HOMINY AND GRITS are the potatoes of the South. They are satisfying. there's an old saying: A man who eats Grits is a man of Peace. that could just be right....

Now for some words about HOMINY and about GRITS, which means mainly about Breakfast in the Delta Deep South for sure, and is not to be missed just cuz you move up north and all...

HOMINY or Speckeled Grits, are the whole kernal of corn soaked in lye or lyme until the hull comes off, rinsed til there's not that many vitamins left in em, and then boiled and fried and added-to with butter or cheese and maybe bacon or ham or seafood or sausage or pork bits browned, or maybe all of that, and eaten along side of eggs, if in the morning, with the yolk runnin' all over em. You've soaked them overnight, and then boiled them for a hour - or you've used them canned, which just takes a warmin' up, and doesn't taste as fine, but tastes OK. Elder Southerners all crave Hominy, and feel less 'well' if they don't have some ever so now and again...
In Mexican cooking , Hominy is called Posole, I believe, and is cooked into lots of dishes....

now, Grits are another story...Grits are dried, ground-up hominy, a coarse corn meal, and they come in bags and boxes and have to be moistened a lot and cooked for a long time to be edible. There are many, many ways to prepare Grits. this is my way:

pour 2 cups of whole milk, and 2 cups of water and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of non-iodined salt or kosher slat into a large, heavy-bottom pot over medium-hight heat and bring to a boil. at once add 2 cups of coarse ground cornmeal, a little at a time while continually whisking and whisking. decrease the heat to very low, and cover. uncover and whisk frequently, every 2 to 4 minutes or so, to prevent the grits from sticking or forming lumps. Cook them for 25 minutes, and then they are done. you might have to add more milky water to them, very warm, if they start to dry out...they should be like a hot farina-like cereal consistency when they're ready.

Now, you can whisk in all sorts of good things: ground black pepper and up to 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter are my favorite...quite a few folks add a brown sugar syrup or sugar along with the butter... many add shredded cheddar or other cheeses... you can add cooked shrimp and chopped chives. shrimp and grits are a very popular brunch item all over the south. so are crab and grits, and runny friend eggs and grits. these are all very  good to eat - they really are.

Here's their Poem:

Them Hominy Grits:
Cook 'em 'til they're nice and done...
Butter, Salt, Sugar....

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