Southern Burger with Fried Pickles
This Southern Burger features both pimento cheese and fried pickles, and it’s one delicious way to celebrate summer!
This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
Growing up in a southern kitchen, I was spoiled. Of course, I didn’t realize this at the time, but looking back I now see how lucky I was! My mother was the queen of desserts, and she was always baking up fresh banana bread or a batch of buttermilk biscuits or a pound cake. And when I moved down to southern Louisiana after college, I became even more spoiled. For those of you who have been to that area of the country, then you know all about the delicious food down in Cajun country. From gumbo to fried catfish to red beans & rice, I learned to love the savory side of southern cooking!
When Laura and I decided to move north for her job, I was excited to explore a new part of the country. I knew I would miss the south as that’s where I was born and raised, but I was excited to see new states. I was excited to see more than 1″ of snow. (Note the was in that sentence. Now I’m excited to see anything less than 2″ of snow!) And while there is plenty of delicious food up here in our neck of the woods, I had no idea how much I would miss my southern food. It didn’t take long before I hit the kitchen and started learning how to recreate my favorites since I couldn’t find things like red beans & rice or shrimp etouffee up here. If you’ve been reading Spiced for a while, then you know I often circle back to my southern favorites!
Today’s recipe for a Southern Burger with Fried Pickles features a couple of classic southern elements, and it’s definitely a fun burger to make on a warm summer weekend. The burger itself is just a classic burger. Nice, easy and delicious. But then we turn to the pimento cheese spread. If you’ve never had pimento cheese, then you’re missing out! I’ve heard pimento cheese described as the caviar of the south, and I totally agree. This is a unique southern creation, and it’s so, so, so good on a burger. There’s a slight sweetness from the pimentos. There’s a slight heat from the cayenne. Then there’s the tang of freshly grated, sharp cheddar cheese. Taken together, this pimento cheese spread is a delish combination that takes this Southern Burger with Fried Pickles to a whole new level!
But wait, there’s more. Remember that part about the fried pickles? Yeah, fried pickles are another southern creation. Truthfully, I didn’t think of fried pickles as southern until we moved up here. But we can’t find good fried pickles up here anywhere! (Trust me, we’ve tried.) Then I stumbled across Farm Rich’s Crispy Dill Pickles in the freezer aisle of the grocery store. Finally! When it comes to fried pickles, my biggest thing is they have to be thinly sliced. And then of course they need to be flavorful. These Crispy Dill Pickles get a check in both columns!
Now there’s no need to go hunting for this appetizer on restaurant menus. And I’ve got to say that these Crispy Pickles are a great addition on a burger…or next to a burger…or both! Give it a shot sometime and see what you think. Farm Rich offers even more delicious snacks, appetizers and breakfast foods, which are made with wholesome ingredients, quick-frozen and carefully packaged so busy families can prepare great-tasting food within minutes. Some of these include new breaded Avocado Slices, Donut Holes, Mozzarella Sticks, Meatballs and more!
As Father’s Day is almost here, I can’t wait to see what Robbie made for me. (His daycare teachers do a great job of coming up with fun craft ideas for each holiday!) But little does Robbie know, Dad has a present for him. A present in the form of southern food! Robbie might have been born up here in upstate New York, but he’s most certainly going to grow up with an appreciation of southern food. He needs to know about South Carolina peaches and Louisiana strawberries. He needs to know about buttermilk biscuits and stone-ground grits. And he most definitely needs to know about this Southern Burger with Fried Pickles!
Robbie is still a bit too young to help me cook, but we’ve found several foodie toys for him. Laura picked him up a set of pots and pans along with some stuffed vegetables, bread, sausage and fish. He likes to put ’em all into a pan and “make us dinner.” And then a couple of weeks ago, we found this toy grill at a local yard sale. Robbie needed this one for sure. He loves to “cook us something on the grill.” (However, I’m not quite sure how Robbie managed to get a sink on his grill. I wish my grill had a sink attached to it!) But either way, Robbie loves cooking us grilled treats…and I’m hoping he adds this Southern Burger with Fried Pickles to his repertoire soon!
I hope everyone has a great weekend! And for all of you fathers out there, Happy Father’s Day!
Southern Burger with Fried Pickles
Ingredients
For the Pimento Cheese Spread
- 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 Tbsp pimento peppers finely diced
- 1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese coarsely grated
For the Burgers
- 16 oz. lean ground beef
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- ¼ cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
To Assemble
- 4 burger buns lightly buttered
- Farm Rich Crispy Dill Pickles
- Red onions sliced
- Bacon cooked
- Lettuce
Instructions
For the Pimento Cheese Spread
- Using a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, pepper and cayenne together in a large bowl. Add the pimento peppers and shredded cheese; stir until well combined. Set aside.
For the Burgers
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
- Using a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and cayenne; mix until well combined.
- Shape mixture into 4 patties. (Tip: Make an indention in the center of each patty with your thumb. This will keep the burgers flat once cooked.)
- Grill burgers on medium-high heat for 10-12 minutes, flipping once, or until fully cooked.
- Remove burgers from grill and set aside. Place buns on grill; cook for 1-2 minutes, or until lightly toasted.
- Assemble the burgers with cooked Crispy Dill Pickles, onions, bacon, lettuce and Pimento Cheese Spread.
This Southern Burger with Fried Pickles post was sponsored by Farm Rich, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
Your mom sounds like quite the cook, David! I guess you learned a thing or two from her 😉 I love a good burger and in recent years have tried fried pickles and they are SO good (especially with ranch). I can only imagine how delicious they are on a burger!! Robbie definitely has a one up on you with that sink….hehehe What a little cutie! Hope you have a wonderful weekend and father’s day!
Oh, I totally got my love for cooking (and baking!) from my Mom. She is always looking at new recipes or cooking up some fun new dish. But burgers are totally my thing! In fact, last time I went down to Nashville to visit her, she asked me to teach her how to make my burgers. 🙂 So fried pickles are seriously one of my favorite snacks. They’re hard (almost impossible) to find up here…but they were everywhere down south. Give these a shot. They’re really good! Thanks so much, my friend. And, yes, we did indeed have a great Dad’s Day around our house yesterday!
I haven’t spent much time in the south, but my visits have been long enough to get me totally hooked on fried pickles – and I had no idea you can buy them at the store! This is dangerous knowledge. These burgers look absolutely delectable! Happy (early) Father’s Day 🙂
Yes! You actually can find fried pickles in the store! Trust me when I say I was beyond excited to learn this. I can’t find good fried pickles anywhere around here, but now that I can get them in the store? Done deal! And then but ’em on top of a burger, too? Oh yeah, that’s the kind of burger that I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about! Haha! Thanks so much, Mara!!
I’ve had fried pickles once in my life….that was when I was visiting Nashville! I had no idea you could buy frozen fried pickles! No need to travel to the south just to get them! They sound wonderful on this burger! I love that BBQ play set! 🙂 I think Little Robbie will follow in his daddy’s footsteps!
Yes! See I didn’t realize that fried pickles were totally a southern thing until we moved up here…and now I can’t find good fried pickles anywhere! But then once I discovered these frozen ones from Farm Rich? Oh yeah, I was excited. 🙂 Fried pickles are seriously one of my favorite appetizers…and I gotta say they were super fun on this burger, too! And if I get Robbie started grilling at a young age, then maybe he’ll be making dinner for me soon? Maybe? Haha! Thanks, Kathy!
Hi David. Now this is my kind of burger. I don’t check out the frozen section very often because we eat very little prepared or processed food I will be looking for these pickles. Pickles are a must for me on burgers, but fried pickles kicks it up a notch I just picked up a jar of pimentos the other day to make pimento cheese; I like to use it for grilled cheese sandwiches. What a great picture of Robbie “manning” his grill !
We don’t eat a lot of frozen foods either, Dorothy…but these fried pickles are totally worth a look! They’re really tasty, and way easier than trying to fry your own pickles. (Plus, for me, I can’t get fried pickles up here unless I make them myself.) Oh, and we totally used the leftover pimento cheese spread for a grilled cheese sandwich. It was amazing! Thanks so much, Dorothy!!
Hi David. Went to our local store today and I found the frozen fried pickles!! Gary looked at me like “what?” when I told him what I was looking for, but after I explained your burger he fully understood. These burgers are on the weekend menu.
Haha! I can only imagine the look on Gary’s face. But this burger totally comes together…and fried pickles are the icing on the cake! How’s that for using one food analogy to describe another food? 🙂 I really hope you guys enjoyed these burgers!!
I’ve never had fried pickles! I see that you’ve dressed these burgers with coleslaw, but even though I’ve never had a fried pickle, something inside screaming out for thousand island dressing dripping down all over that burger. Would it work?
What!? I mean WHAT!? You’ve never had fried pickles? Ok, that needs to change like today, Jeff. So no coleslaw on these burgers. That’s actually shredded cheddar cheese as part of the pimento cheese spread. But thousand island dressing would totally work, too. I could see that being great on a burger! It would also be great to dip those fried pickles into. Just sayin.
I hear you on southern food. I grew up in Oregon but somehow developed an obsession with anything southern, to the point that I almost went to school in Alabama instead of Syracuse. I’m still not sure how I ended up in the northeast since I hate snow :). This burger looks awesome! I could make a meal out of just the fried pickles and pimento cheese. PS, Robbie’s grill is adorable! Happy Father’s Day!
Hah! I think we share the same feelings here, Kelsie. I’m a southern boy at heart, and I truly have no idea how I’m living in upstate New York now. (Well, I do know how…but that doesn’t keep me from missing my southern food!) I can’t tell you how excited I am to find fried pickles up here now. They seriously are non-existent. Thanks so much for the kind wishes, my friend. I hope you had a great weekend!!
Oh David! your childhood makes me think of a Steel Magnolia’s scene, sitting on a porch sipping proper ice tea! I know pimento cheese, but clearly I have been missing out one fried pickles! I do have to try this, SOON… Have a great weekend and a great Father’s day!! I can’t wait to see what Robbie’s made! He is cuter if that is humanly possible! 😍
Haha! I’d like to think that my childhood was a scene right out of Steel Magnolias…but I’m not sure how accurate that would be. But we did have huge porches and delicious southern food! Man, I miss those days. But now that I can get fried pickles up here in upstate New York, that changes things a bit. 🙂 Oh, and I can’t wait to show you what Robbie “made” for me for Father’s Day…with help from his teachers at school. It’s so appropriate for this post…haha! Stay tuned there. Thanks so much, Gaila!
You’re going to love teaching Robbie how to cook once he’s old enough! I like how you circle back to your southern roots often, and find your southern recipes interesting because I’m not from the south..I haven’t even heard of some of the dishes you come up with! 🙂
Why thank you so much, Nicole! I do circle back to my southern roots quite a bit…I think it’s partly just comfort food since it’s what I grew up on and partly just missing some of my favorite foods since it’s hard to find good southern food up here. I know you’re not a meat eater, but do give these fried pickles a shot! And pimento cheese. That stuff is so good!! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
I’ve never been a big fan of hamburgers so I don’t know how to make a good burger, once again its David and Spiced Blog to the rescue. I grew up in a Southern Kitchen also, just another thing we have in common David, that and the fact that our weight expanded a little faster than others did. Southern food = love love love! It’s always fun to move but you will never remove your Southern roots, thank goodness for that. Ohh these crispy dill books look darn tasty and a great addition to a burger. OMG Look at Robbie cooking, he’s getting so big!
You are totally right, Mary! There’s something about that good down-home cookin’. 🙂 And I always circle back to my southern roots when it comes to food. I love trying (and also cooking) different things, but I really am a southern boy at heart! So these crispy fried pickles are legit amazing! I can’t find fried pickles here in upstate New York, but now I’ve got an easy solution. And oh man, Robbie really is getting so big. I swear I think he’s growing every single day. Just this morning, I looked down at him, and I was like when did you get so tall!? Haha! Thanks so much, my friend!
Confession: I have never had a fried dill pickle. But, yum!! And these burgers have me drooling over here. Beautiful and stacked high, just the way I love them.
Oh my gosh, you totally need to try a fried dill pickle, Marissa! They are seriously addicting. And now that you can grab em at the store, they’re even easier. And I’ve always been a sucker for a good burger, too! Thanks so much!!
David – I hope you had a wonderful Father’s Day and Robbie did you proud – that picture of him grilling like his boss-man-griller-dad is pretty fantabulous! And a real-life sink with a grill – dude – that’s a dream indeed! As for fried dill pickles – I’ve lived in the South longer than I have anywhere else – and only recently had fried dill pickles – and they were the Farm Rich ones you have here! I liked ’em plain – but in a burger with fresh HOMEMADE pimento spread (YUM) – dang that gives them an epic twist for sure!
Hey there, Shashi! We did indeed have an excellent Father’s Day around here. Laura’s parents are in town, so Robbie got to celebrate with his Dad and his Pop-Pop. 🙂 I can’t wait to show a photo of what Robbie made me for Dad’s Day (with help from his teachers at school, of course)! And how good are those Farm Rich Fried Pickles?!? We can’t find good fried pickles way up here, but now that I can just pick ’em up at the store? Done deal! Thanks so much, my friend. And Happy Monday!!
I love a good burger and this twist looks delicious! I visited NOLA recently for the first time and goodness, that was some good food!
Oh my gosh, NOLA really does have some of the best food I’ve ever eaten! If I had to pick one city to visit based on food alone, it would be New Orleans. No question there! I hope you enjoyed that trip, Melissa! Upstate New York is far from south Louisiana, and I miss it down there. 🙂 I appreciate the comment, my friend!