Hominy Grits With Fresh Mozzarella, Parmesan and Bacon Sous Vide
Ustatahamen is the Native American name for cracked maize grains cooked into a thick porridge. The culinary eggheads feel that the word Ustatahamen is the source for today’s term of “hominy,” which of course begs the question, where did the word grits come from? Grits originally meant the bran and chaff that was left over from grinding Old World grains. Sooooo by the sixteenth century in a little switcheroo ALL coarsely ground grain, especially oats were called, “grits.” The theory then is that the colonists familiar with the grinding process used the term, grits to refer to the Native Americans use of the dried whole kernel corn that was boiled with lye to loosen the husk then dried and cracked. Nowadays, I can still find "grits" attached to hominy, yellow corn, white corn, oats, rice etc. That being said when I think of a bowl of steaming grits it’s made from hominy and it’s delicious!
To properly prepare traditional grits (not quick cooking or instant or another version) requires time, time to slowly cook those cracked pieces of corn to soft creamy succulence. That my dear reader takes time and not unattended time, one needs to make sure that those delicious nuggets aren’t sticking the bottom of the pan, so one more time, Sous Vide to the rescue!!! Simply bagging the grits with an equal weight of water then flavored with butter, cheese etc. you can truly, set it and forget it! Granted it will take longer than traditional cooking but as it’s already sealed in the bag when done you can easily chill it down and bring it out when you need it - truly fast food that’s good for ya!
Ingredients:
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup hominy grits, coarse ground
• 4 ounces mozzarella, fresh, hand shredded
• 2 tablespoon unsalted sweet butter
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 5 bacon strips, cooked crispy, crumbled, bacon fat reserved
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
1. Preheat the SV1 to 180ºF/82ºC
2. Using the VacMaster Bag Stand and an appropriate sized VacMaster bag add the water, grits, shredded mozzarella, butter and salt.
3. Using a VacMaster Chamber Machine, vacuum seat the bag and place the bag in the water bath of the SV1 cook for 3-4 hours.
4. Remove the bag from the water bath, transfer grits to appropriate sized serving bowls and top with the crumbled bacon, a drizzle of the reserved bacon fat and a dusting of the Parmesan cheese, enjoy!