Small fried fillets of white grunt served over cooked grits, eaten at breakfast. The Depression-era Conch household meal, now more often found in Key West's history than on its menus.

A grunt is a small reef fish that makes an audible grunting noise by grinding its teeth. Anyone with a line could catch one off a Key West dock, and grits were cheap, so the pair became the everyday Conch breakfast through the early 20th century and especially through the Depression. The dish is a marker of Key West identity rather than a restaurant speciality: Stetson Kennedy titled his book of Key West folklore Grits and Grunts. It is rarely on a menu today, which makes it the dish visitors are most likely to have to cook themselves.

Where to eat Grits and grunts in Key West

The editor picks for Grits and grunts in Key West are still in research. Meanwhile, see the Key West signature-dishes index or the Key West food guide.

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Make it at home

Serves 450 minEasy

Ingredients

  • 8 small white grunt fillets, or small snapper or porgy fillets
  • 200g stone-ground white grits
  • 1 litre water
  • 250ml whole milk
  • 60g unsalted butter
  • 100g fine cornmeal
  • 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, half tsp cayenne
  • Neutral oil for shallow frying
  • 2 key limes, cut into wedges

Method

  1. Bring the water and milk to the boil with a good pinch of salt, whisk in the grits, then drop to the lowest heat.
  2. Cook 40 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until creamy. Beat in the butter off the heat and cover.
  3. Season the cornmeal with the salt, pepper and cayenne.
  4. Pat the fillets dry and press both sides into the seasoned cornmeal.
  5. Heat 1cm of oil to 190C and fry the fillets 2 minutes a side until the crust is gold and the fish flakes.
  6. Spoon the grits into bowls, lay the fillets over the top and serve with lime wedges.

Editor tip. Use stone-ground grits and give them the full 40 minutes. Instant grits collapse into paste and the fish has nothing to sit on.

Common allergens: Fish, Dairy.