Masters Traditions: Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

Masters’ Traditions: Pimento Cheese Sandwiches

What hot dogs are to baseball, the Pimento Cheese sandwich is to the Masters’ at Augusta. There are eight types of sandwiches sold at the Master’s but the Pimento Cheese is the one to get. Although the exact recipe is a secret akin to the secret formula for Coke, it’s made of pimento cheese and smeared on white bread.

In 2003, Golf Digest hired Gourmet magazine Food Editor Ruth Cousineau to create her own pseudo Augusta Pimento Cheese sandwiches.

Pimento-cheese sandwich recipe.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Ingredients: 4 oz. extra-sharp Vermont white or yellow cheddar, finely grated ( 1 1/2 cups); half a jar of pimento (3 oz.), drained, finely chopped (14 cup); 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce; salt to taste; 4 slices of good whole-wheat bread, crusts discarded (optional); 4 thin slices Vidalia or other sweet onion; 1 cup watercress sprigs, tough stems discarded.

To prepare: Mash cheese, pimento, mayonnaise, and hot pepper sauce in a small bowl with a fork until well combined. Season with salt to taste. Cover and chill 1 hour for flavors to blend. Spread pimento cheese evenly on bread. Top with onions and watercress sprigs. Cut each sandwich into triangles and serve.

Here’s my own variation of the recipe:

GolfBlogger’s Pimento Cheese Sandwich Spread

Ingredients:

1 cup sharp cheddar
1 cup montery jack (or pepper jack)
1 package cream cheese
half a jar of finely chopped pimento
dill pickles, chopped
pepper sauce, salt, pepper, chopped onion to taste

Wait for the cheese to soften, then blend all ingredients in a food processor.

I use this recipe because I can’t stand mayonnaise. Yes, I know it is heresy, and I stand ready to burn at the stake.

That’s a photo of one of my sandwiches at the top.