Fresh Louisiana crawfish (don’t even think about using Chinese tails), smoky Andouille sausage, roasted garlic and the best grits in the world combine to make a great dish that’s a perfect addition to any brunch.
The challenging part will be exercising the patience necessary to wait for the grits to finish cooking. And don’t even think about using anything but high-quality, stone-ground grits.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails
• 1 cup Andouille sausage (I use Jacob’s World Famous Andouille from LaPlace, La.)
• 1 cup stone-ground grits (I use white grits from Sciple’s Water Mill in Dekalb, Miss. which has been in continuous operation since 1790. And yes, they’re that good…)
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Abita Amber (you can drink the rest)
• 1 head of garlic (peeled)
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 4 TBSP butter
• Salt, pepper and Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Break up peeled head of garlic and roast on an oven-safe plate (about 12 minutes).
2. While garlic is roasting, melt 2 TBSP of butter on low heat in large saucepan or Dutch Oven. When butter is melted, pour in grits and stir to coat.
3. Add in all liquids (heavy cream, Abita Amber and chicken broth) and stir and simmer on low.
4. When garlic is finished roasting, combine garlic, crawfish, Andouille, cream cheese, seasoning and remaining butter into grits. Leave to simmer, stirring every 5 minutes over low heat for about an hour until grits are creamy.
5. Season to taste and serve immediately.

This dish is a guaranteed brunch hit, but it’s appropriate for any meal time. You can also reheat any leftovers to make this one-pot wonder last. To reheat, stir in 1/4 cup of liquid of your choice and simmer over low heat until grits are heated through.