No.48 The 100 Most Popular Recipes Ever · October 2026

Shrimp and grits

Made famous by Bill Neal

Photo: Jason Riedy, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

From Crook's Corner, Chapel Hill, and Bill Neal's Southern Cooking, 1985.

A Low Country fisherman's breakfast that Bill Neal put on the menu at Crook's Corner; after Craig Claiborne wrote about it in 1985, it was on menus across the country.

Written in our own words and tested in a home kitchen. Get the original in Bill Neal's Southern Cooking.

Ingredients

• For the grits: 1 cup (160 g) stone-ground grits (not instant)
• 4 cups (960 ml) water, or half water and half milk
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 cup (4 oz, 115 g) grated sharp white cheddar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• Pinch of cayenne and some black pepper
• For the shrimp: 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 lb (450 g) large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Hot sauce and chopped parsley, to taste

Steps

1. Bring the water and salt to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits. Lower the heat to a bare simmer and cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom, 40 to 50 minutes, until thick and creamy. Add water if they get too stiff.
2. Stir in the butter, cheeses, cayenne and pepper. Keep warm.
3. Fry the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Leave it in the pan.
4. Raise the heat to medium-high, add the shrimp in one layer and cook 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the shrimp are pink, 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and scallions and cook 30 seconds. Season with the lemon, hot sauce and a pinch of salt.
6. Spoon the grits into warm bowls and top with the shrimp and pan juices. Scatter with parsley.

Chef's tips

• Stone-ground grits take time but taste of corn; quick grits will do in 10 minutes.
• The shrimp cook fast: pull them as soon as they curl and turn pink.

This is Chef Amazing's write-up of the dish, tested for a home kitchen. The original is in Bill Neal's Southern Cooking by Bill Neal: get the book.

← No. 47Red beans and rice→ No. 49Texas brisket