Flaming Hot Cheese Curds Recipes

DENVER SCRAMBLE WITH CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Spread the French fries on the hot baking sheet and cook, stirring once, until crisp and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bell pepper, onion, Canadian bacon, 1/4 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until the vegetables are browned around the edges and tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Whisk the eggs with the milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a bowl. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet. Stir in the egg mixture and scallion and cook, stirring and folding gently, until lightly set and fluffy, about 4 minutes; add the cheese curds during the last minute of cooking. Remove from the heat and stir once or twice until the eggs just finish cooking, about 2 minutes.
• Divide the eggs among plates. Serve with the French fries.

HOMEMADE CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• Pour milk into a sterilized pot. Place pot into a larger pot filled with a few inches of water. Heat milk, stirring occasionally, to 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). Remove from heat.
• Dissolve calcium chloride in 1/4 cup water; stir into the milk. Sprinkle mesophilic culture over the surface of the milk. Let sit for 1 minute, then stir gently for 1 minute. Cover and let culture ripen for 35 minutes.
• Dilute rennet with 1/4 cup water. Stir rennet into the milk mixture for exactly 1 minute. Cover again and let sit until a knife can cut cleanly through the curd, about 45 minutes. Cut curd into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes directly in the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes.
• Cover curds and heat, stirring every 10 minutes, to 98 degrees F (37 degrees C), about 90 minutes. Squeeze curds together to check if they stick. Drain curds and transfer to a cheesecloth-lined strainer set inside a pot.
• Pour enough whey over the curds to reach about 3 inches at the bottom of the pot. Let drain for about 1 minute. Cover with cheesecloth and the pot lid. Heat the whey below to keep curds between 112 and 115 degrees F (44 and 46 degrees C); let drain for 10 minutes. Curds will stick together to form a slab. Cut slab in half, re-cover, and let drain for 10 minutes.
• Flip curds over and re-wrap. Drain for 10 minutes more, keeping the temperature still between 112 and 115 degrees F (44 and 46 degrees C). Cut the slab into smaller slabs and stack them inside the cloth. Return to the pot and cover. Continue draining, flipping and rearranging the slabs every 15 minutes at the same steady temperature, about 1 hour total.
• Unwrap the slabs and let them rest for a few minutes on a paper towel-lined plate. Cut into cubes and place curds in a zip-top bag. Add 1/2 of the salt; shake to coat. Add remaining salt and repeat.

FLAMING GREEK CHEESE (SAGANAKI)

Steps:

• Brush each side of the kasseri cheese with water. Dredge both sides in flour, making sure the surface is completely covered.
• Preheat a well seasoned cast iron skillet on medium-high heat until smoking. Pour in olive oil. Carefully place the floured cheese in the hot oil. Cook until cheese begins to ooze and a golden brown crust forms, about 2 minutes. Quickly flip cheese over with a spatula. Fry until bottom is golden brown, about 30 seconds more.
• Remove skillet from heat and transfer onto a napkin-lined plate. Pour brandy over the cheese. Light the brandy using a fireplace lighter. Now you can exclaim "Opa!" and marvel at the fire. Squeeze some lemon juice on top to extinguish the last few flames and garnish with parsley.

BEER BATTERED CHEESE CURDS WITH HOMEMADE RANCH

Steps:

• Fill a Dutch oven with about 1 inch oil and heat to 375 degrees F over medium-high heat. Have a paper towel-lined plate or brown paper bag ready for draining the curds. Meanwhile, toss the cheese curds with 1/4 cup flour in a bowl. Whisk the remaining 3/4 cup flour together with the beer, milk, egg and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another bowl.
• When the oil is hot, take a handful of the curds, shake off the excess flour, and add them to the batter. Let the excess batter drip off, then add the curds to the oil. Fry until puffed and golden, about 1 minute, then transfer to the paper bag with a strainer or slotted spoon. Repeat with the remaining cheese curds.
• Serve immediately with the Ranch dressing.
• Whisk the mayo and buttermilk together with the scallions, parsley, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, a rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt and a generous amount of pepper in a bowl. Transfer to a small serving bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

NAKED FLAMING HOT CHICKEN CHALUPAS

Steps:

• Whisk together 1 1/4 cups of the mayonnaise, 3 tablespoons of the hot sauce, 1 tablespoon each garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and 1 teaspoon of the cayenne in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• Puree the avocado, Ranch seasoning, 3/4 cup of the buttermilk and the remaining 1/2 cup mayonnaise in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Clean and dry the food processor.
• Pound each chicken cutlet with a meat mallet or a rolling pin between 2 pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thick. Trim any jagged edges to form an oval shape. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and transfer to a rimmed baking tray. Set aside.
• Pulse the Cheetos® in the food processor until a fine dust. Whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup Cheeto dust, the remaining 1 tablespoon each garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, 2 teaspoons cayenne and 2 tablespoons salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together the egg, remaining 1 cup buttermilk and 3 tablespoons hot sauce in another medium bowl.
• Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge the cutlets in the flour mixture, turning to coat and packing into crevices. Shake to remove excess and return the cutlets to the baking sheet. Dip chicken into buttermilk mixture, allow excess to drip off, then pack flour mixture firmly onto chicken. Gently shake off excess.
• Arrange the breaded cutlets on a baking sheet, down the center, side-by-side (its ok if they touch). Tear off an 18-inch-long piece of aluminum foil, place 2 wooden spoons, handle-ends touching, down the length of the foil. Fold the foil in half lengthwise over the spoons to cover. Place the foil-covered spoons over the cutlets so that the handles are in the center of the cutlets and the foil covers half of each. Fold the uncovered half of each cutlet over the foil-covered spoon handles to form "taco shells." Freeze until the cutlets are very firm and hold their taco-shape, at least 1 hour up to 8 hours.
• Fill a large heavy pot, fitted with a deep fry thermometer halfway with oil. Heat over medium-high heat until 350 degrees F. Working in 2 batches, fry the chicken, turning often and adjusting the heat to maintain the temperature, until deep golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer to a wire rack set over paper towels to drain.
• Fill the chicken shells with lettuce, tomato and cheese. Drizzle with both sauces and serve more on the side.

FRIED CHEESE CURDS

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the club soda and mix until smooth. Add the cheese curds to the batter and coat thoroughly.
• Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet or heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat until a deep-frying thermometer inserted in the oil reads 360 degrees F. Fry the cheese curds for about 1 minute, turning halfway through. Drain on paper towels. Serve the fried cheese curds with marinara or your favorite dipping sauce.