What is a Grit?

While southerners are well acquainted with the glory of grits, people in other parts of the country may wonder what the heck it is. Just what is a grit anyway?
Merriam Webster offers two definitions for the word – one a noun and the other a verb.
Noun grit is sand or gravel and means any material made up of sand or gravel. There is Grit TV which describes itself as Television with Backbone – think lots of John Wayne movies. Or pick up a copy of the magazine called Grit and get a dose of Rural American Know-How. Grit the noun also means firmness of mind and spirit and in Canada a grit is a liberal politician. Verb grit can refer to a grating sound and is the action that causes a person to grind or grate their teeth. Grit the verb also refers to the act of covering or spreading the aforementioned sand or gravel.
But these definitions and examples are not the grit we are talking about. Simply add an “s” and the mysterious grit becomes the delicious grits. And our grits are much more enjoyable than any of the above.
A southern staple for many years, grits were first introduced by the Muscogee indigenous peoples who pounded or ground dried corn with stones and cooled it into a porridge or soup. Early southern settlers loved grits, making it a favorite in the southern US. In fact, the area between Texas and Washington DC is known as the Grits Belt.
Southerners for the last 200 years have enjoyed grits for breakfast. Grits pair beautifully with eggs, bacon, toast, and a cup of coffee. All a properly prepared bowl of grits needs is butter and salt. Some people even put sugar on it, but most southerners believe this is blasphemy!
Grits are a great compliment to many southern recipes. Shrimp and Grits are popular, but grits can also be eaten with varieties of delicious seafood like crab, lobster, crawfish, and oysters. Grits can be shaped into patties and fried for a delicious appetizer. Add cheese, bacon, green onion, or sausage to the pot while cooking grits for a spicy dish.
If you’ve never tried grits you are missing something delectable. So use your grit and try a bowl of grits. You can even offer grits in Canada to a grit. They will be forever in your debt.
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Dixie Lily

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Cooking White Rice in the Instant Pot

  • Measure your dry rice and set it aside
    • We recommend a minimum of about  1 “cup” – as with any good Southern Recipe, use your favorite “cup”
  • Measure same amount of water as rice and add to Instant Pot’s inner pot/liner.
  • Rinse rice to remove any surface starch
  • Add the wet rice to the measured water in the inner pot.
  • Lock on the lid, and set the steam release valve to “sealing” position.
  • Select your pressure cooking time.
    • The “Rice” button on your device is timed for white or parboiled rice only.
  • For other types of rice, set “Manual” to correct time (by pressing “-” to adjust the cooking time) for the type of rice you are cooking
    • For brown rice, select 22-25 minutes depending on your preferences – a longer cooker time will produce a “stickier” rice
  • Let the rice rest for about 10 minutes after cooking is finished before releasing any remaining pressure, and serve.
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Cashew and Coconut Rice

  • 1 cup China Doll Long Grain White Rice
  • 1 teaspoon saffron
  • 1 tablespoon warm milk
  • 2 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil divided
  • 15-20 whole cashews
  • 2 whole green cardamom pods
  • 6 cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup fresh coconut grated (frozen works well)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoon raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
  1. Wash, rinse and soak rice in water for 20 minutes. 
  2. Drain the rice and set to the side 
  3. Soak saffron in milk and set aside for garnishing 
  4. Turn Instant Pot to Saute mode. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee and cashews. Cook the cashews for a minute or until they turn golden brown, stirring constantly. Take the cashews out and keep aside for garnishing in the end.
  5. Add remaining ghee to the pot. Add cardamom pods and cloves. Cook for 10-15 seconds as the release the aromas. Add drained rice and toast gently for a minute stirring constantly.
  6. Add 1-1/2 cups of water and salt. Mix well. Make sure all the rice is submerged under water. Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 6 minutes followed by 5-minute Natural Pressure Release.
  7. Open Instant pot. Add coconut, sugar, raisins and cardamom powder. Mix well.
  8. Set Instant Pot to Saute(less) mode. Cook with a glass lid on for 5 mins.
  9. Garnish with fried cashews and saffron.

By: Archana Mundhe, Instant Pot

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Black-Eyed Peas and Ham, Instant Pot

 

  • 1 pound dried China Doll Black-Eyed peas, rinsed
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 8 oz. diced ham
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  1. Add all ingredients to the Instant Pot, place and lock the lid.
  2. Cook for 30 minutes at high manual pressure.
  3. Allow the pot to depressurize.

 

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China Doll™ Red Beans and Rice in Pressure Cooker

1 pound (2 cups) China Doll™ Light Red Kidney Beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup white or yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup celery leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1 pound ham or sausage
3 cups uncooked China Doll™ rice
1/2 cup green onions, chopped, for garnish

1.     Rinse and sort the beans.
2.      Place oil into the pot and heat.  Add two green onions, white or yellow onion, celery leaves, and garlic. Sauté until onion is tender but not browned.
3.      Add beans, water, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir well.
4.      Bury ham pieces or sausage in beans.
5.      Cook rice with water and salt according to package directions.
6.      Serve beans over hot rice. Top each serving with a generous sprinkling of green onions.

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Instant Pot Rice Pudding

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups Uncooked Dixie Lily Long grain white rice
  • 4 cups milk
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup raisins
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions:

  1. In the inner pot of your Instant Pot pressure cooker combine the rice, milk, water, sugar, cinnamon, raisins and salt.
  2. Mix well – make sure there are no large lumps of cinnamon.
  3. Close the lid, lock it into its position. Press MANUAL (pressure cooking) and adjust the time to 5 minutes.
  4. When the cooking cycle is finished, wait about 7 minutes before releasing the pressure manually. (Adjust cook time to 3 min for harder rice or 7-10 minutes for softer rice)
  5. When the pin has dropped, open the lid and give it a good mix. Now stir in the butter. Taste it and add more sweetener, if needed.
  6. Serve and garnish as you like. (Will thicken as it cools)
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Easy No Soak Slow Cooker Beans

Slow Cooker Method

12oz Beans: 

  1. NO SOAK METHOD
  2. Spread out dry beans and remove any foreign particles.
  3. Rinse beans, and then place in slow cooker with 4 ½ cups water.
  4. Add 1lb of ham, ham hock, hambone, or sausage to pot.
  5. Place slow cooker on high and cook 3-4 hours or until beans are tender (or low for 7-8 hours). Check water level and add hot water to beans if necessary.
  6. Salt and pepper to taste.

16oz Beans: 

  1. NO SOAK METHOD
  2. Spread out dry beans and remove any foreign particles.
  3. Rinse beans, and then place in slow cooker with 6 cups water.
  4. Add 1lb of ham, ham hock, hambone, or sausage to pot.
  5. Place slow cooker on high and cook for about 5 hours or until beans are tender (or low for 7-8 hours). Check water level and add hot water to beans if necessary.
  6. Salt and pepper to taste.

24oz Beans: 

  1. NO SOAK METHOD
  2. Spread out dry beans and remove any foreign particles.
  3. Rinse beans, and then place in slow cooker with 8 cups water.
  4. Add 1lb ham, ham hock, hambone, or sausage to pot.
  5. Place slow cooker on high and cook for about 5 hours or until beans are tender (or low for 7-8 hours).
  6. Salt and pepper to taste.

32oz Beans: 

  1. NO SOAK METHOD
  2. Spread out dry beans and remove any foreign particles.
  3. Rinse beans, and then place in slow cooker with 12 cups water.
  4. Add 2lb ham, ham hock, hambone, or sausage to pot.
  5. Place slow cooker on high and cook for about 5 hours or until beans are tender (or low for 7-8 hours).
  6. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Sautéed Shrimp with Cheese Grits

grits

GRITS:

1-1/2 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup Dixie Lily Quick Grits
1/4  tsp. salt or garlic salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

SAUTEED SHRIMP:

1 cup diced, cooked bacon
1/2 cup slivered onion
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp. hot sauce, or to taste
1/2 cup thinly sliced green bell pepper strips
1/2 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper strips
Sliced green onions and shredded cheddar for garnish

 

To prepare grits, bring chicken broth and milk to a boil in large saucepan. Stir in grits and salt; return to boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 5 minutes until thickened; stirring occasionally. Stir in cheddar cheese. Keep warm.

To prepare shrimp, cook bacon in skillet until crisp; drain all but 2 tablespoons of fat from skillet.
Add shrimp, peppers and onion; cook until vegetables are tender and shrimp turn pink. Season with hot pepper sauce.

Serve shrimp mixture over warm cheese grits. Garnish with chopped green onions and cheddar cheese.
Makes 6 servings.

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Red Beans and Rice

1        lb. (2 cups) Red Kidney Beans, soaked
1        Tbsp. vegetable oil
2        green onions, chopped
1/2    cup white or yellow onion, chopped
1/4     cup celery leaves, chopped
2        garlic cloves, minced
5        cups water
1        tsp. salt
1/4    tsp. pepper
1/4    tsp. hot sauce
1        lb. ham shank, cut into 3 or 4 pieces*
3        cups uncooked rice
1/2    cup green onions, chopped, for garnish

*You can also add sliced Sausage such as Conecuh

1. Drain beans; discard soak water.
2. Place oil in 4-quart pot and heat. Add two green onions, white or yellow onion, celery leaves, and garlic. Sauté until onion is tender but not browned.
3. Add beans, water, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Stir well.
4. Bury ham shank pieces in beans*. Bring beans to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until beans are
tender, 1 to 1-1/2 hours. If adding sausage add during last 30 minutes of cooking.
5. Cook rice with water and salt according to package directions.
6. Remove ham shank pieces. Cut meat from bones and discard bones. Dice meat and add to beans.
7. Serve beans over hot rice. Top each serving with a generous sprinkling of green onions.

 

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