I've never had grits. Lots of people like them so I thought maybe I should try them. Trying to look on line and I see white corn, yellow corn, polenta and hominy. What is a good kind to start with?

White corn is what grits are made from, polenta is yellow, I make grits, just cook them long enough to get “smooth”.

I like mine cooked in chicken stock with smoked gouda and butter added at the end. Topped with shrimp or a good sausage.

white corn grits with homony, being you are north of the Mason Dixon quaker might be the only brand in your stores
that is how it is here in WI
and you have to look even to find that

boil water , with salt ,add grits while at a boil then keep stirring I like an enameled Dutch oven for cooking them , then as they thicken it becomes a how low can you go with the stove and keep them bubbling slowly till they are cooked.

if you take a bit with a spoon and they are still gritty , not done yet , they get smooth when done , add some butter

some southerner can come correct me on the things I did wrong now , even if wrong they are tasty , I do like to cheese them up

I started eating them when I went to the mountains of north Carolina for a church mission program about 32-33 years ago.

Was at a fancy, upscale place a few days back. Special was shrimp and grits and it was all good. Some of best grits I'd had lately, so went to the trouble of asking what brand and how they did them. Brand was Quaker old fashioned and as noted, for evening meal like shrimp and grits, about 1/4 of liquid was chicken stock instead of water. Say recipe was for 2 cups of water, it would be 1 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup chicken stock. If for breakfast, same ratio, except sub in 1/2 cup whole milk or heavy cream. That was what they told me.

If for breakfast, I would also be adding butter and some kind of cheese.....that might even be a hunk of velveta.

I'm in TN for a few days. Thought I would take some home with me.

There’s a restaurant down in Thomasville Ga that’s called Jonah’s Fish and Grits. Their signature dish is Shrimp and Grits and it’s definitely worth the drive.

CLASSIC SHRIMP & GRITS**
sautéed shrimp, bacon and chives in a light cream sauce drizzled over roasted vegetables and white cheddar grits

BTW, recent field trip to "the south", was in a Winn Dixie and on a whim, decided to check out their offering of grits. This was what I found.........




Was a bit surprised..........southerners have lost all self respect. Instant grits outnumbered all the rest 10:1. About 15 Quaker options.....and a couple others. Way down low.......Jim Dandy Dixie Lily and one other I'd never heard of. Quaker owns the south too!

I found this recipe that really good :-)

Shrimp and Grits

2 1/2 cups chicken broth divided

2 cups whole milk

4 tablespoons butter divided

3/4 cup stone-ground grits

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded

4 strips bacon (or 2-3 thick-cut slices)

1 lb. jumbo shrimp peeled and deveined

kosher salt to taste

black pepper to taste

thinly sliced green onions for garnish (optional)

Cook the 4 bacon strips until crispy.

Drain all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease from the skillet.

Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the shrimp and stir until melted and broth is heated.

Stir in the cheese to the grits (1 cup) until melted.

Serve the shrimp mixture over the grits, making sure to spoon some of the liquid from the skillet over the grits, and sprinkle with the bacon pieces and sliced green onions, if using. Serve immediately.

My other half loves shrimp and grits. Of course she was born well south of the mason-dixon line

Guys, shrimp and grits ain't a southern thing. It's a coastal Carolina thing spread into Georgia. You’ll almost never see it on the Gulf Coast unless recently adopted.

Grits over most of the south are plain grits, water, salt and butter.

You can’t find plain grits at any restaurant here. Cheese grits, red eye gravy grits, shrimp and grits, but I can’t recall ever seeing just plain grits. Now don’t get me wrong, I still like some grits with butter with salt and pepper, but I can’t recall seeing that on any menu.

My yardstick for knowing if you are north or south.........you are in the south if grits show up for breakfast......and tea comes sweet unless you ask for it un-sweet. Deep south they don't even have un-sweet tea.......and no taters.

why

Very common in SE VA. Gotta get towards salt water to see the shrimp and grits version. Can’t think of many mom and pop restaurants in the area that don’t have them on the menu for breakfast. Only corporate place I can think of is Cracker Barrel, but they ain’t worth $0.02 in my opinion. Too watery or undercooked.

Communism...any place that doesnt have some form of potato for breakfast. Hash browns, american fries, corned beef hash.....

Amen, Bro!

Hash browns and French fries are on about every menu, lol. Not sure what you consider Deep South, but we’re pretty deep here.
Now y’all can keep that hash junk.