Beer-battered cheese curds

Mozarella sticks are a classic on pub menus but I wanted to give mine a bit of a Canadian spin, so I've swapped the mozzarella and breadcrumb coating for cheese curds and a crispy beer batter.

Beer-battered cheese curds. Credit: Mary Makes It Easy / Geoff George

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Cheese curds

• Canola oil
• 200-250 g cheddar cheese curds (see Note)
• ¾ cup (98 g) plain (all-purpose) flour
• ½ cup (65 g) cornstarch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ⅔ cup (165 ml) lager or light flavoured ale

Jalapeno sour cream

• ½ cup (125 ml) sour cream
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander (cilantro)
• ½ jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• ½ lime, zested and juice
• ¼ tsp onion powder, optional
• Kosher salt

Spicy ketchup

• ¼ cup (60 ml) ketchup
• 1½-2¼ tbsp cayenne pepper hot sauce or sriracha

Serves 4-6.

Instructions

1. Pour about 7.5 cm (3 inches) of oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot and place over medium-high heat. Line a sheet pan with paper towel or a cooling rack and set aside.
2. Add the cheese curds to a large bowl and separate any large chunks. Add the flour and toss to evenly coat. Transfer the curds into a fine mesh sieve and shake to remove excess flour, catching the flour that falls away in the bowl. Set the curds aside
3. Add the cornstarch to the flour along with the baking powder, salt, pepper and garlic powder and whisk to combine. Pour in the beer and whisk into a smooth batter. Scatter about a third of the cheese curds into the batter and toss lightly to coat.
4. When the oil is hot and bubbles form on a wooden spoon when gently submerged, use two forks to lift the cheese curds out of the batter and transfer into the hot oil. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes or just until very lightly golden brown, being careful not to fry for too long as the cheese can burst out. Transfer to the prepared sheet pan then batter and fry the remaining cheese curds in two more batches as directed above.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the jalapeno sour cream by whisking or blitzing together the sour cream, coriander (cilantro), jalapeno pepper, lime zest, lime juice, and onion powder and season to taste with salt
6. For the spicy ketchup, whisk together the ketchup and hot sauce, to taste.
7. Serve the cheese curds immediately with the sauces on the side.

 

Note

Cheese curds are an early stage in the making of cheddar. Somewhat like a cross between cottage cheese and haloumi, they are widely available in Canada. They are produced by some specialist cheesemakers in Australia.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.