Food & Drink

Pimento Cheese Fritters

Name: Pimento Cheese Fritters
Yield: Yields 25-35 pieces
Ingredients: 1 ½ lbs. cream cheese; 2 cups mayonnaise; 1 tsp. salt; ½ tsp. onion powder; ½ tsp. garlic powder; 1 tsp. paprika; ¼ cup hot sauce; 1½ cup pimentos, diced; ¼ cup pickle juice; 3 lbs. sharp cheddar cheese, grated; 2½ lbs. white cheddar cheese, grated; 2 cups all-purpose flour; 5 eggs; 4 cups unseasoned bread crumbs; Jars of pepper jelly and pickles to serve

Yields 25-35 pieces

A Minnesota chef with Carolina bona fides shares a Southern-fried party bite

By CJ Lotz Diego

January 31, 2018

Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Boemer

“These are my favorite for watching a game or having a party,” says Thomas Boemer, the James Beard-nominated chef behind Minneapolis restaurants Corner Table and Revival. “I fell in love with how pimento cheese melts when it’s warm. Find your favorite hot pepper jelly and set this out for finger food.”

Ingredients

- 1 ½ lbs. cream cheese
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ¼ cup hot sauce
- 1½ cup pimentos, diced
- ¼ cup pickle juice
- 3 lbs. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 2½ lbs. white cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 5 eggs
- 4 cups unseasoned bread crumbs
- Jars of pepper jelly and pickles to serve

Preparation

Soften cream cheese and combine with mayonnaise, dry seasonings, hot sauce, pimentos, and pickle juice. Mix until fully incorporated. Add cheeses and mix together.
Using parchment paper, roll dough into cylinders and chill for six hours or overnight.
Cut into coins ¾ inch thick. Bread using standard breading procedure (first dredge in flour, then in whisked eggs, and finally in breadcrumbs).
Chill in freezer for approximately 30 minutes (until the cheese sets up) before frying in 375-degree oil.
Serve with pepper jelly and pickles.

Recipe from Thomas Boemer of Corner Table and Revival in Minneapolis and St. Paul

CJ Lotz Diego is Garden & Gun’s senior editor. A staffer since 2013, she wrote G&G’s bestselling Bless Your Heart trivia game, edits the Due South travel section, and covers gardens, books, and art. Originally from Eureka, Missouri, she graduated from Indiana University and now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where she tends a downtown pocket garden with her florist husband, Max.