Experiments with Pimento Cheese Part 2

Aug 02, 23

Yesterday, I mixed up a batch of pimento cheese and I just sampled it after it had chilled for a day in the fridge. It’s pretty damned good. Here’s what I tweaked:

I couldn’t find the Lindsay pimentos, just the store brand at Wal-Mart, and I can state with full confidence that the Lindsay-canned pimentos from California are indeed the best choice. These store-branded ones just don’t pack the same pepper essence.

I have been debating whether to drain the pimentos or just dump all of them in there, water and all. In this batch, I just dumped all of it. It is fine. I can’t tell a difference either way.

I got a little frisky with the cheeses. In this batch, I used a pound of Swiss and a pound of mild cheddar. It is very good. My thoughts here were that a sharp cheddar combined with the already sharp Swiss (would you call Swiss sharp, or just Swiss?) would be too much sharp, and I was probably right because this batch has a nice balance. Also, the Swiss is a harder cheese, and that gives some firmness to the batch. I like it.

I used Crystal hot sauce with garlic in this one, just to test my anti-garlic stance. I will say, it isn’t bad, but even though I just put a couple of healthy splashes in it, I can taste the garlic. It doesn’t bother me, actually, so I guess if you really like garlic, go crazy. I wouldn’t, though. I don’t like how garlic can just take over a dish so that that is all you can taste. Even the hint in this batch is getting too close. It isn’t bad, though, and I kind of like this little boost of complexity, again, without the garlic taking over.

The tablespoon of sugar is exactly right as per how I want it. Not heavy at all.

Here’s what I did:

  • 1 lb. mild cheddar, grated by hand
  • 1 lb. Swiss, grated by hand
  • 3 huge overheaping tablespoons of Duke’s mayonnaise
  • 2 of the small jars of the Wal-Mart store branded pimentos, or one big jar. (Use Lindsay if you can find them. These Wal-Mart ones are not great.)
  • 1 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 healthy splashes of Crystal hot sauce with garlic

Mix well. Really stir the hell out of it, actually.

Chill overnight for maximum flavor melding.