Grillades and Grits is a dish that originated in the fabulous city of New Orleans and is typically served for breakfast or brunch. Start to finish this dish takes nearly two hours to make so I usually skip tradition and serve Grillades and Grits for supper. Because lordy, I can’t wait that long for my breakfast.
What Are Grillades
Grillades and Grits is a great way to turn an inexpensive cut of meat into a super flavorful comfort meal. The meat is slow-cooked until tender in a red gravy flavored with the Holy Trinity (onions, celery, and green peppers) plus plenty of garlic.
The Grillades (pronounced GREE-ahds) get served over warm and creamy grits for a stick-to-your-ribs meal. I use top round steak but Grillades and Grits are sometimes made with pork or veal.
Typically some red wine is added to the sauce, but I don’t always want to open a bottle so I used a small splash of red wine vinegar to add some flavor depth.
Type Of Grits
I recommend using Stone Ground Grits to make the grits. They take longer to cook and are harder to find but they cook up much creamier and more delicious than grits that are more heavily processed. Palmetto Farms makes good grits and they can be ordered online from Amazon
. They come in both white and yellow. I typically use white, but it comes down to personal preference.
Recipe Tip
Stone Ground Grits are very perishable and should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer once the bag is opened. I find that uncooked Stone Ground Grits freeze very well so I store them in my freezer.
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Grillades and Grits
Ingredients
Grillades
- 1 1/2 to 2 pounds top round steak, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
- 2 leaves bay
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Grits
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup stone-ground grits, I like white grits
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Combine flour and cajun seasoning in a large plastic bag. Add steak and shake to coat evenly.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a cast iron Dutch oven or a deep pan set over medium-high heat.
- Add steak and brown on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to pan along with celery, onion , green pepper, and red pepper. Cook until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon flour over the veggies and stir to mix it in well.
- Gradually stir in the beef broth and then add the can of tomatoes.
- Add bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, Tabasco sauce, and Italian seasoning.
- Add steak back to pan, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
- Meanwhile make grits. To make grits, bring water, milk, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Gradually whisk in grits so that they do not clump. Turn heat to low and cook according to package directions (probably a good 45 minutes for stone-ground or shorter for quick grits.) Stir frequently to prevent the grits from scorching on the bottom of the pan. If grits are getting too thick, you can add more water.
- Once done, turn heat off and stir in butter, cheeses, and white pepper. Keep warm.
Nutrition
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Originally posted October 13, 2015.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I am going to try this tomorrow using venison tenderloins because that is what I have to use. The restaurant across the street used to make blackened beef tips with grits and it sounds just like this recipe. Will let you know how it turns out!
I used left over tenderloin , did not cheese the grits and it was still FABULOUS!!!!! what a GREAT recipe!!
I love Grillades and grits and I fix my recipe often , yours sounds a lot like mine. I am in Alabama. I missed where you gave the amount of servings your recipe makes. I am making it . Following your recipe, not mine, for 29 people. May I use stew meat or do I really need Round steak. I can’t wait to serve it..
Please only post if you actually made the recipe
Oh. My. God. I just made this using the instant pot, it is immediately going in normal rotation here. I did double the peppers and tomatoes for extra veggies, and served over plain grits to make it more waist friendly. I can only
imagine the heaven that it would be over cheesy grits. Don’t hesitate to give this a go!
I made The Grillades and Grits today. It was wonderful !
I wanted more of the vegetables and juice so I doubled all the ingredients under the meat,
I will definitely make this again and again .
Making this tonight, but with meatballs. Smells terrific! Thanks.
It’s also good over another NOLA staple: rice.
I made mashed potatoes and some noodles and served the meat over them it too was great, I have people that don’t like grits, some don’t like noodles so I decided on noodles and mashed and your exact recipe for the meat, all were content and full…your recipe is now a frequent visitor to my home. Thank you…😋
My mother used to make these in Port Arthur. TX where I grew up and we always had them for supper. This sounds exactly like she made them. Thank you.
forum beef to go for those on the run – make it beef
I saw this on a friend’s blog and a link to this page! wow what an amazing recipe! wonderful blog!
Thank you Lynn! 🙂
Wow. That looks delicious. I’d be very happy to start my day with grillades and grits if I can.
I’ve never heard of this before, but it looks delicious, Christin! I love the cajun spice in here. Sounds perfect!
I have never had Grillades and Grits before. But this stunning and delish pictures are making me drool. I so want this in my life. YUM!
If this isn’t comfort food, I don’t know what is! So delicious 🙂
This is the first time I’ve heard of this dish, thank you for introducing me to it! It looks yummy but I agree about serving for dinner aka brinner!
Oh my God, this looks so delicious and comforting, my whole family would just love this!! With our European polenta instead of grits of course, but it is more or less the same thing. 🙂 Just great!
That’s an absolute comfort meal! I never tried grits, but I love polenta.
Looking at the pictures makes me so hungry! I could have it not just for breakfast or lunch. Yummy!