Fried Pimento Cheese Is The Southern Snack We Can't Get Enough Of

If you're not a child of the South, you may wonder what exactly pimento cheese is and how it's used. For the uninitiated, pimento cheese is made by mixing cream cheese, shredded cheese, seasoning, and diced pimento peppers together. Pimentos are red, small, and don't pack a lot of heat; their sweet taste gives pimento cheese its unique flair. You can stuff it in olives, spread it on a sandwich, or inhale it with crackers as a dip. However, there's a use for this slightly-spicy, super-savory cheese that you likely haven't tried yet, and it's one of the best. You can full-on fry it.

Humans have appreciated fried cheese since the time of the ancient Romans, who invented fried cheese curds. Nowadays, you might enjoy deep-fried mozzarella sticks or even some grilled halloumi. You probably haven't thought about breading pimento cheese and turning it into ooey-gooey balls of snackable perfection, however — and that's a darn shame. Its piquant flavor can handle being intensely fried and still come out tasting distinctive and delicious.

While you can buy pimento cheese already prepared at most grocery stores, making your own is easy — especially when you have the perfect pimento cheese recipe on hand. Frying it isn't much harder. The key is to scoop out your cheese balls and freeze them solid. An hour should do the trick. For breading, you have a few options. You can go with a buttermilk-and-panko dredge, or you can try a beer batter for an effervescent, crispy crunch. If you want to really play up a spicy kick, add some chili powder to your breading. Salt your fried and drained cheese balls well — like all fried food, your pimento balls are a sponge for sodium.

Of course, every fried snack needs the perfect sauce. Fried pimento cheese pairs gloriously with a spicy ranch. Or go in the opposite direction and dip your cheese balls in some raspberry jam or pepper jelly. No matter how you dress them up, these snacks aren't going to last long. Serve your fried pimento cheese at your next party in the place of humdrum cheese sticks, or simply down them by yourself when you're feeling snacky.