Beer Battered Cheese Curds

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Vegetarian/Nut-Free

Skill Level: Intermediate

Yield: 4-6 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour freezing time (optional)

Special Equipment Needed:

• Deep Fryer or Dutch Oven

• Slotted spoon or spider strainer

The Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 1/2 cup light beer

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• Additional flour for coating curds

• Vegetable oil for deep frying (2-4 quarts depending on the size of your pan or fryer)

• 1 to 1.5 pounds cheese curds (I love Ellsworth brand!)

Procedure:

1. Freeze cheese curds for at least 1 hour before cooking (see note on this in the Tips section below). I usually weigh them in a plastic container, cover, and freeze.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup flour, baking soda, salt, garlic powder, and onion powder until well combined.

3. Add milk, beer, and beaten egg to dry ingredients. Whisk until no lumps remain.

4. If using a deep fryer, fill your fryer with oil according to the manufacturer's instructions and heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If using a Dutch Oven, fill about 1/2-2/3 full with oil and heat to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. If you have a digital thermometer, that would be helpful here; if not I would estimate about 15-20 minutes of heating time at medium-high heat, and then do a test curd.

5. Set up a battering station: Add about 1/4 cup of flour to a shallow dish and place this next to your beer batter (replenish this as needed as you cook). Have an empty plate sitting on the other side of your beer batter.

6. Working with about 6-8 curds at a time, use a fork to toss frozen cheese curds in your dish of flour. Scoop up curds one at a time with the fork, gently shaking off excess flour, and drop them into the beer batter (make sure they are fully submerged). Use a new fork to pull each curd from the batter, letting excess batter drip off briefly, and transfer them to your clean plate.

7. Once you have 6-8 curds battered and ready, use a tongs to drop each curd into your preheated oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes, or until curds are a nice golden color.

8. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to remove cheese curds from the oil, and transfer to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Repeat this process until you have battered and fried all of your cheese curds.

   
   

To Serve: We love serving cheese curds with ranch dressing and sriracha ranch for dipping. These are a great little appetizer or snack to serve to all of your cheese-loving friends.

Tips:

•  Safflower oil, peanut oil, or any other neutral oil with a high smoke point can be substituted for the canola oil (do not substitute olive oil). The smoke point of oil refers to the temperature at which it stops shimmering and starts smoking.

• Ideally you do not want your cheese curds to touch as they fry, so if you are working with a fryer or pan that is not very wide you may want to fry only 4-6 cheese curds at a time.

• Traditional cheese curds are going to work best for this recipe versus trying to cut a block of cheese into chunks. Cheese curds are fresh, young cheese with a unique texture that works well for frying.

• I usually make a little over a pound of cheese curds for our family of 5 or for my husband, myself and one other couple; that seems to be a good amount for everyone to be satisfied. If I added another couple to the party I would make 1.5 pounds.

• I use 2% milk because it's what I normally have on hand, but any type of milk would work just fine.

• Any type of light beer works in this recipe. My husband manages short-term rental properties, and he often brings home random beer that renters bought to consume while they stay but can't fly home with, so I use whatever I find in our fridge. I haven't experimented with using darker or hoppier beers in this recipe.

• When I first started researching deep fried cheese curd recipes, most of the recipes said to bring the curds to room temperature before battering and frying them; I only found one that gave the advice to freeze them first. Freezing them actually made a lot of sense in my head, because you would think it would help the curd stay together once it hit the hot oil instead of oozing out the sides. We ran a little experiment and tried frying curds that were room temperature, just out of the refrigerator, and frozen. I did find that the frozen curds had the most appealing texture, and tended to be cheesier with less large pockets of filling-less batter. However, truth be told...all of the curds were delicious. So if you forgot to freeze or don't have time, don't be deterred from making your cheese curds.

• Since cheese curds taste best eaten shortly after frying, I usually keep frying batches but encourage my family or guests to eat and I sneak a curd here and there while working. However, you could try preheating an oven to the lowest temperature and keeping cheese curds warm as you cook if you want to be able to serve them all at the same time.

• You could experiment with the spices you use in your batter; I think it would be interesting to add cayenne pepper for a spicy curd or smoked paprika for a smokier number. I always enjoy the classic combo of garlic and onion powder-you can't lose.

• Cheese curds come in tons of different flavors such as garlic and dill pickle, try mixing it up for a flavorful twist!

The Story:

My motivation for working on this recipe was pretty straightforward-we got new deep fryers at school, and I wanted to bring one home for a test drive so I could learn the quirks and tricks before using them with students. The delivery of the fryers happened to line up with my birthday weekend, so I thought about what one of my favorite deep-fried foods was so that I could enjoy it on my birthday, and the answer was obviously cheese curds.

I think most people, particularly those from Minnesota that have visited the State Fair, associate fried foods with summertime. I completely disagree; when the sun is out and the humidity is high I crave a crisp, cool salad more than anything fried. Once the weather starts to turn and the damp chill sets in, something ooey-gooey-cheesy-fried sounds sensational.

I find some fried foods to be far too "heavy" with a dense, flavorless breading. These beer battered cheese curds are the opposite, and they hit all the right notes: they're light, crispy, extra-cheesy, and savory. They are quickly devoured each time I make them, and I have no plans to stop!

Happy tasting!