Cleo's Mozzarella Sticks

[CarolynF]

I made these today for my ds..He loved them..

Here is her recipe:


Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

pork rinds
Mrs Dash Seasoning Blend (I use Garlic and Herb)
string cheese
1 egg (Carolyn: I just used egg whites)
hot oil in a skillet (I use canola)

Preheat the skillet with oil in it.


While the oil is heating, crush the pork rinds in a gallon ziplock bag with a rolling pin until the pieces are bread-crumb-fine. Add Mrs Dash.

Mix the egg in a bowl. This is going to be the egg bath.

Take the string cheese, completely cover it with egg in the egg bowl. Transfer the cheese to the ziplock bag.

The crumbs will not want to stick to the cheese, and because you need the cheese to be completely covered, you are going to want to firmly "mold" the rind crumbs around the cheese.

Cook in preheated oil until the coating is lightly browned. Move to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain.

Serve warm with ranch dressing or marinara sauce.

Carolyn: I double dipped them in the egg white (whipped a bit), the crumbs, the white, the crumbs. I patted the crumbs around the stick each time.
I also froze my cheese stick for several hours before using them.

These are fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheDogAteMyName]

Cleo...wherever you are, I love you! Honestly, you've made my lowcarb eating that much more enjoyable. After trying your cauliflower pizza I am SOLD! Even my hubby who doesn't do lowcarb thinks it's mighty tasty.

Thanks for sharing this one!

[cleochatra]

Hey! Thanks for the kind words! (And Carolyn-- your extra tips are a great idea!) I'm revamping the recipe this weekend for the column to account for nutritional value and will write an article on these next week. I've been playing with ideas for making these a little bit easier for folks.

A few quick tips:

1. Make sure your oil is the right temperature. Too hot and the cheese melts before the crust is done. Too cold and the crust mighty greasy.

2. If your cheese is still melting in the pan, freeze it before preparing to cook.

3. Using a food processor to deal with pork rinds is a quick, easy way to keep a container prepared for all occasions.

[CarolynF]

These are fabulous, Cleo..I have discovered that you don't get many pork rind crumbs out of a bag o' rinds, do you? I do think that the food processor technique is the best. I used my Bullet and it was fine..but I will do the food processor technique next.

I will keep my ziplock of rind crumbs in the freezer to keep them fresh..or the fridge.

I would like you to try the white only egg dip and see if you like it. I think it acts more like glue myself without the yolks (save the yolks for making nommie scrambled eggs, quiches or custards, etc.) I whip the egg white slightly to get more volume out of it; just so it is frothy.

Plus, I love Mrs. Dash's garlic/herb seasoning..This is best...Thanks, Cleo..

I do think this egg white/porkrindcrumb/Mrs. Dash would make great eggplant or zucchini
breading..

[Gnossienne]

These were so amazing, and so freakin' full of flavour - I couldn't have imagined putting any sort of sauce on them, else it would have been overkill.

The only problem I ran into was probably because I used fresh mozerella. The pork rind mixture (I added spices, and a bit of Carbalose) didn't adequately seal in the cheese - even after I egged and dipped it. The gooey cheese melted into the hot oil and bubbled up like a milkshake!

The ones that made it were like little gooey foodgasms!

[CarolynF]

If you freeze your mozzarella, I'll bet you have more success..

[Gnossienne]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

If you freeze your mozzarella, I'll bet you have more success..

You know, I considered that but was too worried that it wouldn't thaw and go gooey by the time the coating was finished cooking. However, if I froze them JUST long enough to get them firm and perhaps not frozen all the way through, I think that would work.

[Mallory]

What really works is to coat the cheese first in something like NotSugar or NotStarch..it helps to make the next coatings stick alot better.

[CarolynF]

Originally Posted by Gnossienne

You know, I considered that but was too worried that it wouldn't thaw and go gooey by the time the coating was finished cooking. However, if I froze them JUST long enough to get them firm and perhaps not frozen all the way through, I think that would work.

Mine "sticks" were frozen overnight and they melted beautifully on the plate.
Fat melts when it hits the heat and it's hard to really freeze cheese hard because of the fat in it.

Hmmm thanks for the hint on the notstarch..

[BarbDe]

I do this with almond meal/flour (once on the nut rung)

I dredge the cheese in the egg, then coat with the almond flour then freeze them before frying. OMG. So good. (I just cannot do pork rinds, no matter how much I keep trying to like them)


ETA: a 50/50 combination of parm/almond flour is the breading I use.
And I sliced a block of mozzarella, didn't use sticks.

[Nigel]

Drool******Those look great.

[CarolynF]

Thanks Barb..Another way to do this. I love almond flour/parmesan..I'm sure you "fry" them on a lowish temperature, so the nuts don't burn, right?

[BarbDe]

I don't remember being extra careful about temp, didn't know enough to think about the nuts burning . I think I just use around "medium" on my electric oven. Those were such a big hit. I need to make them again!

/threadjack. sorry.

[cleochatra]

Don't burn yer nuts, man.

I made 10 cups of pork rind breading yesterday (I lurve my food processor!)and am going to do a fry-a-palooza this week. I'll put some real stats together for nutritional information on the recipes.

[cleochatra]

The recipe will be up at Examiner.com tomorrow afternoon