Carolina Quick Grits

Carolina Quick Grits—they cook quickly, but like to be cooked slowly.

Time: In a slow cooker with no overnight soak, about 90 minutes

Anson Mills quick grits have the whole corn richness and creaminess of our coarse, Antebellum grits but are milled somewhat finer. Particle size is relative, of course--the rest of the industry would call grits this size “coarse” or "old-fashioned." And while it is true that any grain milled fine will finish with slightly diminished texture and flavor compared to that very grain milled coarse, Anson Mills quick grits have certain, indisputable advantages: For one thing, they cook faster; for another, their relatively fine, even texture allows for easy immersion in recipes for tamales, spoonbread, and other Southern or Latin casserole dishes.

Equipment Mise en Place
For this recipe you will need a slow cooker or a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan (preferably one with sloping sides and a wide mouth like the one pictured upper right), and a wooden spoon. A rubber spatula works best for stirring grits in the slow cooker.

Ingredients
1 cup (6 ounces) Anson Mills Whole Hominy Quick Grits (white or yellow)
Spring or filtered water
Fine sea salt
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. For a slow cooker: Place the grits in the slow cooker and cover them with 3 cups water. Stir once. Allow the grits to settle a full minute, tilt the vessel, and skim off and discard the chaff and hulls with a fine tea strainer. Cover the slow cooker and turn the heat setting to high. Cook, stirring once or twice, until the grits are creamy and tender throughout and hold their shape on a spoon, about 90 minutes.

2. For saucepan cookery: Place the grits in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan and cover them with 3 cups water. Stir once. Allow the grits to settle a full minute, tilt the pan, and skim off and discard the chaff and hulls with a fine tea strainer. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature. Note: If you have not soaked the grits, cover them with 4 cups water, and skim off and discard the chaff and hulls as directed above.

3. Set the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the first starch takes hold, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently, until the grits are creamy and tender throughout and hold their shape on a spoon, about 15 or 30 minutes, depending on whether or not they were soaked. Add 1 teaspoon salt halfway through the cooking time. To finish, stir in the butter with vigorous strokes. Add more salt, if desired, and the black pepper.

Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish

Cooking Remarks

If you’re cooking grits in a saucepan it would be remiss of us not to mention that Anson Mills grits improve enormously when they are soaked overnight in water before being cooked. Not only is the cooking time shorter, but the finished texture of grits is also superior—the corn particles experience less trauma during cooking and hold their shape in the pot.

Soaking quick grits in water overnight and cooking them in the soaking liquid will reduce their cooking time by about 50%. In real terms, this means that a cup of quick grits, soaked overnight, will cook in about 15 minutes. If you don't soak the grits, their cooking time will increase to 30 minutes. With their smaller particle size and increased surface area, quick grits require more water at the outset of cooking than coarse grits for saucepan cookery. Because they cook more quickly and with more water, we also cook quick grits uncovered in a saucepan.

But the simplest, and ultimately, the best way to cook grits is to let your slow cooker deal with them. A first-rate caregiver, the slow cooker offers gentle, moist, and well-insulated heat, and using one precludes the need to soak the grits before cooking. The slow cooker comes up to temperature so slowly that the grits effectively soak in the process—and then “bloom” or swell in the steady, even heat. In fact, you barely need to stir them! (Be sure to use a cover when cooking quick grits in a slow cooker.)