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Wisconsin fried cheese curds

· Street food

Chunks of fresh cheddar curds battered and fried, crispy outside and springy and squeaky inside.

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Wisconsin fried cheese curds: Chunks of fresh cheddar curds battered and fried, crispy outside and springy and squeaky inside.
Photo: Holger B · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.
⏱ 25 min🍽 4 servings📊 Easy🏷 Commonly associated🌱 Vegetarian
Preparation
15 min
Cooking
10 min
Waiting and resting
0 min

History

Wisconsin, America's dairy heartland, made cheese curds (the fresh chunks that separate from the whey when making cheddar) an emblem. When very fresh, they squeak when you bite them. Battered and fried, they became a star of the state's fairs and regional breweries.

Ingredients

Adjust quantities

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

  1. 1

    Mix the flour, salt, and paprika with the egg and beer until you have a light batter.

  2. 2

    Pat the cheese curds dry with paper towels.

  3. 3

    Heat the oil to 190°C.

  4. 4

    Dip the curds in the batter and fry them in short batches until golden.

  5. 5

    Drain them and serve immediately, while they are still hot and stretchy.

Cooking tips

  • Fry small batches and serve immediately for a crisp coating and soft cheese.

Technique and preparation

What to check during preparation

Dry cheese pieces before dipping. Batter should form a continuous film rather than a thick layer that takes too long to cook. Fry a few pieces at a time without letting them stick together and remove when the coating is golden. Escaping cheese suggests too much cooking time or an incomplete coating. Drain and serve promptly because elasticity changes as they cool. Milk gives a different flavor from the beer version.

References to consult

References provide information about the dish, its context or a technique. Quantities in this version may differ from those in the source.

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