Cajun Grillades and Onion Gravy with Cheddar Scallion Grits and Sunny Egg

Comfortable tasty Louisiana breakfast cooking!
   
     Grillades are petit breakfast cutlets of beef, pork, veal or wild game that are prepared with a Cajun cooking method.  I have mentioned in the past that Cajun food is like 200 to 400 year old French cooking.
     There are several varieties of grillade recipes.  Some are simple, like today's grillades recipe with standard onion gravy.  Paul Prudhomme's grillade recipes tend to be much more complex with an extensive list of ingredients.  The basic cooking technique remains the same for most grillades recipes.
     Hominy grits don't have to be served plain.  A popular grits recipe last century was cheese grits.  At first, cheese grits were more popular in southern states that bordered the north.  In the deep south, pan gravies and redeye gravies were traditional for grits.  Cheese grits seem to be popular nearly everywhere these days.
   
     Cajun Grillades and Onion Gravy Recipe:
     Be sure to have all of the ingredients ready, before starting to cook the roux for this recipe!
     Slice 3 thin pork loin cutlets that weigh 2 to 3 ounces apiece.
     Trim off the excess fat and reserve the fat for later in the recipe.
     Pound the cutlets flat with a mallet or wine bottle.
     Heat a saute pan over medium low heat.
     Add 2 pats of unsalted butter.
     Add the pork fat and trimmings.
     Add 1/2 ounce of thin slice of salt pork or bacon.
     Slowly render the fats, till the pieces of scrap are cooked crisp.
     Discard the crisp pieces and leave the butter lard mixture in the pan.
     Raise the temperature to medium heat.
     Add the the pork cutlets to the pan.
     Saute the grillades, till they become fully cooked and lightly browned on both sides.
     Remove the pork grillades and set them aside.  There should be plenty of fond (brown bits of meat and fat stuck on the bottom of the pan).
     Add enough flour to the grease in the hot pan, while constantly stirring, to form a thin bodied roux.  (The roux should not be thick and caky!)
     Constantly stir with a whisk.
     Scrape and blend the fond that is stuck to the bottom of the pan into the roux.
     Constantly stir and cook the small amount of roux, till it turns a reddish brown color.
     Immediately add 1/2 cup of finely chopped sweet vidalia onion.
     Add 1 chopped garlic clove.
     Stir with the whisk.  (Adding the onions and garlic will stop the roux from cooking any further.  The heat of the roux will instantly cook the onions.)
     Add 2 cups of pork broth, while stirring with a whisk.
     Stir till the sauce starts to thicken.
     Add 1 pinch of thyme.
     Add sea salt and coarse ground black pepper.
     Add 2 pinches of cayenne pepper.
     Return the pork grillades to the pan.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Simmer the grillades in the sauce, till the sauce reduces to a medium thin sauce consistancy.
     Keep the grillades and gravy warm over very low heat.
   
     Cheddar Scallion Grits Recipe:
     Old fashioned grits have a better texture and flavor than instant grits.  Old fashioned grits do absorb a lot of water!
     Boil 2 cups of water in a sauce pot over high heat.
     Add 3/4 cup of old fashioned stone ground white hominy grits.
     Stir with a whisk, till the grits begin to thicken and boil.
     Reduce the temperature to low heat.
     Whisk the grits occasionally, so they remain smooth with no clumps.
     Add water if the grits become too thick.
     Simmer the grits, till they become soft, with a smooth thick texture.
     Add 1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese.
     Add sea salt and coarse ground black pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of cayenne pepper.
     Add 1 pinch of paprika.
     Add 2 sliced green onions.
     Stir the grits one last time.
     The grits should not be watery or runny.  The texture of the grits should be similar to smooth polenta.
     Keep the grits warm on a stove top.
   
     Cajun Grillades and Onion Gravy with Cheddar Scallion Grits and Sunny Egg:
     Heat a non-stick saute pan over medium/medium low heat.
     Add 1 pat of unsalted butter.
     Add 1 egg.
     Cook the egg sunny side up.
     Spoon the cheddar scallion grits onto a plate.
     Set the grillades near the grits.
     Pour the onion gravy over the grits and grillades on the plate.
     Place the sunny egg next to the grillades.
   
     This is a very comfortable Louisiana Cajun breakfast!  The flavor of the grillades and onion gravy recipe is simple and very rich.  The trinity vegetables are not used for an onion gravy.  Cheddar and scallion is a nice flavor for grits.
     One thing about grits, is that nobody can eat just one!  Ha ha ha!  Yum!  ...  Shawna