“There are grits and then there are stone ground grits.”
Up here in the Yankee North of NYC, most of us are probably not as familiar with grits as folks in the South are. I tried these Trader Joe’s Stone Ground Grits and guess what? This damn Yankee loves me some Grits! Maybe its not such a surprise as I have always enjoyed and made Italian Polenta, and let’s face it grits are almost the American version of polenta, right? OK not exactly as grits use a different kind of corn.
Anyway these TJ’s stone ground grits are much better than commercially mass produced grits you see at the supermarket kind which are not stone ground. Stone Ground Grits are milled from the whole kernel of corn including the healthy tasty germ. They have a coarse, varied texture, as you can see in the picture and have more corn flavor than the supermarket kind. Think of these as “gourmet grits”. Grits take about 25-30 minutes to cook, stirring them every 5 minutes or so. You can just follow the recipe on the package and you will get good grits. I like to cook them using more milk (half milk/half water) which makes them even creamier. Shredded cheddar cheese at the end makes them even better if you like them savory (Unexpected Cheddar perhaps!? Oh yeah). I like to use grits as the Base for a dish, such as the base for sautéed GREENS or especially the base for SHRIMP AND GRITS, which is terrific and typically Southern. You can even do it a super simple version of Shrimp and Grits: just grill up some red shrimp with lots of seasoning and serve them on top of cheesy grits with the pan juices. Yum!
Cook grits low and slow in a thick bottomed pan and stir them often so the bottom doesn’t burn. They may be even better with another 10-15 mins of cooking (ie 40-45 minutes total). If they get too thick, just add a little more water. TJ’s Stone Ground Grits are $2.29. Grits are GLUTEN FREE of course.
TIP: Double up the recipe when you make some grits; then you have leftovers which you can use to make pan fried grits, kind of the way you might make pan fried polenta, which I just love.
Here’s a few recipes for shrimp and grits:
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/the-best-shrimp-and-grits-7448205
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
Dec 03, 2022 @ 08:38:35
MISS your grits!!!!
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Dec 07, 2022 @ 14:35:12
Where can you get them, now that trader Joe’s is not selling them?
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Dec 11, 2022 @ 13:55:15
Supermarkets sell good old Quaker’s Grits (Get Regular over the Quick variety) These are normal run of the mlll grits. If you are into Heirloom Stone Ground really “Gourmet” grits you can find them on Amazon for example if you don’t mind paying to get super quality grits like
PALMETTO FARMS Stone Ground White Grits… (link below)
https://amzn.to/3BvCG5L
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