Deep Fried Cheese Curds

 

C’mon world.

You don’t make it easy on full-time wanderers who are eager to taste your wares yet simultaneously trying to control their waistlines. You smothered us with pasta in Italy, tempted us with chocolate baklava in Turkey, and talked us into four dumplings for a dollar in New York.

Impassioned travelers everywhere will shout that in order to understand the culture, you must taste and understand the food. We can’t not agree.

And when we announced we were coming to Wisconsin, a chorus erupted from readers and friends alike that we *must* try deep fried cheese curds – that it was *thee* local staple that needed to be consumed in order to get a real taste of Wisconsin.

It’s cheese by-product (curds). Smothered in batter. Deep fried in oil.

Despite the internal protest, as genuine pursuers of world cuisine, try we must.

We pulled on our stretchy pants, and got to the fryin’.

We’re no strangers to cheese curds, used to them being tossed on crispy french fries and smothered with beefy gravy. They’re known as “squeaky cheese”, and are a bit rubbery in texture.

The batter was like any used for such battered things: onion rings, etc. Getting the curds completely covered and then into the hot oil was a bit of a messy undertaking, but I don’t suppose that the appearance of this dish is what is important.

Making Batter Cheese Curds
 
Raw Cheese Curds

 

Cheese Curds deep frying

 

The finished product was about as I expected.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds
 

They were tasty, no doubt, albeit the cheese was a little more bitter than I thought it would be, and we could have really used some marinara sauce for dipping. While anything involving the words “cheese” and “fried” I could typically never imagine turning down, it had been a long time since I had eaten anything like this. After sampling a couple, I felt quite sick.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds and Quinoa Salad(I turned my attention instead to the carefully prepared side dish, a healthy quinoa salad. Can’t imagine that these two items exist together on any menu throughout Wisconsin, but it did provide the balance I needed after the greasy cheesiness.)

We’re not sure how much more of this we can take. If anyone knows of a country that lists celery or fruit salad as their celebrated local cuisine, please let us know. That one will be swiftly bumped to the top of our *must* see/taste list.

 

19 Comments... Read them below or add one of your own
  • November 21 2012

    I’m from Northern Illinois, and this is making my homesick so close to Thanksgiving! Evil.

  • November 21 2012

    Fried + Cheese = Heaven

  • November 21 2012

    OMG my dream come true! Yum!!!

  • November 22 2012

    I think I gained a few kilos just reading this
    Chris recently posted..Yallingup Reef

  • November 23 2012

    Okay, that sounds DELICIOUS!
    Nicole recently posted..Drinking Beer Around the World – The Euro-Edition

  • November 23 2012

    ha! That is insane. You will roll over if you ate too many too!
    Al Williams recently posted..Securing value accommodation around the world

  • Emily in Chile
    November 23 2012

    Ooooh, it sounds yummy. Good thing you’ve got plenty of kayaking to help you burn the calories!

  • November 24 2012

    AHHHHH!!! AHHHHH!!!! Computer broken from drool and head banging on keyboard after passing out from amazement!
    Lillie – @WorldLillie recently posted..A Gift Shopping Secret to Save Money and Boost Love

  • Becki Orth
    November 24 2012

    I just cannot get on board with deep fried cheese curds! It makes me kinda sad that deep fried cheese curds is all Wisconsin is known for, I’d rather drink the beer!

    • November 28 2012

      I’m with you. And I am typically a lover of all things cheese, but these are too much! I’ll join you for a beer instead. πŸ™‚

  • November 27 2012

    So freaking delicious! I had my first ones in Minnesota.

    • November 28 2012

      Ugh! Maybe I have to give them another chance. They just did not sit well with me.

  • November 30 2012

    Just drooled all over the keyboard. We need to get our hands on some of these STAT!

  • November 30 2012

    Woa! And I thought there was nothin’ better than squeaky cheese curds (fondly remembered from my years living along the Oregon coast), and now you tell me…

    Holey smokes! To DEEP FRY them with batter has GOT to be HEAVEN on EARTH!

    Just sign me,

    Drooling in Vietnam…

    • November 30 2012

      Haha! Betcha have a hard time finding cheese curds over there, I suppose? πŸ™‚

  • December 7 2012

    So it is poutine, but fried?? Wow, that sounds crazy. I like fried too, but that really would make me sick I fear. Neat to be trying local things as you travel though. I guess in some ways that is just as strange as live bugs or whatever elsewhere in the world.
    Andrew recently posted..Frankfurt Christmas Market : A Non-Instagram Photo Tour

    • December 8 2012

      Not all poutine, but just the cheese curds that go on poutine. There are lots of crazier things out there, surely, but we do our best to try them all (or, I make Pete try them if I deem it too gross! πŸ™‚ )

  • December 9 2012

    Ha ha, good for you for trying them. Not sure if I could bring myself to do it … looks like a guaranteed heart attack. πŸ™‚

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