It’s football season, and that means tailgate season. Here’s a Southern twist on a classic cheese ball that will have your party guests coming back for more.
Recipe credit goes to our friend Dana Muniz, who submitted the recipe on behalf of her mother Liz Crawford. While the original recipe calls for chopped walnuts, we substituted Conecuh bacon to give it more of a meaty, smoky flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of pimento
- 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 8oz of cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire
- 1 teaspoon of minced onion
- Chopped, pan-fried Conecuh sausage
Directions
- Grate the cheese, finely dice the green pepper and finely dice the Conecuh
- Pan fry the Conecuh, then refrigerate. Do not add hot sausage to the cheese ball ball because it will melt.
- Leave the cheddar and cream cheese out at room temperature.
- Combine all ingredients.
- Let the mixture sit overnight to rest and harden.
- Form into a ball and serve.
Things we learned while making this recipe
- The original recipe calls for chopped walnuts instead of Conecuh sausage, but we loved the smoky, umami flavor the Conecuh brought to the ball.
- It might sound weird, but adding a little Conecuh fat to the cheese ball adds to the smoky flavor. So once you cook the sausage, make sure you leave a teaspoon or so of leftover fat to add to the final ball.
- This is an easy recipe! Aside from the chopping and cooking, it’s the perfect recipe to try with your kids – and it only takes about five minutes once everything’s prepped and chilled.
- As you can tell, Ms. Amy’s in heaven (see below). This cheese ball is that good.
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