1½cupssmoked Gouda cheese, shredded (buy about an 8 ounce block)
smoked paprika (optional) to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Prep
Peel and devein shrimp; pat dry and place on paper towel; lightly season with blackened seasonings; set aside
1 pound shrimp, 2 tablespoons blackened seasoning
Shred smoked Gouda cheese; set aside
Prepare the Grits
Bring 4 cups of water (or chicken broth) to boil in large stockpot
4 cups water
Add grits; reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5-minutes or more, until grits are creamy
1 cup grits
Add garlic powder, heavy cream and shredded cheese; combine well; taste for salt; add smoked paprika (optional); turn heat to simmer and make the blackened shrimp
1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 cup heavy cream, smoked paprika (optional), 1½ cups smoked Gouda cheese, shredded
Make the Shrimp
Heat a seasoned cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat; do not add any oil or butter
Once skillet is super hot; add seasoned shrimp in a single layer (you may have to turn on the overhead vent now)
Cook 2-3 minutes then, use tongs to flip shrimp; cook another 2-minutes; remove shrimp from skillet; season to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Plate cooked grits in bowl; top with blackened shrimp; garnish with Louisiana Hot Sauce, green onions or parsley
Louisiana Hot Sauce
Notes
Prep time:Allows for peeling and deveining shrimp; if you purchase shrimp already peeled, the recipe goes even faster!
Cook the grits first
Prepare the shrimp:
Place shrimp in single layer in pan; if your skillet isn't big enough, work in batchesA note about the cheese:This recipe uses aged Smoked Gouda; if you substitute with pre-shredded or block-style Cheddar cheese, the result will NOT be the sameCheddar is more oily and has a sharper taste; the texture and flavor of the grits will be completely different.If you want to use a Cheddar cheese instead of Gouda, get a high-quality, aged cheddar in a block and shred it yourself; do not use pre-shredded cheese of any kind
Total yield:
This recipe makes about four cups of grits; if you don't need that much, follow the directions on the side of the grit box (they have it broken down into one or four servings)I allow about 8 large shrimp per person, but if you have big eaters, you might want to plan for 10 shrimp per personNote the nutrition information doesn't take into account how many shrimp per person; it just calculates one pound of shrimp divided by 4.....