Smoked sausage and cheese grits
Creamy cheddar grits topped with smoky sausage, peppers and onions in a peppery pan sauce, a Southern bowl that tastes like it took all day.
- 35 min total
- 30 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $2.60 a serving
- 790 calories
- Gluten-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 14 oz smoked kielbasa, 1 package
- 2 cups milk
- 1 cup quick grits, quick-cooking
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar
- 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 2 stalks green onions, sliced (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 cups water
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 790 calories, 31 g protein, 49 g carbs and 53 g fat, and costs about $2.60 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the pepper and onion, the garlic, and the kielbasa into ½-inch coins.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Bring the water, milk and salt in a medium over medium heat.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Stay close. Milk climbs up the sides and boils over fast.Slowly pour in the grits while , then turn the heat to low, cover, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, whisking every minute or two, until thick and creamy.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Low heatTimer: 6 min
Dolly’s tip: Whisking while you pour is what stops lumps. If they get too thick, whisk in a splash of milk.Take the grits off the heat, stir in the butter and cheddar, and cover to keep warm.
Heat the oil in a large over medium-high and the kielbasa 4 to 5 minutes, turning once.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 5 min
Add the pepper and onion and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the garlic and Cajun seasoning for 30 seconds.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Pour in the broth and 2 minutes, , until it a little into a sauce.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Reduce. Reducing means simmering a liquid with the lid off so some of the water steams away. The sauce gets thicker and its flavor gets stronger.
How you’ll know: The level drops in the pan, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon instead of running off.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Spoon the grits into bowls and top with the sausage, vegetables, pan sauce and green onions.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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