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Grits and Grillades Recipe
Brunch-Ready Cajun Food
Grits and grillades (pronounced "gree-ahds") is a hearty dish that is exclusively Cajun, with flavors that melt into one perfection. It is a very time-consuming (but easy to make) meal, asking you to patiently make a deep-chocolate roux, then cook down several ingredients, to the point that they are almost indistinguishable from each other. But the results are worth every bit of the wait, producing a rich, satisfying bowl of pure Cajun goodness.
Cajun cooks used to save the small trimmings of meat from their daily meals, and when they had accumulated enough for a pot of grillades, would make this dish for a Cajun brunch. Veal is probably more authentic in this dish, but beef round seems to hold up better. Often, grillades was served with baked curried fruit. Grits and Grillades is a down-home Cajun meal that, true to its roots, does not cost a small fortune to make. This recipe uses easy-to-find, inexpensive ingredients where results taste rich, but are not just for the rich. Ingredients:
3 pounds beef round, sliced 1/4-inch thick, and cut into bite-size pieces
3/4 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup flour
2-3 tablespoons bacon drippings
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup flour
2 cups onions, minced
1 bell pepper, minced
3 cloves garlic, crush and chopped
3 whole tomatoes, with skins peeled, and minced
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups unsalted chicken broth
3/4 cup parsley
1 recipe from packaged grits
Directions:
Salt and pepper the beef round, then dredge it in flour. Heat the bacon drippings in a Dutch oven, then brown the meat on all sides over high heat. Remove meat from pan and set aside.
Now add the vegetable oil and flour, stirring the mixture over low heat to the point of almost burning (but not burning). You want a deep chocolate-colored roux. This could take up to 15 minutes, so be patient. Toss in the minced onions and bell peppers, and garlic, and continue to stir until the onions turn completely brown (again, without burning), and the moisture is gone. Now add the tomatoes and stir them until the moisture in them is completely absorbed. The tomatoes will give a rosy hue to the roux. Add the thyme, bay leaf, Worcestershire sauce, and chicken broth. Stir until well blended. Taste the mixture, and add salt, cayenne pepper, and/or black pepper to taste. If you like food spicy, this is where you can make it happen. Return the meat back into the roux, stir well, cover, and let cook slowly for about 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally. The sauce may thin out some as the meat renders liquid. You want the grillades to be so thick that a spoon laid on top will not sink, so keep cooking until you reach the right thickness. Also, you can remove the lid for the last 15 minutes of cooking to help thicken the pot. When you are ready to serve, remove the bay leaf, and add the parsley. Serve the grillades over grits for the authentic Cajun brunch. It can also be served over rice. Grits and grillades is just as good, if not better, the second day. It freezes well too.
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