Mozzarella Sticks Recipe

Kayleigh here! So, this week seems like a good time to talk about appetizers. Growing up, we'd have a schmorgashboard of appetizers every New Years Eve, to snack on all night instead of a regular meal. Seriously, I looked forward to that holiday so much- all that variety!

Of course, this meant we developed quite the catalogue of appetizer recipes, and tried to improve on the different dishes each passing year. From sweet and sour meatballs and stuffed mushrooms, to spinach dip on escarole and baked brie, trust me when I say we really ran the gamut.

So, now that Jason and I are spending those family occasions together, it is about time we updated those recipes to make them a little more... Gluten free friendly. So, without further ado, how about we tackle Mozzarella sticks first?

We ate these puppies with potato, beef, and onion croquettes, since the fryer was already fired up. Sorry, no recipe for those here!

Just a warning, though: this recipe is pretty much an all day process. Each coat of breading needs over an hour of freezer time to set. So, it is not heavy-duty work, but it is a plan ahead sort of appetizer.

Ingredients:

1 block Mozzarella Cheese
2 Eggs
4 TBS Milk
1/2 ts Salt
3/4 cup Garbanzo Flour
3/4 cup Corn Starch
1/2 cup Crushed Corn Flakes or Breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

Directions:

1) Slice mozzarella block into long strips.
2) Beat eggs in one bowl, adding the milk until just combined. In another bowl, combine Garbanzo flour, corn starch, and salt.
3) Dip mozzarella sticks in egg wash, then coat in flour mix. Place the coated sticks onto a cookie sheet, and place in the freezer for 1 1/2 hours or so, until the flour coat is completely solid. Put the eggwash in the fridge, so it does not sit out and get warm that whole time.
4) Repeat step 3, so the sticks have two coats of flour now.
5) Fill a final bowl with the crushed cornflakes. Dip sticks in egg, then cornflakes, then line them up on the sheet for another hour to freeze 'em. Don't take them back out until you're ready for frying- you want them cold.
6) Heat a pan full of oil until adding a drop of water makes it sizzle like crazy. Then, add the mozzarella sticks to the oil, turning them once to make sure all the sides get good and golden brown. Don't keep them in for long at all- the cheese can start to escape, and you could turn the whole pot into a melty, oily mess!
7) Lay onto a plate covered in paper towels, to wick some of the excess oil off. Wait to eat them until they've cooled mostly. Seriously, don't try molten mozzarella.

Serve with marinara sauce, and savor the crunchy, creamy golden goodies. You earned it!

Jason here. These mozzarella sticks turned out really good. When we first set out, we were not sure if the breading was going to react the same way as normal flour to deep frying. We had some experience with our buffalo calamari, but a longer multiple coat process like this was still somewhat new to us.

We were very happy when the coating starting turning golden brown, a good sign they will crispy afterwards. They tasted great. Mozzarella is one of my favorite cheeses, and breading turned out very crispy just the way I like it.

There is one problem that we never figured out a solution for, and that is how to serve these hot. This isn’t a unique problem to gluten free mozzarella sticks, but just to mozzarella sticks in general. They tend to reach room temperature very fast after taking them out of the fryer, so that by the time you sit down, you have to get up and microwave them again. If anyone knows a solution to this, let us know in the comments below.

Despite that, these turned out great and I would for sure make them again.