Binging With Babish: How to Make Grits from My Cousin Vinny

Have I mentioned how nice it is to watch Babish cook? I’m sure I have, but it’s still a lot of fun anyway since no matter what meal it is, other than a certain sandwich that was colorful but certainly not edible, Babish is the kind of individual that can inspire people to try just about anything. And when it comes to grits that’s saying something since a lot of people that don’t come from the south might not know what the heck these things are. But if you’re in the south and walk into a diner or a regular restaurant, you’ll probably find them on the menu since this is a pretty common staple of southern food in a lot of areas. You might find a lot of people that swear that they’re the best at making grits or they know someone that’s the best at making grits, as this is a point of pride in a lot of places in the south. It might be overstated, or it might not be, but it’s not something that a person should make light of when traveling to the south all the same. 

But for comedic effect, My Cousin Vinny made a pretty good showing of grits and even used them in a very convincing manner that Babish mentions, as Vinny made it a point to talk about how long it takes to cook grits and why it meant something to the case. For a guy that walked in knowing next to nothing, Vinny ended up becoming a rather knowledgable man that walked out of the courtroom with a win. It has to be said however that his girlfriend ended up helping out quite a bit since Vinny didn’t know the ball from the bounce, as the saying goes. But when it comes to the grits, he had a perfect way to make it fit with the testimony that had already been given. 

There are actually a lot of different recipes for grits, and while they’re all bound to please a lot of those that love grits, like any recipe you can imagine, there are bound to be people that are going to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Grits are definitely one of those things that are going to be up for criticism by pretty much anyone that knows what they’re talking about and a lot more of those that don’t know anything about what they’re talking about. Cooking is one of those things in life that a lot of people tend to think they know something about, but personally, when someone has the kind of skills that Babish does, it’s easier to listen and take their word for it rather than argue and say that this isn’t the way that mama used to make. Watching Babish take on a few different grist recipes though it’s fair to think that there are more ways than the average person would want to think about. Even more than that, it’s easy to assume that everyone makes them their own way, to their personal taste, and that any single recipe is going to be considered good or bad by those that see fit to judge it.

But to be sure, the way that Babish goes about it makes each dish look absolutely fantastic. One has to wonder if those in the south would approve, call them too fancy, or say that they’re just right. Of course, the last explanation might not be realistic since, well, let’s face it, cooks in the south might want to keep their sense of pride and not admit that he knew what he was doing. It would appear that cooking grits isn’t all that tough, but trying to impress anyone that knows what they’re doing is bound to be another matter entirely since it’s fair to think that those that have been passing down grits recipes for generations would be highly insulted if anyone decided to walk into their kitchen and say such a thing. It might sound like a stereotype, but it’s worth saying that anyone who thinks that cooking grits is easy and isn’t worried about who hears it should head on down south and tempt fate. 

This was really the only dish that could have been taken from My Cousin Vinny since it was the one that had the most significance given the content and the way it was used each time. For those that don’t know what grits are, I should leave it up to you to check Google and find out, but I’m in a nice mood today, so here it goes. Grits are essentially a porridge made from cornmeal, and hominy grits are corn that’s been treated with alkali in a process that’s called nixtamalization, and DO NOT ask me to explain that.