John's Busters and Grits

Recipe courtesy John Besh

Show: Episode:

Rated 5 stars out of 5
  • Rate This Recipe
  • Read 6 Reviews
Total Time:
1 hr 5 min
Prep
15 min
Cook
50 min
Yield:
6 servings, 1 cup sauce
Level:
Easy
x

Save To My Recipe Box

Please limit to 20 characters

Saving Recipe

Adding Recipe

Or Do Not Add

Success

This recipe was saved to your Folder_Name folder.

x

Save To My Recipe Box

Please sign in to save this recipe to your Recipe Box!!

25 Characters Max

Enter Time:

:
:

You can create up to five timers

Ingredients

  • 1 quart canola oil, for frying
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoons Creole spice
  • 1 quart water
  • 1 cup fine-ground white corn grits (recommended: McEwens)
  • 6 tablespoons butter
  • 4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 6 small soft-shell blue crabs, cleaned and trimmed
  • 1 cup Crab Pan Sauce, recipe follows
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 2 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

Directions

Preheat a deep-fryer with the peanut oil to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl combine the milk, eggs, cornmeal, flour and Creole spice using a wire whisk, until smooth.

In a medium-size saucepan bring the water to a boil over medium heat and slowly add the grits, while stirring constantly. Once the grits come to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the grits have cooked for 20 minutes, stir in 3 tablespoons of the butter and the mascarpone cheese. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Dip the soft-shell crabs into the cornmeal batter and carefully add them to the hot oil, 1 at a time. Fry until golden brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, before removing to absorbent paper towels and seasoning with additional salt.

Using a medium saucepan heat the Crab Pan Sauce with the garlic and green onion. Bring to a boil and stir in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, the hot sauce, and salt and pepper, to taste. Remove from heat once the butter has been added.

To plate this dish, spoon the grits into individual bowls with a generous amount of sauce ladled around the grits and topped with a fried soft-shell crab.

Crab Pan Sauce:

Heat the oil in a pan over moderate heat. Add the onions, garlic, fennel, and pepper flakes. Cook the vegetables, stirring often, for 3 minutes.

Add the thyme leaves, tarragon leaves, bay leaf, cream, vermouth and stock to the pan. Increase the heat to high and reduce the sauce by half, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Print Recipe

Browse Reviews by Keywordnew!

Loading review filters...

COMMENT ON THIS PROJECT

    

Sign in

All fields are required.

E-mail Address:

Password:

Remember me on this computer

Signing in

Please enter your email address and we will send your password

E-mail Address

Your password has been sent and should arrive in your mailbox very soon.

Not a member?

Sign up for My Food Network to share photos, show off your style, and connect to an enthusiastic and helpful community.

It's free and easy.

Review This Recipe

You must be logged in to review this recipe.

Newest Ratings and Reviews

Read all 6 reviews

  • on April 30, 2011

    Flag

    we used catfish instead of soft shell crab. those crabs aren't available in opelousas. the batter is good. thick but good. we used the sauce recipe for another recipe. we used fish stock instead of crab stock. fish stock is a good substitute. crab stock isn't something you find easily in rural areas.

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No
  • on April 27, 2011

    Flag

    I just saw this today. It looks great, except I live in Colorado where there are NO soft shell crabs. Any ideas for a good substitute?

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No
  • on February 02, 2011

    Flag

    I love anything with grits..the combination of the busters with the sauce and grits was excellent with a New Orleans flair

    people found this review Helpful.
    Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No

Next Recipe

Plantation Grits

Plantation Grits

Rated 4 stars out of 5
Advertisement

What's Hot

Iron Chef America

Hosted by: Alton Brown

Free Recipe of the Day Newsletter

Let Food Network chefs plan what's for dinner, with quick and easy recipes delivered to your inbox daily.

Ads by Google

© 2013 Television Food Network G.P. All rights reserved.