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Deep-Fried Cheese Curds with a Blackberry Dipping Sauce

It wasn’t until I went to visit my brother out in Minnesota that I realized deep-fried cheese curds were a thing. One bar out there was serving them with a blackberry dipping sauce, which I thought was a wonderful pairing with the deep-fried cheese curds. That area of the country does certain things really well. These are absolutely amazing, and worth trying out.

Ingredients

For the Deep-Fried Cheese Curds:

  • 3 cups of vegetable oil (for frying)
  • 3 cups of fresh cheese curds, drained on paper towels
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 Tbsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 3 Tbsp of water

For the Blackberry Dipping Sauce:

  • 1 cup of fresh blackberries
  • ¼ cup of white granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions 

For the Deep-Fried Cheese Curds:

  • Begin by heating the vegetable oil in a large skillet or pot over medium-high heat. You want the oil to reach a temperature of 370F.
  • *Keep a close eye on the oil, and reduce heat to low once the oil has reached your desired temperature of 370F.
  • While the oil is heating, prepare the cheese curds.
  • Make sure the fresh cheese curds are completely dry.
  • In a shallow dish, mix together the flour, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and paprika.
  • In a separate shallow dish, whisk the eggs together with the water until fully combined.
  • Take each cheese curd and dip it into the flour mixture, coating it completely. Shake off any excess flour.
  • Dip a few of the curds into the egg mixture, making sure to coat them evenly.
  • Quickly place the curds into the hot oil and fry until it is golden brown and crispy.
  • *This should take approximately 3-4 minutes.
  • Remove the fried curds from the oil, and place them on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb any excess oil.
  • Repeat these steps with the remaining cheese curds.
  • Serve hot, and enjoy with the Blackberry Dipping Sauce.

For the Blackberry Dipping Sauce:

  • Place the blackberries into a medium-sized saucepan.
  • Add the white sugar, lemon juice, water, and ground cinnamon to the saucepan.
  • Heat over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a simmer.
  • Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the sauce to cool for 10 minutes.
  • Place the cooled mixture into a blender and blend until it is smooth.
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, pressing down with a spoon to extract as much of the sauce as possible.
  • Serve the sauce alongside the hot, crispy deep-fried cheese curds and enjoy!

Notes

The curds are best eaten right after they are fried. Leftover sauce can be reused. It would be great with some grilled or seared fatty fish like salmon.