Fried Mozzarella Balls

Updated 4.10.2018.

There are few better appetizers out there better than anything that has fried + cheese in the name of it. I grew up eating fried cheese. Fried mozzarella sticks, fried cheese curds … you get the idea. Hey, I grew up Wisconsin. What do you expect?

Of course when my grandma sent me this recipe I knew it was one that I wanted to try. Immediately. If not sooner. Having made a vat of Homemade Ranch Dressing the day before (what the hell am I going to do with all this dressing?!), I figured today was as good of time as any.

ingredients.

• 2 eggs
• ¼c. water
• ½ c. flour
• ¾ c. breadcrumbs (Italian style)
• 2 T. chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
• 24 bocconcini
• ½ c. oil

directions.

1. Beat eggs and water in a shallow dish put flour in another dish. In another dish mix breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Dredge bocconcini in the flour, then in the eggs and bread crumbs. Repeat eggs and bread crumbs one more time.
4. Fry mozzarella in oil turning once, until golden, about two to three minutes. Season with salt. Serve with marinara or ranch dipping sauce.

I found that you only need to fry these balls about a minute or two. Otherwise the cheese starts to leak out. Or maybe I didn’t do a great job of breading the balls and that’s why my cheese started to leak out…

I used Panko bread crumbs which made the balls extra crispy. A more fine bread crumb may stick better to the balls. The original recipe calls for olive oil. I think olive oil is about the worst food you can use for frying. In my opinion the olive oil flavor outweighs the flavor of the food. Peanut oil is the best but really expensive. I used vegetable oil.

Update: as an alternative, you can fry the balls in peanut or vegetable oil at 350 degrees for two to three minutes or until they begin to float and have lightly browned.

Recipe rating: 