This Alabama Redneck Charcuterie with My Favorite Pimento Cheese Recipe Is Perfect for Any Occasion
Here is how you can make an Alabama-style redneck charcuterie with the pimento cheese, Conecuh sausage, Wickles pickles, and a few other products preferred by those of us in Alabama.
Use a great pimento cheese.
Pimento cheese is key for a great redneck charcuterie! I will share my favorite pimento cheese recipe below for those of you who want to make your own. If you want to buy your pimento cheese, be sure to choose one that tastes as good as homemade and has lots of texture. My FAVE is Callie’s Pimento Cheese. It tastes just like homemade because it is made by hand, as are all Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit products.
Tips for making the best homemade Pimento Cheese
- Use block cheese and grate by hand. Don’t use pre-shredded (which has its place-just not here).
- Use a combination of sharp and extra sharp cheddar. Pimento cheese needs the kick of sharp cheeses.
- Grate cheeses into two sizes. Half largely grated and half finely grated with the smaller shred side of a box grater is perfect.
- Utilize high-quality cheese. Cracker Barrel, Cabot, and Tillamook are great options.
- Use good mayo. Duke’s is close to homemade and my personal preference for pimento cheese.
In the video below, I show how easy it is to mix up a batch of my favorite homemade pimento cheese-slightly adapted from My Recipes version.
Perfect Pimento Cheese
Slightly adapted from My Recipes, this sharp, tangy pimento cheese is better than anything store bought.
Ingredients
- 1 (8 oz) block sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 (8 oz) block extra sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 1/2 Cups mayonnaise
- 1 (4 0z) jar pimentos (do not drain)
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 Tsp finely diced onion
- 1/2 tsp red (cayenne) pepper
- 1 Tbsp diced "tamed" pickled jalapeños (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together mayonnaise, diced pimiento, Worcestershire sauce, grated onion, and red pepper flakes until blended.
- Grate cheddar cheeses using two sides of a box grater so that half is largely grated; the rest is smaller and more finely grated.
- Stir the mayonnaise mixture into the cheese. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
- Serve with saltine crackers, Conecuh sausage, and Wickles if desired.
Use a great smoked sausage.
In Alabama, we love our homegrown Conecuh sausage. It is my favorite! You can buy Conecuh sausage in spicy or regular and my personal favorite is the regular hickory smoked. There are larger links and smaller ones; I buy the smaller links. The slices are the size of a dime and fit perfectly atop the saltine cracker. You can grill the sausage and coat the slices in barbecue sauce (photo below). You can also saute the sausage in a skillet and omit the sauce.
Use real saltine crackers.
I use my favorite saltine crackers – Nabisco. Don’t substitute Ritz or any other type of cracker. It may taste good, but you’ll be giving up the redneck factor significantly lol.
Use great pickles.
I use Wickles pickles, another Alabama-made product. These are my favorite pickles ever! They are sweet & spicy and with a touch of heat. If you can’t find Wickles, I suggest a spicy bread and butter pickles rather than dill pickles.
How to Make an Alabama Style Redneck Charcuterie
Wickles pickles and Conecuh sausage are made in Alabama, which makes this redneck charcuterie “Alabama style.” You can tweak the products to your liking. The ingredients are simple, but the results are SO yummy.
On a simple disposable tray (the one in the photo is from Dollar Tree) arrange the following:
- Wickles Pickles (sweetly spicy)
- Sliced Jalapenos (I use tamed)
- Sliced Conecuh Sausage (grilled or sauteed with barbecue sauce if desired)
- Pimento Cheese (your favorite)
In the video below, I show how I put together this yummy appetizer platter.
There you have it! The ingredients and recipe for an easy, delicious, Alabama-style redneck charcuterie. If you make this, please share your thoughts in the comments below. As always, thanks so much for stopping by. Be blessed, and stay savvy!!!
Hi Jay!!! I usually use Cabot Seriously Sharp white and the sharpest Cabot yellow (extra sharp I think). As for onions, I use Vidalia, scallion or the mildest I can find!!!
Hello, please provide the exact brand name of cheese you use and which type of onion yellow, white or green scallion. Thanking you in advance!
Hi Denise!!! You can use whichever one you have, but if you have both, I would lean toward cayenne!!!! Just a touch of heat!!!
in your video & here you make mention cayenne however in the directions along with the video it states red pepper flakes ? which is it as i could not tell from the video please & there is a difference ~~ thanks
It is good; I’ll bet your version is too! I know lots of folks who always add cream cheese.
Almost exactly my recipe, but I add 4 oz. cream cheese. So good!
Let us know what you find out. Others will be interested to hear!!!
Thanks Jamie great idea.
Hi Colleen! Oh my…..the Kielbasa in BBQ sauce sounds AMAZING!!!! I think you made a great substitution! I’ve heard from some others that they can’t find the Conecuh sausage. If you are dying to try it, you might check the conecuh website and give them a call. I am sure they ship, and it is worth it perhaps for the holidays. Thanks for sharing your tweak, and blessings to you and yours!!! XoXo
Hi Jamie,
I made this for Thanksgiving. We were a gathering of 25 people and as you said this was a real hit. The only thing I couldn’t find was the sausage. I used Hillshire Farm Kielbasa. I put in a skillet and tossed with BBQ sauce. May not be what you had but no one complained. It was the best I could think of. Everyone really loved it. So thanks again for another hit.
A 4 oz jar! No need to drain. XoXo
How much diced pimento, please?