Watch how a Sacramento favorite — South’s Shrimp & Grits — is made. And get the recipe

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The Sacramento Bee has embarked on a comprehensive review of the region’s best dining destinations. Read The Sacramento Bee’s 50(ish) Best Restaurants here.

And to celebrate, The Bee hosted a special virtual tasting with N’Gina Guyton, the owner of South.

Sacramento Bee food & drink reporter Benjy Egel and reviewer Kate Washington talked with N’Gina about South’s shrimp and grits. This event featured a virtual demonstration of how to cook the dish, and then N’Gina, Benjy and Kate discussed the dish and the Sacramento restaurant scene.

This was a Bee subscriber-exclusive event. To get the full event experience, subscribe now.

South’s Spicy Shrimp & Grits

1 cup Coarse Ground Grits

1 cup Heavy Cream, plus 2oz.

3 cups Water

¾ cup cheddar cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 pound Shrimp peeled and deveined, preferably 16/20 in size

3 tbs. blackening spice

1 ½ cups Seafood Stock

½ cup of chopped red and green bell peppers

1 cup cooked andouille sausage medallions

½ cup butter

For the Grits: In a pot add cream and water and heat until the mix begins to foam. While whisking thoroughly slow pour the grits into the cream mix. Continue to whisk grits for 2-3 minutes until grits come to a simmer. Lower the heat to a slow simmer and occasionally stir the grits. Depending on how coarse your grits are they can take from twenty minutes to an hour. When the grits have cooked to the consistency of oatmeal slowly and the cheddar cheese while stirring. Season to taste, cover and set somewhere warm while preparing the shrimp.

For the Shrimp: Remove the shrimp from the packaging and blot dry with paper towels. In a mixing bowl season the shrimp with the blackening spice. Heat a sauté pan with oil until hot. Add the shrimp in an even layer so all shrimp are laying on the hot pan. Turn shrimp over when they begin to darken on the one side. Once the shrimp have color on both sides, add bell peppers and andouille sausage. Add your fish stock, 2 oz. of cream, and butter to the hot pan and deglaze. Reduce the stock by half a cup.

For Plating: To finish scoop hot grits in to bowls, place the shrimp over the grits and then ladle the sauce over the shrimp.

This recipe will make four servings.

— Courtesy N’Gina Guyton

N’Gina Guyton, South restaurant owner

Benjy Egel, Sacramento Bee food and beverage reporter

Kate Washington, Sacramento Bee restaurant reviewer

This story was originally published March 5, 2021 at 1:34 PM.