Beer Versus Wine – The Perfect Shrimp and Grits Pairing
Congratulations to last months Beer Versus Wine Challenge winner –The Wandering Sheppard! Part of the honor includes coming up with the next month’s challenge. Below is The Wandering Sheppard’s post and challenge food. Like last month, participants have until next Tuesday, April 1 (no joke) to turn in their suggestion before we take it to a vote. For more on the rules, click here.
I’m a married man. So as I signed my devotion to my wife on our marriage license, I also signed all decision making abilities. While winning last month’s Beer Versus Wine Food Pairing was a great honor, it also came with having to decide the next food to pair.
To assist me, I opened the food suggestion on my blog, The Wandering Sheppard. While the suggestions did not pile high, I did receive some great suggestion. Thanks to Kathleen for her suggestion on the regional cuisine, Shrimp and Grits, a favorite of mine. Nothing tells low country cuisine than the estuarial crustacean, Shrimp, and the southern staple, Grits.
If you are not familiar with Shrimp and Grits, grits are corn grounded down to size of a large grain of sand. For those familiar with Italian cuisine, it is very similar to polenta. And while traditional Shrimp and Grits can be Grits with Shrimp on top, you may find many variations at different restaurants.
In order to remember what would go well with Shrimp & Grits, I decided to go do some fieldwork. Coincidentally, I found a Shrimp and Grits entree at Harvest 18. Harvest 18 is a new farm-to-fork restaurant that opened in South Durham that shares the same genius, Jason Smith, from 18 Seaboard and Cantina 18 in Raleigh. The dish here used a blue cornmeal grit, local Pamlico shrimp, Heritage Farms bacon jam, and wood-grilled spring onion (you can see the stacks of wood outside).
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Now comes the hard part, what does one pair with this dish? What is your perfect pairing for shrimp and grits?
Reblogged this on and commented:
Shrimp & Grits – should Malc and I pair it with a crisp white or a pale ale? We’ll be testing out our wines and hops this weekend!
Hubby-dear is from Georgia. Altanta. Inside the belt. Buckhead, which he considers Altanta proper. A true southern boy. When I mentioned we were having Shrimp n’ Grits for our weekend dinner to test out the perfect pairing, he sent me a stern look.
“Grits IS NOT polenta!” clearing indicating a West Coast transplant to New Mexico would not know the difference. He had a point. My first trip to the grocery brought home corn meal. It was a Lucy & Ethel moment, I swear! I think he was more grumpy that he was elected to go back into town for the real deal. Like he said, grits isn’t even close to corn meal.
We already had some fun beer in the frig, so our guests volunteered to bring an appropriate wine. One of our invitees is a cider drinker, so at the last moment I picked up some as part of pairing.
Our sampling included –
1) Fox Glove Chardonnay
2) Licia Albarino – a Spanish wine
3) Stella Artosis Cidre (made with handpicked apples)
WOW! Not only was the Shrimp n’ Grits totally fantastic, we had one of the best times sippin & samplin!
The top choice was the Stella Artosis Cidre, with the Albarino a close second. I gotta tell ya, the Cidre was perfect with the S&G. Crisp with a hint of carbonation, it was the perfect foil for the slight heat of the S&G. I’m sure it’s the “hand-picked apples” that made the difference!
My pairing entry goes to Stella Artosis Cidre.
How awesome that you are taking the challenge to the next level and made a dinner party out of it! How fun! Why wasn’t I invited?
Your husband will love this! I was at a restaurant serving up Southern Cuisine this week in Wildwood, Florida. The menu called their grits Georgia Ice Cream!
Love the Ice Cream comment! And you know, if you are ever out this way, dinner is on us!
Shrimp & Grits is one of my favorites (I’m a pseudo-southerner here in VA). I wrote a blog post about this exact pairing . . . my fav is Pinot Gris. http://armchairsommelier.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/kitchen-tomfoolery-pairing-shrimp-grits-with-oregon-pinot-gris/
Thanks for playing! Not sure why I didn’t remember this post, but take a look, I made a comment back when it was posted last March,
I can’t have shrimp any longer due to a pregnancy induced shellfish allergy, however, if I were to make it, I would likely pair it with a blend to get some acid and a bit of rs. The Amalaya Torrontes/Riesling blend or Pine Ridge Chenin/Viognier come to mind.
I am sorry to have teased you with the forbidden shrimp. At least you can still drink wine though! The Pine Ridge blend you mention is one of our favorites.
Let’s not all make this about wine!
For a beer pairing, I’d lean toward IPA, which goes well with seafood and if grits are being served as they often are here in NC, with butter. The relative bitterness of the hops should provide a decent match for richness of the grits and complement the shrimp.
That said, something like the new Stone Go-To IPA would work well for me. Because of the way that beer is made – mostly late addition hops – there will be some bitterness, but the strength of aroma and flavor will hold up against all the other sensations from the food. Among the other hops used, Mosaic, Citra and El Dorado can impart a mixture of fruit flavors, from blueberry to orange, peach or mango.
That may sound a bit too tropical for shrimp and grits, but the six other hope varieties will add some needed complexity.
Finally a beer suggestion! I have not yet tried Stone’s Go To IPA but will have to check-it out. Thanks for playing!
So, we have a cider, a white and an IPA. In my defense, the cider was found in the beer section……
I’m waiting on the muscadine wine suggestions…
Sometimes there’s nothing better than a creamy, rich bowl of comfort food like shrimp and grits. Mmm… I would pair this dish with one of two wines: Albarino or Gewurztraminer.
Albarino because it has a nice acidity that would balance out the richness of the dish, yet have enough body to hold up. It is also a great pairing for most seafood.
I also think Gewurztraminer would be a great choice, especially if the dish is slightly smokey or spicy, because it’s a wine with enough weight and intensity to match the food. It’s perceived sweetness balances out the spice instead of adding to it.
Cheers!
Love it! Especially the Gewurztraminer! Every shrimp and grits I have had is either smokey or spicy (or both). Thanks for your suggestions!
Speaking of, it’s been a long time since I’ve had grits… now I’m totally craving it!
Same here until last week when I had chicken fried steak over cheese grips. I was in a gluttonous food nirvana.