22. Pimiento Cheese-Stuffed Burgers

From 2006 Southern Living Annual Recipes

Today was a beautiful spring day, perfect for grilling, so I thought I'd try out a new burger recipe.

I love me some pimiento cheese, and I recently had a p.c. burger that was delicious at the newly opened FLIP restaurant (owned by former Top Chef contestant Richard Blais) here in Birmingham.

I really wanted the jalapeno pimiento cheese, but I haven't been able to find it at Publix lately, so I topped my burger with a few pickled jalapeno slices instead for some kick.

But, overall, the burgers were just okay. After the photo above was taken, I realized that the burgers weren't cooked all the way through, so they went back on the grill. Be sure to cook a few minutes longer than the recipe states. By the time they were done, a lot of the cheese had cooked out. Even with pinching the edges to seal the patties over the filling, they come open during cooking.

Ultimately, I would suggest, to get the same flavor, to just cook the burgers as you normally would and then top them with a dollop of pimiento cheese once they're off the grill. Stuffing them just made them more difficult to cook.

2 lbs. ground chuck

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1-1/3 cups prepared pimiento cheese

1 tsp. salt

Combine ground beef and pepper in a large bowl until blended. (Do not overwork meat mixture.) Shape into 8 (4-inch) patties. Spoon 1-1/2 tbsp. pimiento cheese in center of each of 4 patties. Top with remaining four patties, pressing edges to seal. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with salt.

Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat for 7 to 8 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink.