Wednesday

Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Deep Fried Recipe Edition

Anytime I post a recipe I have to quantify it by saying, I am not a food blogger, I am a food eater.

My thighs don't lie.

Thank you to my son for being my hand model.
So while I'm gearing up for a couple of paint projects after I return from a quick vacation, I'm gonna share one of those secrets to having thunder thighs, the food that gives me the courage to paint, the sustenance to forge on with my paint brush.

Cheese.  In fried curd form.

I do not advocate eating cheese curds on a daily basis.

However if you are like me, hate traveling to the state fair, (sorry Minnesota, yes I just said I hate the fair) but still want just one little bit of unhealthy eating at summer's end, well then cheese curds are it.

Especially if you have it as a side to a pronto pup..... corn dog, hot dog on a stick, whatever your state calls battered deep fried weenies.

And maybe deep fried candy bars if you are celebrating state fair week without going.  The state fair will deep fry anything.  Pickles.... yup, and who knows what else.

You read about touring St. Paul #1 here and #2 here, and then we had that beer, cheese and illegal fireworks run to Wisconsin here, well now I'm gonna show you what I did with the fresh cheese curds I bought and share my own deep fried cheese curd recipe with you.

Hold back your excitement please.


This is where we picked up our fresh cheese curds, Ellsworth Wisconsin, at the Ellsworth Diary.

The fresh ones need to be eaten within 7 days.  So I also bought some of the prepackaged ones in garlic and ranch flavor, because I never heard of such a curd flavor and because I was fairly certain after the 7 days was up someone at my house was going to want deep fried cheese curds at least one more time.

Those with slimmer thighs than I, can have cheese curds twice.

First lets talk about what a cheese curd is.

I have no idea. 

And I don't care.

I will give you my version of what I perceive them to be, you can Google if you want an official definition.


A cheese curd is a little rubbery hunk of sort of plain tasting cheese - mozzarella-ish - that for my taste buds has not much value till it is battered and deep fried.  That's when the cheese gets all melty ooie gooie, and those little round dairy balls explode with hot cheesy flavor.

I had to hunt down an old Fry Daddy we had from vacations in a motor home when we would fry fish.  It worked perfect, although anything you use to fry in should work if you get the oil hot enough first.


If you like mozzarella cheese, hot and melted, you will probably like cheese curds.

If you can find them.

I don't ever recall seeing them in California, and I probably wouldn't have wanted to taste anything with the word "curd" in it's description anyway till I descended upon the Midwest.

I happen to like my deep fried cheese curd recipe the best because I think they taste most like the ones from the fair.  The local fairs also serve cheese curds, but sometimes theirs get too greasy, like their batter holds the grease or something.

This recipe is not too different than the one on the Ellsworth Creamery web page, I mean there are only so many ways you can make a cheese curd batter, so if you are worried about calories, by all means use theirs.  HA! 


16 oz. or so bag of fresh or prepackaged cheese curds, I used a mixture of both, and both were made by Ellsworth Creamery.

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of 2% milk
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup ever so slightly rounded measure of flour
3/4 teaspoon, plus a generous pinch, of baking powder
no more than 1/4 teaspoon of salt - optional, I add just a pinch

Salt is optional.  I find the curds do not need it, but some folks do.  Try it both ways, see what you like.

Hot oil enough to cover, either in fryer, electric skillet or on the stove in a fry pan.


Mix all ingredients so the flour is incorporated.
Drop curds in mixture and move around to coat
Drop them in the oil till they are a nice golden color.

Too long and the cheese will disappear on the inside and you will be left with a crunchy outer batter thing.

Sometimes curds will stick together when they fry, no worry with that.

I think this is the first time my photos in a recipe post haven't looked like vomit.

The photos won't make these cheese curds look like health food either and if you eat too many your stomach might want to expel that grease.

Like anything else, moderation is key.


And believe me, I moderated the cheese curd eating.






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19 comments :

  1. Now that just put 10lbs on my thighs! Boy those look good Bliss.

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  2. Stop it! These look amazing!! I've never met or had a cheese curd but I think I need to find them STAT!! Deep frying them is evil and I thank you for that The photos do make me want to lick the laptop screen this morning. I'm sure they'd go well with my morning coffee.

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  3. Anonymous8/20/2014

    They are also called squeakers, because when they are very fresh, they squeak as you eat them! I LOVE them! No trip to Wisconsin is complete without them! Your recipe looks great!

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  4. There would be no moderation if these were placed in front of me!

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  5. Mercy that looks good! I love cheese and I love fried food, so I know that would be a winner with me.

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  6. Yum,
    I just had these at the Wisconsin Flea Market and they had them at our Illinois flea market too. They are so yumtastic. Thanks for the recipe I think I will try this.
    Kris

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  7. I hate state fairs! But I would try some cheese curds - once. Yours look pretty damn delicious!

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  8. Heavy cream??? Because deep fried cheese curds need a little calorie boost! LOL! I had my first fried cheese curds in Wisconsin and they were awesome!

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  9. These look so good!!! I hate the fair too! I pray my kids don't notice when it's in town. Loved it when I was young and fearless... now I look around at the fair staff and say no way! Back to cheese... it's kind of like chocolate, put cheese on it or dip it in chocolate and all is well ;-)

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  10. ...sat on her tuffet, eating her curds and whey... I have witnessed the wondrous event of curd makin' several times. Essentially it is very young cheese. At the cheese factory there is an enormous stainless vat with an egg beater about the size of a lawn tractor that spins around, forming the curd and eventually draining the whey, and alas, curds are born. The goal is to consume said curds as soon as possible from their removal from this contraption.

    Not to brag but I can get deep fried curds with my beer at the bar about 5 blocks from my house. It is a wonderful reward, if you don't have a lot of physical plans for the rest of the night.

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  11. Oh my word. I am confident that me, and my cheese addiction, must have crossed your mind while you were writing this post. These look AMAZING. I don't like fairs but I may now have to see if that dairy ships. Pinning.

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  12. Bliss, you always keep me laughing. Isn't it the truth, cheese just goes to the butt and thighs, however while eating and this stuff I DON"T care. Too good to pass up.

    Cindy

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  13. Mmm - they look delicious !
    Curd cheese is huge here in Montreal ( home of the poutine and curd cheese is what's used )
    My kids used to call it squeaky cheese lol
    Pinning this for sure
    xxx

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  14. Fried cheese curds. There is no substitute. Sometimes you just have to give in to the temptation and not look back. Pinned to save for my next trip to Wisconsin. They look delish!

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  15. Wow, your photos look good enough to eat! And I LOVE cheese curd, we call it squeaky cheese (just like Suzan's kids) but I have never had it fried, it sounds super yummy!

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  16. Wow, your photos look good enough to eat! And I LOVE cheese curd, we call it squeaky cheese (just like Suzan's kids) but I have never had it fried, it sounds super yummy!

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  17. I just want you to know that when I pulled up my bloglovin feed today, I had 167 unread posts to go through. Guess whose I clicked on first? :)

    In short: I've missed you.

    Now listen, my grandma is from Wisconsin and don't request she bring cheese back for us when she visits. We DEMAND it. And yet it's never occurred to me to fry it.... add that to the bucket list.

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  18. Oh nommies. I also hate the fair, but I love me a funnel cake. That would be an excellent follow-up to these cheese curds. Hey....do you know I keep trying to add your button to my blog but it doesn't work? Fix it woman. :P

    -andi

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  19. You read about touring St. Paul #1 here and #2 here, and then we had that beer, cheese and illegal fireworks run to Wisconsin here, well now I'm gonna show you what I did with the fresh cheese curds I bought and share my own deep fried cheese curd recipe with you. Wilma Aguilar

    ReplyDelete

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