Homemade Mozzarella SticksHomemade Mozzarella Sticks are an easy, wonderfully ooey gooey snack! Freezing them before frying is the secret for even cooking and no cheese oozing out. - 16?oz?block whole milk mozzarella cheese*
- 3?large?eggs
- 3?cups?Italian style bread crumbs**
- salt
- tallow (beef fat)***?(or other deep frying fat of choice)
Cut the block of cheese into 1/2 inch thick sticks, a few inches tall (see blog photos). I had 20 pieces. Place the eggs in a bowl with 1/4 tsp salt and 1 tablespoon of water, and whisk to combine. Place the bread crumbs in a second bowl next to the eggs. Take a cheese stick and dip it into the egg, letting the excess drip off. Then coat it in the bread crumbs, shake off the excess, and place on a tray.? Repeat with the remaining cheese sticks. ? Once each cheese stick has been breaded, take each one through the egg and bread crumbs again for a second coating, at a minimum. I prefer to bread the cheese sticks three times for a more robust shell, but two coats is sufficient to prevent the cheese from leaking during cooking. Freeze the mozzarella sticks, on the tray, for at least for two hours. Heat the tallow or frying fat of choice to 365F, using either a deep fryer or a heavy bottomed 8" saucepan monitored with a thermometer. You want the fat to come a few inches up the sides of the pan. Fry the mozzarella sticks in batches**** for about 2 minutes, until golden brown. Let the cheese sticks drain briefly on a paper towel, then serve promptly with marinara or your favorite dunking sauce. Enjoy!
*You may also use string cheese, if you prefer. I think block cheese is better because it has a more "stretchy" texture whereas string cheese has a more wet gooeyness. Block cheese also coats better than string cheese. But either cheese works well. Cut each string cheese piece in half to make smaller pieces.**If you only have regular bread crumbs, you may season them yourself by adding 1.5 tsp garlic powder, 1.5 tsp onion powder, 1.5 tsp dried oregano, 1.5 tsp dried thyme, and 3/4 tsp black pepper. The bread crumbs will likely already have salt.***I add enough fat to come up the side of my frying pot or fryer by a few inches. This amount will vary depending on the size pan you use. For an 8" wide saucepan you will likely need about 4 cups of tallow or cooking fat.****Do not overcrowd the pot. If using an 8" saucepan, I don't fry more than 6 or so at a time.Freezing:?Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months, either fried or unfried.Storing leftovers:?Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.Reheating:?Place them in a 350F oven for 10 minutes, until hot and crisp. Because the cheese sticks have already been fried, they actually reheat nicely. Calories:?143kcal,?Carbohydrates:?13g,?Protein:?9g,?Fat:?6g,?Saturated Fat:?3g,?Polyunsaturated Fat:?1g,?Monounsaturated Fat:?2g,?Trans Fat:?1g,?Cholesterol:?40mg,?Sodium:?277mg,?Potassium:?64mg,?Fiber:?1g,?Sugar:?1g,?Vitamin A:?178IU,?Calcium:?200mg,?Iron:?1mg
Source: Fifteen Spatulas
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