Mozzarella Sticks are standard pub fare and often accompany pizza on family game night with garlic bread, because when are you ever going to have time to make them yourself – and why would you? They must take hours right? And you can’t just make it with stuff you probably already have in your pantry RIGHT NOW, can you? I swear, these little snacks go from passing thought to burning your greedy fingers in less than 30 minutes. No, honest. I have seen versions of them kicking around online but I didn’t trust that any recipe I could make myself would come close to the glorious fried gooeyness Mr So Very Domestic adores so much. And you know, given that I clearly refer to myself as ‘so very domestic’, I take kitchen fails as crushing blows to my womanhood a little harsher than most others. Ahem.
Then my husband got me The Pioneer Woman’s cookbook and this little gem was in there! I adore Miss Ree so much I’d never reprint a recipe from her book – however, she first posted this on her recipe site Tasty Kitchen over 3 years ago, so I think it’s ok. 😉
I am all over any excuse for my husband and I to play around in the kitchen (no, not like that). He especially likes to offer up help with frying, shaping and any cutting that looks the least bit complicated or fun (hello scalloped potatoes and my mandolin). When we make these, we save even more time by working together so we can get back to the movie watching / Chinese checker playing / whatever silly thing we are doing at 1am while making food we shouldn’t. We have been known to even make these for the kids, but since only 1/3 of them likes them it’s still a pretty self indulgent endeavour. I set up the bowls of flour / egg / crust and he opens and cuts up the cheese.
I bread a few while the oil heats up and then he fries as I finish breading. Match made in heaven, really.
Here are the deets!
Mozzarella Sticks via The Pioneer Woman
16 pieces string cheese, (removed from wrappers)*
½ cups flour
2 eggs
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
canola oil (for frying)
2 cups panko bread crumbs
*you’ll get two mozzarella sticks per string cheese, so just use as many as you need
First, unwrap all the string cheese you need and cut each piece in half. We’ve also experimented with making the sticks smaller by cutting each string cheese in three pieces. It works better that way for a crowd so you have more pieces but if there are just two or three people, halves is fine. Then prep the bowls. You’ll need one with the flour, one with the egg and milk and one with the panko and parsley. Just like when you’re making fish and chips, roll the cheese first in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs. Make sure each piece is well coated each time so it all sticks! | |
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PW flash freezes these before she fries them but really ain’t nobody got time fo’ that!, so we just jump on in. Fry as many at a time as you feel comfortable with. We usually do about 6 or 8 at a time, but we have been known to be snacky and impatient (a dangerous combo really) and make them all in two batches. It doesn’t take long to cook these babies! The entire operation in the pan is under two minutes for sure. Just marvel as they turn a lovely golden brown about 45 second after you drop them in the oil, poke them a bit to turn them over around the one minute mark and take them out before the two minute mark. | |
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My husband eats them with nothing at all, I love them in marinara sauce or a sweet and sour sauce. Our one, lone mozzarella stick loving child (how are the rest even related to us?!) looooves them with ketchup. She’s 4, so ketchup is still socially acceptable on pretty much everything, right? No matter what you eat them with, they’re crazy amazing and so much better than they are at restaurants or from frozen. | |
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