Earthy slow-cooked greens, tangy pickles, crunchy fried chicken, and classic pimento cheese left an impression on the chef and author Eric Greenspan. While traveling the South for his National Geographic show, “Eric Greenspan is Hungry,” he learned about each of those foods, and wanted to combine them for his new cookbook, The Great Grilled Cheese Book: Grown-Up Recipes for a Childhood Classic.
The result is this behemoth of a sandwich that reads like a Southern greatest-hits playlist. Greenspan’s new book shares a more in-depth version including homemade fried chicken, home-pickled cukes, and made-from-scratch pimento cheese, but we’ve simplified the process here (because everyone in the South has their favorite store-bought varieties or family recipes for pickles, chicken, and pimento cheese).
You’re going to need to break out the napkins for this one—and serve with a side of antacids.
