Here’s a nice simple dish that’s a little bit country and a little bit swing.. happy cooking from HOG!

Shrimp with Sausage, Chicken, Chili and Grits
Serves 10 people

For the shrimp broth
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Shells from shrimp, rinsed and dried
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
Splash dry white wine
2 quarts chicken broth, low salt

For the chicken
3 skin on chicken thighs, fat removed
2 cups wood chips, soaked in water

For the grits
2 cups chicken broth, low salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup grits
Salt and pepper

For the base
2 lbs wild shrimp, 31 to 40 per pound, peeled, veins removed and tails off (shells reserved)
1 pound, andouille sausage, diced
2 small yellow onions, medium chopped
4 stalks celery, ribbed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
2 Anaheim chilies stem and seeds removed and medium chopped
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
½ cup green onions, chopped

Instructions

For the shrimp broth
Place one large pot on high heat. Let it get hot for a minute and then add the oil. When it starts to smoke add the shells and stir letting them “roast” for a minute or until they turn crimson red. Add the tomato paste and stir the pot coating the shells. Turn down heat to medium and let cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine and cook until liquid evaporates. Cover the shells with broth and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 45 minutes and then take off the heat. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and/or cheesecloth. Set liquid aside.

For the chicken
Light up a small hibachi grill and clean the grill bars. Drain the wood chips, place in a tinfoil cup (that you make) and set in the grill away from any direct flame. Close the grill and let the chips heat up until they start to smoke, approx 3.8 minutes. Add the chicken skin side down and let cook for 5 minutes. Turn chicken over and let cook for roughly 10 minutes more. Take off of heat, let cool, and slice.

For the grits
Combine the stock, milk and cream in the medium pot and bring to an easy boil. Whisk in the grits and turn down the heat to a simmer. Slowly cook the grits (20 minutes) while stirring constantly. If they still seem grainy at the end then add more liquid and continue cooking until they are firm and creamy.

For the base
Place another large pot on medium heat and add the sausage. Cook until somewhat crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel; leave fat in the pot. Add the next four ingredients. Stir and let cook for about 30 minutes. Cook slow and low allowing some of the natural sugars to develop, then add the tomatoes.Pour shrimp broth over base to cover and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Add sausage, chicken and shrimp. Stir the pot, cover and turn off the heat.*you don’t want to cook the shrimp for too long!

To Serve
Spoon some grits into a bowl and ladle some of the goodness over top. Serve with the green onion on the side for a condiment.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 7:44 pm and is filed under Main Dishes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.