Sscottfitz
Well-known member
First & foremost: Merry Christmas to everyone, we hope your families & loved ones are safe, healthy, and having a great Christmas so far!
This evening was our first attempt at Shrimp and Grits, but just using the Trailblazer to smoke the shrimp (everything else was done inside on the stove). Interesting to note that after a couple of times having trouble getting the grill up to the desired 225 F smoking temp, the GRILLER (Me) finally figured out he forgot to replace the heat diffuser in the Trailblazer after cleaning it this afternoon before the cook. Amazing how well the equipment performs when it is in it's PROPER configuration......... Also note, this is a much more "scaled down" version of notes, tomorrow's notes will be much more detailed, as we're planning a "Surf & Turf menu of Smoked Alaska King Crab Legs, and Reverse Seared Filets.......I hope we don't screw this up.......<grin>
General Comments:
This evening was our first attempt at Shrimp and Grits, but just using the Trailblazer to smoke the shrimp (everything else was done inside on the stove). Interesting to note that after a couple of times having trouble getting the grill up to the desired 225 F smoking temp, the GRILLER (Me) finally figured out he forgot to replace the heat diffuser in the Trailblazer after cleaning it this afternoon before the cook. Amazing how well the equipment performs when it is in it's PROPER configuration......... Also note, this is a much more "scaled down" version of notes, tomorrow's notes will be much more detailed, as we're planning a "Surf & Turf menu of Smoked Alaska King Crab Legs, and Reverse Seared Filets.......I hope we don't screw this up.......<grin>
- Grill Location: Hot Springs Village, AR.; 34 37 60.0N 92 54 55.4W - One of the cooler days' we've had so far this season (technically it IS Winter so guess it should be expected...), not sure we ever made it out of the 30's today, and the wind has been brutal out of the North-Northwest most of the day.
- Weather at time of Grill: Clear, Windy, & VERY Cool Temp ~38F, Humidity 39%
- Grill Mat: Yes
- Temp Probes: N/A
- Pellets Used: Rec Tec Ultimate Blend
- Meat & Meat Prep
- Very simple, frozen raw medium sized shrimp (already peeled & deveined) - thawed out this afternoon before being smoked
- Total Meat Prep Time: Not including the thaw period, ~10 min - Olive oil, salt, pepper, & Italian seasoning (Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning).
- Misc Grill Observations
- Grill Start to Target Temp Smoke: 43F to 225 F ~10 min (Note, it actually took longer, but I failed to replace the heat diffuser this afternoon after cleaning the Trailblazer, so it took me about 20 min to "figure THAT out", but generally speaking it was about ten min to our smoke temp of 225 F).
- Smoked for ~30 min. (see first comment below....probably should have been closer to 20 min OR 180 F for 30 min).
General Comments:
- Overall, we gave this cook a 3.8 out of 5. The shrimp had a great smokey taste, but the texture hinted that we overcooked them just a tad, maybe 5~8 mins....
- We lived in the DC area for almost 24 years, and our favorite place to get Shrimp & Grits was a restaurant called "Coastal Flats", so this recipe was intended to replicate theirs to the best of our abilities and memories. The core of the recipe is base on one Deb found at: https://www.today.com/recipes/coastal-carolina-shrimp-chedder-grits-cakes-t182795
- Overall this was a very easy cook, and we'll work to improve it and tweak it until we get it to a 5 of 5......working....
Attachments
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Shrimp Just on for Smoking 20201224.jpeg -
Making the Special Sauce 20201224.jpeg -
Grit Cakes almost Ready 20201224.jpeg -
Shrimp Cooked-Smoked and Ready 20201224.jpeg -
Shrimp - Special Sauce Ready 20201224.jpeg -
Shrimp on the Grit Cakes no Saunce 20201224.jpeg -
Adding the Sauce to the Plate 20201224.jpeg -
Shrimp and Grits Plated LV 20201224.jpeg -
Shrimp and Grits Plated CV 20201224.jpeg
I was in NC. A few years ago and ordered shrimp and jalapeño grits with green fried tomatoes. Sure looks good
