Grilled Pimento Cheese

Sharing is caring!

Earlier this year, I was having dinner with a friend when the topic of conversation turned to food. {This is not unusual, seeing as how most of our conversations end up being about food.} I was saying how my mother and I had just recently discovered the glory that is the grilled pimento cheese sandwich – made with my great-grandmother’s homemade pimento cheese recipe, of course. At this point my friend looked at me and said, “Wait a minute. You can make pimento cheese? I thought it only came from a jar.”

That statement took a minute to sink in. Pimento cheese out of a jar? After a bit of research {nerd alert}, I realized that she was referring to this. Friends, this may be a controversial statement, but that is not real pimento cheese.

Real pimento cheese is a Southern staple, and there are about as many recipe variations as there are opinionated Southern grandmothers, but – in general – it is a spread made up of sharp cheddar cheese, chopped pimentos, and mayo. Some recipes, such as my great-grandmother’s, may use additional ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, but those first three components are fairly consistent. Of course, there are a few people who use cream cheese in their pimento cheese, but I’m fairly certain that this idea would make my great-grandmother turn in her grave, so I personally stick to the basics.

I grew up eating pimento cheese sandwiches – literally, just pimento cheese and some slices of fresh tomato between two slices of bread – but for some reason it never occurred to my family to turn our pimento cheese into grilled cheese until recently.

Fools. 

I am so glad to have seen the light. Grill all the cheese!

Grilled Pimento Cheese

 

Print

Yield: Makes enough pimento cheese for a least 4 sandwiches

Ingredients

• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• 2-3 tablespoons chopped jarred pimentos
• ½-1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Slices of your favorite crusty bread
• Butter

Instructions

1. Make the pimento cheese: In a bowl, stir together the cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, and Worcestershire sauce until combined. Start by adding ½ teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, and increase to up to 1 teaspoon as desired.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spread a few tablespoons of the pimento cheese spread on a slice of bread. Top with a second slice, spread the top of the sandwich with butter, and place in the heated skillet, butter-side down. Spread butter on what is now the top slice of bread, and cook until the sandwich is golden brown on both sides, flipping halfway, for a total of 3-4 minutes. Cut in half and serve with your favorite tomato soup.

3.2.1255