Saturday, February 21, 2009

Baked Grits and Eggs with Cheese



I've been eating grits since I was very young - perhaps shortly after birth - I'd have to ask mom. My family is not from The South - Midwest actually - but there's such a strong Southern influence in and around where my mom grew up that I have a fairly good grasp of Southern food. That's a good thing because some of the finest food in the world was born in the rural south here in the U.S. and it's something I think every good cook needs to have in their repertoire.

Not only is Southern food hearty and full of flavor, it's also economical - which is also a good thing. When we were young my mom would often make grits, eggs and bacon for breakfast on weekends and there is nothing quite like those flavors blended together.

I like to change things up a little and add cheese or green onion to my grits, but the kids don't always like that, so I usually cook up grits with cheese or even just lots of butter for them. This dish is a couple of my favorites all in one.

Please don't use instant grits for this. If it's all you can get then I suppose it's OK, but the taste and texture of instant is so very different from the real deal that you'll be doing yourself a favor by buying long-cooking grits. Add crumbled bacon and green onion to the grits before baking if you like.

Baked Eggs and Grits with Cheese
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

4 servings grits
4 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
4 whole eggs - room temperature
1/2 cup shredded or julienne cheese
oil or cooking spray

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Make 4 servings of grits according to package directions leaving out any cooking salt or butter. Once grits are done, add butter and salt and stir. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
Coat an 8 inch diameter cast iron skillet or other heavy pan with oil or cooking spray and put pan into heated oven for 5 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and pour grits into pan. Make 4 indentations in grits and drop one egg into each indentation.
Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until egg whites are set and yolks are still loose.
Serve hot.

Finished grits in a cast iron pan



Eggs set on the grits



Cheese topped grits and eggs


6 comments:

kat said...

This would be my dad's dream breakfast

Emily said...

I'm as south as you can get and doing this has never crossed my mind. I love fried eggs and grits alone - they have to be amazing mixed!

Adopted Son said...

mmmmm grits. I LOVE GRITS!!! I could eat them every meal- jacked up cheesy grits, grits with scallions and butter, grits w/red eye gravy, grits and eggs, grits and grits, for crying out loud!!!!

Anonymous said...

Nothing like real grits...such warming, buttery goodness! Thanks so much for this post!

Suzy-Q said...

We tried this today. Mmmmm!! I had only Quick Grits and two eggs, so Uncle Joe and I were the only ones that got to try it. It turned out very tasty and warm for a cold March morning. :o)

Hearty but not heavy.

Thanks for the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

Awesome recipe. Glad to see it still being made. From south Louisiana and grits was always on the table in one fashion or another. There's a cajun sausage out there called boudin (boo-dan) that mixes really well with grits. Problem though is you gotta order it if your not close to the ArkLaTex area or Alabama. Great recipe and you can use so many different things. HINT Fruit works well too. Cut it thin and sprinkle brown sugar on top then bake.