Recipe courtesy of Kyle Bryner
Recipe courtesy of Kyle Bryner
Watch how to make this recipe.
Pimento Cheese Fritters
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- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 15 min (includes chilling time)
- Active: 45 min
- Yield: 16 to 18 fritters
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 18 servings
- Calories
- 301
- Total Fat
- 25 g
- Saturated Fat
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- 11 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Protein
- 9 g
- Cholesterol
- 74 mg
- Sodium
- 236 mg
This is always a crowd-pleaser, and what Southern cook doesn’t have some pimento cheese on hand at all times? Quality store-bought pimento cheese works well in this recipe, but preparing it from scratch elevates the flavor and texture considerably…just make sure you shred the cheese yourself instead of using pre-shredded cheese. The pre-shredded stuff has an anti-caking agent mixed in, so the texture of the pimento cheese never seems to come out right when using it. The process is simple, and this style of batter for the fritter allows you flexibility to add other ingredients inside for extra flavors and texture. I added corn and sausage to the pimento cheese fritters I made during the finale of BBQ Brawl, and the judges seemed to really enjoy it!
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 15 min (includes chilling time)
- Active: 45 min
- Yield: 16 to 18 fritters
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 18 servings
- Calories
- 301
- Total Fat
- 25 g
- Saturated Fat
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- 11 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Protein
- 9 g
- Cholesterol
- 74 mg
- Sodium
- 236 mg
Ingredients
Pimento Cheese:
Pepper Jelly Sauce:
Fritters:
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Directions
- For the pimento cheese: Shred the cheddar into a large bowl using the large holes of a box grater. Add the cream cheese, pimentos, mayonnaise, chives, granulated garlic, granulated onion and smoked paprika and mix thoroughly until well combined. (A spoon will work, but I find the best tool for this job is your hands, gloved of course.) Cover and refrigerate to set for 30 minutes.
- For the pepper jelly sauce: In a small bowl, mix the pepper jelly with 2 tablespoons water to thin it out slightly to the consistency of ketchup or Thai chili sauce.
- For the fritters: Fill a large Dutch oven halfway with vegetable oil or tallow. Heat over medium-high heat until the temperature registers 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and eggs. The mixture should be the consistency of a thin pancake batter.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the panko, salt and pepper.
- Spoon heaping 1-tablespoon portions of the pimento cheese and roll into balls. You should end up with 16 to 18 balls. Coat the balls in the egg-flour batter, submersing them and using a fork to lift them out. Then immediately transfer to the breadcrumb mixture and carefully cover them with the breadcrumbs.
- Working in batches and bringing the oil back to temperature between batches, carefully lower the pimento balls into the oil and fry until the breadcrumbs are a deep golden color, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels to catch any residual oil. Let cool for a minute, then serve with a ramekin of the pepper jelly sauce.
