Shredded Pork with Stone Ground Grits–Grish

Here’s an incredibly delicious meal that can be made from several different meats—especially left overs.  I call it Grish.  The “Gr” stands for grits and the “sh” for hash.  But I pronounce it “greesh” because I like the sound of it.  So it’s left over meat, shredded and cut up with some fresh veggies and grits rather than the potatoes used on hash.  Oh man, it’s good! It also combines the creamy, buttery, cheesy texture of stone ground grits into something that will have you salivating and impatient for this less than half hour to cook meal to prepare.

shredded pork with stone ground grits
Grish…shredded pork over stone ground grits

Shredded Pork and Stone Ground Grits–Grish

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (approximately) shredded leftover beef, pork or chicken.  (You can even use frozen cooked or uncooked shrimp).
  • 1 ½ cups stoneground grits (yellow or white) (I use Bob’s Red Mill Stoneground Yellow)
  • 1 cup (at least) bell pepper cut into appx. ½” x 1” strips
  • ¾ cup diced onion
  • 1 diced tomato (Roma or baseball size)
  • ½ teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • ¾ cup shredded cheese
  • ½ cup broth
  • Canola or EVOO for sautéing
  • Margarine or butter
  • Seasonings to taste—salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne

Directions:

Get out a 3 quart pot and a medium skillet.  Prep the fresh vegetables and make sure the meat is shredded into about ¾-1 inch pieces.

pork for shredding

Put 3 cups of water into the pot (for a bit more flavor you can substitute 1 cup chicken broth for 1 of the cups of water.  Turn burner to medium high and bring to a boil.  When water is boiling briskly turn the heat as low as it will go and immediately add the grits and 1 good, healthy tablespoonful of margarine or about 1” of a stick of butter to the water.  Stir really, really well and cover.  Every couple of minutes lift cover and stir.

stone ground grits

Turn skillet burner to medium high (about 3 o’clock on the dial for an electric stove).  Add a couple of good glugs of cooking oil (Canola or EVOO) and bring temperature up.  Add onions and bell peppers and sauté 2-3 minutes then add garlic and tomato.  Add the meat and stir everything together.  Check taste and season to desired level with salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne. (Don’t forget to check and stir your grits!)  If you need a bit more moisture add a little broth.  Now’s the time to add the lime juice too.

Turn heat to medium low (about 8 o’clock on the stove dial).  Now, turn your attention back to the grits.  Turn off the burner and add the shredded cheese then stir, stir, stir until it’s all incorporated into the grits.

Plating:  Put a big old dollop of grits in the middle of the plate—a coupla good scoops.  Add the “Greesh” mixture on top and around the grits.  Enjoy!

Grish shredded pork and grits

The Cheap Bastid Test:  Well, the pork was left over, about a half-pound and it cost me $1.29 a pound—so make it $.65 of meat.  The grits are the expensive part at $2.29 for a bag and I get 4 meals from a bag so the grits cost $.56.  I use a half cup of shredded cheese which costs $1.99 for a 2 cup bag at the store so the cheese cost is $.50.  The veggies add about another $.75 and the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples.  Total cost:  $2.46 if my mental math is right but let’s fudge it to $3.00.  And this makes 4 servings so the per serving cost is about $.75.  Pretty good eating for a really Cheap Bastid cost.

That’s the Cheap Bastid Way:  Eat Good! Eat Cheap! Be Grateful!

About Walter Blevins

My wife started to call me Cheap Bastid a while back because I enjoyed coming up with dinners that cost next to nothing--and making them taste good. Yeah, I love to cook. And I love to cook good food cheap. I'm not a chef and I'm definitely not anything close to a gourmet. I'm just a home cook who grew up in a home where cooking was from scratch and was a little bit Midwest and a little bit country. That's because my Mom was from Michigan and my Dad was from Kentucky. I started sharing recipes when my daughter called me in 2006 and asked for my recipe for Swiss Steak. That year for Christmas I put together a cookbook for my 2 kids called "Dad's Everyday Cookbook and Kitchen Survival Guide". And I heard back that they both use it regularly. It was full of basic recipes that I had cooked for them when they were growing up. I work hard at creating recipes that are original and creative and inexpensive. You won't find a foo-foo foodie approach to my recipes and style. I believe that it's OK for food to go up the side of a plate. Food is for eating--it doesn't have to be pretty. And I write about my cooking and my recipes so that I can share them. I hope you enjoy these posts. Leave me a comment--that you liked something or that you didn't, it doesn't matter. I'd love to hear from you.
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