Fear of Frying: Part II

Fat Fridays

Now that I have gotten my feet wet with my first (successful) frying experience I decided to go through my wish list and make one of my favorite snacks, mozzarella sticks. A warm, crispy, fried shell with gooey melted cheese, what’s not to love? Although I was a little hesitant that these were not going to come out as I had hoped, they turned out pretty damn good if I do say so myself. The trick to keeping the breaded outer shell is popping these puppies in the freezer!

Mozzarella Sticks:

12 stick s of string cheese or 12 pieces of mozzarella cut into 4 x 1/2 inch sticks

1 1/2 cups panko-style breadcrumbs (or Progresso Italian-style Panko breadcrumbs)

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon table salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

4 eggs

1 cup of all-purpose flour

Canola oil for frying

1 (8 ounce) can of diced tomatoes (you can also use store bought marinara sauce)

2 teaspoons oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Spread the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates (pie plates work well for this).  Add the oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper to the breadcrumbs and mix well.  Place the eggs in a small bowl and beat them lightly.
2. 
   

   Drop a piece of cheese into the flour and roll it around until it is well covered.  Shake off the excess flour and dip the cheese into the egg mixture before rolling it in the breadcrumbs until well coated.  One last time, dip the breadcrumb coated cheese back into the beaten egg and roll again in breadcrumbs to create an extra crispy coating.  Set aside on a clean plate and repeat with the remaining cheese sticks. 
3. Once all of the mozzarella have been breaded, place the plate into the freezer uncovered and freeze until the breadcrumb coating is firm, at least 2 hours.
4. 
   

   While the mozzarella is in the freezer combine canned tomatoes, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper and set aside.
5. Remove mozzarella sticks from freezer.
6. Pour enough oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot to come to a depth of at least 2 inches.  Using a candy thermometer, heat oil until it reaches a temperature of 350°.  Fry the mozzarella sticks in batches, being careful not to overwhelm the oil, until crispy and browned on the exterior, about 5 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.
7. Repeat with remaining mozzarella, allowing the oil temperature to rise back to 350° between batches.  You can place the finished mozzarella sticks in a 200° oven to keep them warm while the others fry.
8. 
   

   Serve immediately with marinara sauce.

Ooey gooey melted cheese!