Fried Cheese Curds

I have a special Labor Day gift for all of you laborers out there.  Because Labor Day is the last day of the Minnesota State Fair, and the Minnesota State Fair means fried cheese curds, my Labor Day gift to you is cheese curds!  Well, I'm not going to bring you all a basket of steamy hot balls of cheese or anything, but I am going to fill you in on a little secret: Cheese curds are really easy to make at home!  For those 355 days a year when the fairgrounds are not full of food on a stick, you can satisfy your fried cheese craving in your own kitchen.  And I know you all have fried cheese cravings.  

All you're going to need is a bit of batter, cheese, and hot oil.  And possibly a defibrillator, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.  If you're not making these for a group of people, you should cut the recipe at least in half.  Matt and I (especially me) ate a bunch of them, and we ended up taking the leftovers to a party some friends were throwing later on because I could hardly stand to look at them.  My belly was so full of cheese curds that all I could handle drinking at the party was a whole lot of water.  I guess it worked out alright, though, since I'd much rather waste calories on fried cheese than cheap beer.  Bottom line: either reduce the recipe or find a bunch of drunk friends to pawn off the leftovers on. 

The most important thing about making fried cheese curds are to use flavorful cheese like cheddar and to add a little bit of spice to the batter.  We made some with chunks of mozzarella, and they were pretty bland.  Switching over to cheddar and adding a little cayenne to the batter made the blandness disappear.  

Fried Cheese Curds

Adapted from All Recipes

1 cup flour

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1lb. cheese curds

1 quart oil for frying 

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl.  Add the milk and eggs, and stir until smooth.  I stuck the cheese that we weren't using immediately in the freezer in hopes that it would prevent premature melting once the cheese hit the hot oil.  I'm not sure if this is necessary or not, but it can't hurt, especially if you're making a large batch and the cheese will be sitting out for a while.  

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  I don't have a proper thermometer, so we just kind of guessed that the oil was ready when drops of water sizzled.  Drop a handful of curds into the batter to coat.  With a slotted spoon, transfer the curds to the oil.  

Cook the curds for about a minute or until they're golden brown.  If they're in the oil for too long your chances of cheese oozing out into the oil increases.  If you think they're not getting brown enough turn up the heat a little.  

Drain the curds on paper towels.  Serve hot with ketchup, marinara sauce, or plain.  

Happy Labor Day!  And sorry for the dark and out of focus pictures.  Daylight was fading and I was too excited to eat cheese curds to stand still.