- A cheeseburger is practically perfect,
and a patty melt, that takes it to another level.
How do you improve on that?
Throw in some pimento cheese,
and you have a new world of flavor in that sandwich.
Check out the pimento cheese patty melt.
(gentle upbeat music)
I know there are some people who are unfamiliar
with pimento cheese, and that's a shame.
There's a reason some consider it the caviar of the South.
Today we'll combine that creamy spread
with a juicy burger for a patty melt that's over the top.
Let's get to it.
You probably have a lot of the ingredients that you'll need
for this recipe already on hand,
but the most important part is the ground beef.
To make an amazing patty melt,
you need to start with the best beef.
We'll be using Certified Angus Beef 80% lean ground beef.
This provides the perfect amount of fat for a burger.
Since this is going between two slices of bread,
you'll want a thin patty, and we'll use the smash technique.
First thing you'll need to do is divide the meat
into four equal portions,
then form them into loose spherical shapes,
making sure not to compress the grind too much.
To ensure that the patties stay juicy
even when they're smashed,
it's crucial to use Certified Angus Beef,
because if it's not Certified, it's not the best.
For the pimento cheese,
we'll start with slicing up a couple green onions.
These provide a nice, mild onion flavor and a little crunch.
If you don't have green onions
you could substitute granulated onion
but raw yellow onion might be a little too strong.
Next chop up some pimentos,
which are the namesake for this spread.
Pimentos are a jarred sweet pepper
similar to a red bell pepper but more flavorful.
Chop them fairly fine
because you want to ensure to get a little bit in each bite.
You really want the flavor of the pimento to come through.
Mayo and cream cheese give this spread its creamy texture.
The combination of the two
make it just the right consistency,
the mayo for its creaminess
and the cream cheese will help to make it more spreadable.
Let the cream cheese warm up at room temperature
for a little while so that it folds easily into the spread.
I probably could have let this sit out
just a little bit longer.
Using a sturdy spatula rather than a whisk
will make mixing the ingredients much easier.
Add some of your favorite hot sauce.
I only use a teaspoon here
but if you like it spicier, go wild.
Finally, we'll go in with some sharp cheddar cheese.
This has a more assertive flavor.
If you don't like sharp cheese
it's fine to use a mild cheddar.
At this point, you really wanna mix well
to assure that everything is well distributed
and there aren't any clumps of ingredients.
But the spread will remain a little chunky.
This sandwich is simple
but all of the elements are important,
even the bread that you decide to use.
You want something fluffy and just the right thickness.
I decided to buy an unsliced white sandwich loaf.
This way I can control the thickness of the slices.
You want slices about one inch thick.
This'll be thick enough to stand up to the patty
and the spread
but not so thick that the pimento cheese won't warm through.
If you want pre-sliced bread,
you could simply buy Texas toast.
Whatever you decide,
we'll need eight slices at the end of the day.
Using mayo to toast the bread instead of butter
is a handy trick to have in your back pocket.
It's easy to spread in an even layer.
And since it's mostly oil, it'll brown beautifully.
Plus you're already using it in the pimento cheese.
Once all the bread has a smear of mayo,
spread a layer of the pimento cheese
on the opposite side of the mayo.
Pimento cheese on each slice will encapsulate the patty
in the spread and give it more surface area to warm through.
We're finally getting to the best part, the smash patties.
Crank that griddle to high heat
and go onto it with those spheres of beef.
I find it most efficient to use two spatulas
to smash the patties, one hefty wide one for the smashing
and another one to provide more down force
in order to get that patty super thin.
When smashing, smear the patty out a bit.
This will help the patty fit the bread
and prevent beef from sticking to the spatula.
Remember, these patties will shrink some
while they're cooking
so you want them to be as wide as possible.
Aim for a size slightly bigger than the slices of bread.
You wanna make sure
that every bite has some of that burger patty in it.
Don't forget to season your burger patties.
You'll have to season after the smash
so that every inch gets salt and pepper.
So have your S and P on hand and move quickly
because that first side cooks faster than you think.
Since your patties are so thin,
you only really need to season the one side.
And once the edges start to lose that pink coloring,
it's time to flip.
Make sure to scrape under the patties really well.
The whole point
of smashing them is to create a beautiful crust
on the burger,
and you don't wanna leave it stuck to the griddle.
Come on, look at that crust.
Nothing else will give you such a brown,
beautiful crust like that.
It will only take a minute on the second side
since most of our cook time occurred
while we were creating that crust.
Place the patties on a clean plate or sheet pan
and cover with foil to keep 'em warm.
Before toasting the bread,
you wanna make sure that the debris
from the patty is as scraped away and your griddle is clean.
This is also a good time to adjust the heat.
You want it on a medium low so the bread gradually toasts.
At this point,
you're treating the sandwich just like a grilled cheese.
Make sure to monitor the browning of the bread.
If there are hotspots, rotate so that it toasts evenly.
Once the bread is a little toasty,
add the beef patty to complete the sandwich.
Allow it to toast a little further to melt the cheese.
Keeping those patties warm is key
so that the whole sandwich is hot and gooey.
This is a perfect recipe
if you have a Blackstone-style griddle
because you can make the patties while the bread toasts
and put them directly onto the slices.
Look at that toasty bread filled with gooey pimento cheese
and that perfectly seared beef patty.
This sandwich really combines three amazing comfort foods,
grilled cheese, pimento cheese, and a cheeseburger.
You'll be an all star to whoever you share this with.
Patty melts are great,
but a pimento patty melt, that's next level.
See you next time here in the Test Kitchen
at Certified Angus Beef.
(gentle upbeat music)