Chefs nationwide are harnessing pimiento cheese’s on-trend status and menu versatility and maximizing its one-of-a-kind spreadable, creamy texture and sweet, tangy flavor. They’re serving up pimiento cheese’s homestyle comfort and rich, craveable flavor across the menu, in dips, sandwiches, pizzas and on one of America’s favorite handhelds, the burger.
David J. Stadtmiller, Sr. Director of Global F&B Innovation for TGI Fridays, chose this trending ingredient for a recent burger build, relying on Price*s® Rich & Savory Pimiento Cheese Spread to deliver a consistent, high-quality ingredient.
“This burger is full of playful flavors. The pimiento cheese brings layers of real cheddar flavor that are balanced with the acidic and salty notes of the olive salad. And one may be thrown by the mustard, however, it adds tang that ties everything together,” he says. Stadtmiller’s Spicy Jalapeño Pimiento Cheese Muffuletta Burger features a brisket chuck burger topped with the cheese, broiled until slightly melted. It sits atop a Kaiser bun brushed with brown mustard. The pimiento-topped patty is layered with a spoonful of olive salad. “Without the Price*s Pimiento Cheese Spread, this burger would deliver good flavors, however, it adds a great twist on a familiar classic, making this burger over the top,” says Stadtmiller. “Isn’t every burger better with more cheese and some spice?”
Source: Datassential, 2022
Inspired Burger Moves With Pimiento Cheese
Across the country, creative chefs are calling on the zippy, rich flavor of pimiento cheese to make their burgers craveable.
- Pimiento Cheese Hamburger Patty Melt with arugula and roasted red peppers
—Costa Brava, St. Augustine, Fla.
- Juicy Lucy: Beef short rib blend patty stuffed with pimiento cheese, topped with caramelized onion, Bibb lettuce, tomato, pickles, special sauce, on sesame bun
—Whitmans, locations in New York and Miami
- The PB&J Burger with pimiento cheese, thick-cut bacon and housemade tomato jam
—Angry Ales, Charlotte, N.C.
- Carolina Burger: Angus patty topped with pimiento cheese, fried green tomatoes and housemade candied bacon jam, topped with shredded lettuce and pickles
—Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar, based in Denver
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