Leftover Grits Made New Again

The Farmer hates Leftovers. He can spy one out a mile away. Soooo, after twenty-six years of this thing called marriage, I’ve learned to be creative. Because, I hate waste (almost) as much.

Friday’s roasted chicken gets turned into Sunday’s chicken pot pie. Monday’s hamburgers get turned into Tuesday’s Tacos. And the Farmer has never suspected a thing.

Now. Although the Farm is in New York (the state, not the city) we enjoy grits fairly often. Not the quick kind, either. No, we slowly simmer our grits in a bit of milk, salt and pepper, stirring all the while until it thickens and creams itself into something just a bit sweet and savory at the same time. In short it takes time.

I don’t time wasted, either.

So, if I’m putting all that time in, I’m making a little bit extra. And this is what I do with it:

What’s left in the pan is poured into a parchment lined, flat-bottomed baking dish–either a loaf pan or a baking sheet, depending on how many grits we’re talking. Size doesn’t matter here, but thickness does. Your grits shouldn’t be more than a half-inch thick. The grits should be spread out evenly and the whole pan set into the fridge to chill.

The now-solidified grits are removed from the pan by lifting the parchment. Oh. I didn’t tell you to let there be a bit of overhang? Sorry. Yes. There needs to be a bit of overhang of the parchment, or you’re never going to get that thing out of there.

The slab is placed on the counter and cut up any which way you like–you could even go a bit fancy and use cookie cutters, but that’s not my way. Simple squares do just fine. Besides, there’s no waste that way.

Once the grits have been cut, they’re either placed on a(nother) lined cookie sheet and set in the freezer for later use, or they’re set aside as some bacon fat is place in a skillet. Either works. But. Let’s say we’re making these now.

The now-solidified grits are set in the sizzling bacon fat and left by themselves until the undersides begin to brown up a bit. Once that happens, they’re flipped once onto their bellies, and that’s side left to get some color of it’s own. Once both sides have had their share, they’re taken off the pan and eaten immediately, preferably with some hot-pepper jelly.

(Psssst… Don’t tell the Farmer he’s really eating breakfast from a week ago!)