Fried Mozzarella

I have never been good at cooking in any way. The only thing I ever make is Mac n Cheese, and even that's a stretch, but I love to try almost anything. So, when I was beginning to start this project I decided that using a cookbook would be a fun challenge. On a Stick! by Matt Armendariz demonstrates 80 "party-perfect" recipes that are all, of course, eaten on a stick. Since I have little to no experience in the kitchen, I chose to start with a simple yet savory appetizer of fried mozzarella. To begin, I gathered all the ingredients:

• 12 picks
• 1 qt vegetable oil
• 1 cup all-pupose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 lb part-skim fresh Mozzarella, sliced 1 inch thick and then into triangles
• salt and pepper to taste 

After, I cut the cheese into triangle-like shapes, then began to prepare everything else needed. First, I placed the cup of flour in a shallow dish. Then, beat the eggs by hand with a whisk in a separate dish. Next, I placed the seasoned bread crumbs, panko, and Parmesan in another shallow dish and mixed until they were all combined. (Armendariz 67) It was a big set up including lots of dirty dishes, but I knew it would be worth it in the end! Next I did as the author says, "dredge mozzarella pieces first in flour, shaking off excess, then dip in egg and dredge in bread crumb mixture until fully coated." (Armendariz 67)

The next step after this is to preheat the oil at medium-high, then put a few of the covered cheeses into it for 6-8 minutes. This process took a little longer, since I decided to make a few extras with the remaining cheese I had. I discovered that these fried mozzarella sticks tasted the best when they were still fresh and hot and the cheese was still melting and oozing. After they were all fried, I stuck in some toothpicks and shared with my family.

I wanted to follow the guidelines by keeping them in the oil at least 6 minutes, although that caused some of them to come out a little burnt. Still everyone enjoyed eating them, and they weren't that bad if I do say so myself. Although I wished they had a little more bread or less cheese, because the cheese seemed to be overpowering. If I was to do this again, I would make the chunks of cheese smaller while cutting them, add more breading, and not fry them as long. But overall this was a delicious finger-food and I would love to have them again!


Is there any tricks while deep-frying to keep the food from burning? What are some other appetizing fried foods?