Pimento Cheese Burger
Today I’m participating in my second virtual baby shower of the week. Today’s baby shower is for Erin from Erin’s Food Files, which is being hosted by Jessica from The Novice Chef. Erin is also due in a few weeks and since she lives Nashville, the theme for the shower is Southern food.
I’ll be the first to admit, I know very little about Southern food. I had no idea where to start. Erin was the first one to introduce me to cheesecake cakes (it all started with Lincoln’s Cake, which I also made. Since then she’s made a peanut butter-chocolate, and Oreo version and I’ve made a carrot cake and Neapolitan version), so I was originally thinking I’d do a cheesecake cake…
Then Erin posted these Pimento Cheese Deviled Eggs last week. For whatever reason, I just could not get them out of my head. You all know I grew up in the Midwest and live in Boston. I’ve never had pimento cheese. I’m not even sure if I’ve ever seen it. Thanks to Google, I found out that pimento cheese is a mixture of mayo, cheddar cheese, sometimes cream cheese, and pimentos.
As I kept trying to force myself to come up with a Southern dessert to make for the shower, my curiosity kept bringing me back to the idea of pimento cheese. There was another detail that stuck out from Erin’s post last week. She mentioned pimento goat cheese. Everything fell in to place the other night when Hubby requested turkey burgers for dinner. We regularly put goat cheese and spinach on our turkey burgers, so at that moment this Pimento Cheese Burger idea was born!
I have no idea how authentic this pimento goat cheese is, but I do know it’s delicious. The tangy goat cheese pairs beautifully with the sweetness of the pimentos. I decided to add a couple thin slices of a tart green apple to cut the salty creaminess from the cheese mixture. This burger was a home run and I’ll definitely be making some more of the pimento goat cheese in the future. I really enjoyed snacking on extra apple slices dipped in the cheese mixture. It would make a perfect appetizer!
Congrats to Erin on the upcoming bundle of joy! To see the other items made for Erin’s virtual shower, be sure to check out the roundup on The Novice Chef.
Pimento Cheese Burger
Pimento goat cheese adds a great deal of flavor to these turkey burgers
Yield: 5 Burgers
Ingredients:
For the Pimento Goat Cheese
2 oz goat cheese, at room temp
2 oz chopped pimentos (drained if using canned pimentos)
2 oz colby jack cheese, shredded (~1/2 cup)
For the Turkey Burgers
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 half large red onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil
For Serving
5 Hamburger buns
spinach leaves (optional)
1 Granny Smith apple, thiny sliced
Directions:
For the Pimento Goat Cheese
In the bowl of a food processor or stand mixer, combine all ingredients. Mix on medium until well combined. Set aside or make ahead of time and store in the fridge.
For the Turkey Burgers
Combine the onion, ground turkey, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Combine thoroughly without over handling.
Shape into 5 patties.
Heat up grill pan or grill. Add oil to lubricate grill pan/grill.
Cook until juices run clear.
For Serving
Toast buns on the grill or under the broiler.
If using a grill, spoon ~1.5 to 2 Tbsp of the Pimento Goat Cheese onto each burger during the last few minutes of cooking so the cheese melts.
If cooking indoors, spoon ~1.5 to 2 Tbsp of the Pimento Goat Cheese onto each burger and place grill pan under broiler for 2-3 minutes until cheese melts.
Place a few spinach leaves on the bottom bun then top with turkey burger with melted cheese. Add 2-3 thin slices of apple and the top bun.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m guessing you’ve tried Manchego? It’s my favorite sheep’s milk cheese.
I’m lactose intolerant too, and cheese is what I miss most. I’m curious about the goat cheese and sheep’s milk cheese; according to what I’ve read, goats’ milk and sheep’s milk have almost the same amount of lactose as cows’ milk. How is it that the cheese doesn’t have lactose? I’d be interested in any resources you could pass on because I’d love to be able to eat some cheese again!
I’m lactose-tolerant, but according to a Good Eats episode on cheese, most of the lactose is removed during the cheese making process, so that’s why most lactose-intolerant people can eat it. My g/f is Asian and very lactose-intolerant, but she can eat cheese with no problem. Ice cream (which she will eat when she gets the craving) does her no good at all, but cheese is usually fine.
That’s interesting. I know lactose intolerance is different for each person. Unfortunately for me, eating cheese (and ice cream) is like a death-wish, but I have read that cheese that’s made traditionally, aged 2 yrs., has nearly no lactose in it. That’s hard to find though. I haven’t heard that goat cheese and sheep cheese have less lactose. But perhaps most goat and sheep cheese are aged?
I actually have the GE episode on my TiVo (Cheese: Good Milk Gone Bad) and he says that cheeses that have a little age on them have had their lactose consumed by the bacteria so there’s little if any lactose left. I just replayed that portion for the exactish quote.
I think goat/sheep cheese is similar to cow in that it can be fresh or aged. I think Manchego has fresh and aged varieties. If you have a good cheese source nearby, you should be able to find well-aged (2+ years) varieties of cheddar at the very least. A Canadian, English, Irish, or Austrailian. All are very good.
I truly feel sorry for you, as I love a nice extra sharp cheddar, Parma Reggiano, etc.
And really, it’s not my intention to torture you. 🙂
Thanks for looking that up for me! I’ll have to test the waters the next time I’m feeling brave…:) I would LOVE it if I could eat some cheese again!
The only reason I eat goat and sheep milk cheese is because when my doctor told me I was LI, she said I could eat those. So that’s what I’ve been doing. I am very sensative to all cow dairy, but haven’t ever had problems with the goat or sheep cheese…
I haven’t tried Machego… I’ll have to look for it.
I first had Manchego at a tapas place near Phoenix on a cheese and fruit plate. I had no idea what I was missing. 🙂
oh my gosh! a fellow cheese junkie! haha
So I’ve been lactose intolerant since I went away to college… but I still enjoy most of my favorites. Lactaid works wonders!!! I carry the pills around with me all the time and enjoy most of the foods I love. Regarding the different milks, goats milk does indeed have lactose, it is just less than traditional cows milk so more people can tolerate it. I’m sure different processes in which you make cheese, etc could effect it, and everyone’s sensitivity is different as well. I adjusted quickly to Lactaid milk, and they have cottage cheese, ice cream (but i stick to the good ol’ stuff), and some other products I have yet to try. I urge fellow LI folks not to give up your (and my!!) favorite foods!!!
I found this website of sheeps cheese and it appears it is good for people with LI.
http://www.sheepscheese.com/
Yep! Sheep cheese is my friend for sure.
I am severely lactose intolerant but love food and cooking, so this has been a difficult adjustment for me as well. Parmigiana Reggiano is lactose free as well as; Grana Padano, all Finlandia cheeses including Muenster and Lappi. I use Lappi as a substitute for Mozzarella as it has similar texture and flavour. Muenster has worked well as a substitute for many cheeses as it has great flavour. There are some cheeses that I cannot tolerate such as mozzarella. Goat cheese does have lactose, but also has a protein in it that is different from that in cow’s milk. This makes it much more easily digestible and is great for those with lactose intolerance. Hope this is helpful! p.s. – I make my own ice cream by making creme anglaise with lactose free 2% milk.