Cheese Curds Recipe Basic Food

FRIED CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the club soda and mix until smooth. Add the cheese curds to the batter and coat thoroughly.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reads 360 degrees F. Fry the cheese curds for about 1 minute, turning halfway through. Drain on paper towels. Serve the fried cheese curds with marinara or your favorite dipping sauce.

REAL WISCONSIN FRIED CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• Heat corn oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Whisk together milk, flour, beer, salt, and eggs to form a smooth, rather thin batter. Place cheese curds, about 6 or 8 at a time, into the batter, stir to coat, and remove with wire strainer. Shake the curds a time or two to remove excess batter. Deep fry the curds until golden brown, 1 or 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels; serve hot.

BAKED WISCONSIN CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• In three trays set up a breading station, the first with flour (seasoned with salt and pepper), the second with eggs and milk (well beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper), and the third with bread crumbs (I use 1 box Progresso Italian seasoned panko bread crumbs).
• Working with a dry hand and a wet hand, move the curds through the three stations, flour first, egg wash second, bread crumbs third, back to egg wash and finally through the bread crumbs. This will double bread the cheese. The goal is to completely cover the cheese with the breading, and it does get messy.
• Place breaded cheese on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
• After all cheese is breaded, place the cookie sheet in the freezer until the curds set up. I like to freeze for a minimum of four hours. After they have set up you can store in a freezer storage bag.
• When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Spray each cheese curd with cooking spray and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes until brown and maybe one or two start to leak.
• Serve with marinara sauce.

DEEP FRIED CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the eggs and milk. Mix until smooth. Add more milk for a thinner batter. Coat the cheese curds with the batter.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry the coated cheese curds approximately 1 minute each, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

HOMEMADE CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• Pour milk into a sterilized pot. Place pot into a larger pot filled with a few inches of water. Heat milk, stirring occasionally, to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). Remove from heat.
• Dissolve calcium chloride in 1/4 cup water; stir into the milk. Sprinkle mesophilic culture over the surface of the milk. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir gently for 1 minute. Cover and let culture ripen for 35 minutes.
• Dilute rennet with 1/4 cup water. Stir rennet into the milk mixture for exactly 1 minute. Cover again and let sit until a knife can cut cleanly through the curd, about 45 minutes. Cut curd into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes directly in the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Cover curds and heat, stirring every 10 minutes, to 98 degrees F (37 degrees C), about 90 minutes. Squeeze curds together to check if they stick. Drain curds and transfer to a cheesecloth-lined strainer set inside a pot.
• Pour enough whey over the curds to reach about 3 inches at the bottom of the pot. Let drain for about 1 minute. Cover with cheesecloth and the pot lid. Heat the whey below to keep curds between 112 and 115 degrees F (44 and 46 degrees C); let drain for 10 minutes. Curds will stick together to form a slab. Cut slab in half, re-cover, and let drain for 10 minutes.
• Flip curds over and re-wrap. Drain for 10 minutes more, keeping the temperature still between 112 and 115 degrees F (44 and 46 degrees C). Cut the slab into smaller slabs and stack them inside the cloth. Return to the pot and cover. Continue draining, flipping and rearranging the slabs every 15 minutes at the same steady temperature, about 1 hour total.
• Unwrap the slabs and let them rest for a few minutes on a paper towel-lined plate. Cut into cubes and place curds in a zip-top bag. Add 1/2 of the salt; shake to coat. Add remaining salt and repeat.