Cheesy Grits

Before You Start

Stone-ground, not instant.

Whisk in a thin stream or you get lumps you cannot fix.

Keep hot liquid nearby — they drink more than you think.

Cooking Cheesy Grits

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1. Bring the milk and stock to a simmer with the salt in a heavy pan.

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2. Pour the grits in slowly in a thin stream, whisking constantly.

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3. Turn the heat to its lowest setting.

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4. Cook 25 minutes, whisking every 3 minutes and scraping the base and corners.

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5. Add a splash of hot water or stock whenever it becomes too thick to whisk easily.

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6. When the grains are soft with no chalkiness left, take off the heat.

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7. Beat in the butter until it disappears.

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8. Beat in the cheese a handful at a time, then the cream and white pepper.

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9. Taste and correct the salt — grits need more than you expect.

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10. Serve at once, scattered with spring onion.

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Related guide: Ingredient substitutions.

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Why the Method Works

Use stone-ground grits and give them the full twenty-five minutes on a low heat, whisking often. Instant grits cook in five and taste of the packet; stone-ground release starch slowly and turn genuinely creamy without any thickener. The liquid ratio is four to one and you may need more — grits absorb far more than seems reasonable, so keep hot liquid to hand.

Leftovers, Reheating and Keeping

Keeps 2 days refrigerated and sets solid; loosen with hot milk.

Changing the Recipe

• In a sauce, full-fat crème fraîche can usually take the place of the double cream; single cream is thinner and more likely to split if it boils, so keep it below a simmer.
• Out of spring onions? A small regular onion, finely sliced, or a few chives stirred in at the end both cover the job.

Serving Cheesy Grits

• Fried prawns
• Crisp bacon
• A poached egg

Cheesy Grits Nutrition

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: where a line offers a choice of foods, only one of them is counted. How the figures are worked out.

Vegetarian when made with vegetable stock rather than chicken stock.

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