Here’s an incredibly delicious meal that can be made from several different meats—especially left overs. I call it Grish. The “Gr” stands for grits and the “sh” for hash. But I pronounce it “greesh” because I like the sound of it. So it’s left over meat, shredded and cut up with some fresh veggies and grits rather than the potatoes used on hash. Oh man, it’s good! It also combines the creamy, buttery, cheesy texture of stone ground grits into something that will have you salivating and impatient for this less than half hour to cook meal to prepare.
Shredded Pork and Stone Ground Grits–Grish
Ingredients
- 2 cups (approximately) shredded leftover beef, pork or chicken. (You can even use frozen cooked or uncooked shrimp).
- 1 ½ cups stoneground grits (yellow or white) (I use Bob’s Red Mill Stoneground Yellow)
- 1 cup (at least) bell pepper cut into appx. ½” x 1” strips
- ¾ cup diced onion
- 1 diced tomato (Roma or baseball size)
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- ¾ cup shredded cheese
- ½ cup broth
- Canola or EVOO for sautéing
- Margarine or butter
- Seasonings to taste—salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne
Directions:
Get out a 3 quart pot and a medium skillet. Prep the fresh vegetables and make sure the meat is shredded into about ¾-1 inch pieces.
Put 3 cups of water into the pot (for a bit more flavor you can substitute 1 cup chicken broth for 1 of the cups of water. Turn burner to medium high and bring to a boil. When water is boiling briskly turn the heat as low as it will go and immediately add the grits and 1 good, healthy tablespoonful of margarine or about 1” of a stick of butter to the water. Stir really, really well and cover. Every couple of minutes lift cover and stir.
Turn skillet burner to medium high (about 3 o’clock on the dial for an electric stove). Add a couple of good glugs of cooking oil (Canola or EVOO) and bring temperature up. Add onions and bell peppers and sauté 2-3 minutes then add garlic and tomato. Add the meat and stir everything together. Check taste and season to desired level with salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne. (Don’t forget to check and stir your grits!) If you need a bit more moisture add a little broth. Now’s the time to add the lime juice too.
Turn heat to medium low (about 8 o’clock on the stove dial). Now, turn your attention back to the grits. Turn off the burner and add the shredded cheese then stir, stir, stir until it’s all incorporated into the grits.
Plating: Put a big old dollop of grits in the middle of the plate—a coupla good scoops. Add the “Greesh” mixture on top and around the grits. Enjoy!
The Cheap Bastid Test: Well, the pork was left over, about a half-pound and it cost me $1.29 a pound—so make it $.65 of meat. The grits are the expensive part at $2.29 for a bag and I get 4 meals from a bag so the grits cost $.56. I use a half cup of shredded cheese which costs $1.99 for a 2 cup bag at the store so the cheese cost is $.50. The veggies add about another $.75 and the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. Total cost: $2.46 if my mental math is right but let’s fudge it to $3.00. And this makes 4 servings so the per serving cost is about $.75. Pretty good eating for a really Cheap Bastid cost.
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good! Eat Cheap! Be Grateful!