Perhaps one of the most delicious and famous cheese snacks for beer is hot cheese sticks. They are easy to prepare, you don’t need a lot of products, but as an appetizer they do their job perfectly: they complement the taste of beer, saturate and delight!
There is only one problem that I consider serious, but surmountable – they cool very quickly, as a result of which the melted tender cheese inside the crispy crust turns into something incomprehensible to me. There is a way out of this situation:
1) go to a bar and order a new portion only after the previous one is eaten;
2) we find in the company of a non-drinker who likes to cook, put him to the stove and ask him to fry the sticks as he eats.
If both options cannot be implemented, then care can be taken to ensure that already fried sticks do not cool down.
This cheese appetizer can be called practically “over-the-counter”, since there are as many cooking options as there are chefs and hostesses. Options for cutting cheese: sticks (10 cm long, 1-2 cm thick), cubes, slices, barrels, plaques (like small cutlets), flat slices, etc. Of course, there are many options, the quality of the snack does not get better or worse, so try, experiment, look for your shapes and sizes.
Speaking of cheese, hard cheese is traditionally taken. I took the usual inexpensive Russian one, but you can experiment with almost any kind of cheese, however, it should be noted that it is better to take cheeses that are also neutral in taste for light beer without a pronounced taste. Bright spicy varieties and cheeses with sweet, bitter and other flavors can be tried to combine with dark rich beer. There will be separate recipes for feta cheese, suluguni and other types of cheese. A separate chapter should be devoted to fried blue cheeses, which are served with original sauces and are so appreciated in Europe…
Next: breading, batter or all at once? In my opinion, you should also try, I prefer to dip the cheese in an egg, then in breadcrumbs and repeat the procedure. But I still don’t get too crispy, although when there is a cold beer waiting on the table, this becomes not so important a fact!
It is desirable to deep-fry the sticks, but in the absence of such, I use a small high frying pan, into which I pour enough oil (on a finger somewhere, someone advises more). It is advisable to fry in a pan for 1-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cheese, the type of breading / batter, etc. You can then lightly blot with a napkin or paper towels to remove excess oil. So, for example, let’s take one of the simple cheese snack recipes.
Breaded hot cheese sticks
Breaded cheese sticks are a very tasty and satisfying snack with a glass of good cold beer. Crispy breading, tender cheese inside, a sip of refreshing beer…
Prepare 10 minutes
Cooking 30 minutes
Total 40 minutes
Portions 1 a portion
Ingredients
- 500 г hard cheese
- 2-3 pcs. chicken eggs
- 150-200 г flour
- 50-100 ml water (or milk)
- 100 г breadcrumbs
- sunflower oil
- salt, pepper, spices
Instructions
Cut the cheese as you wish, for example, into cubes. Beat eggs with salt and spices, add water or milk. Then there are two options: either add flour directly to the batter, or roll the sticks in flour before dipping them in beaten eggs.
After that, thoroughly roll in breadcrumbs. You need to do this quickly so that the batter does not run off the cheese. You can add spices and sesame seeds to the breading, which will give the sticks a more original and appetizing look.
In parallel with step number 2, heat a lot of oil in a pan. Put the breaded cheese sticks in well-heated butter and fry for 1-3 minutes.
We take out the sticks, blot them with a napkin if necessary and serve them on the table. They can be served with sauces (sour cream-garlic, cheese, mushroom, tomato-based sauces, fruit sauces, etc.), herbs, grapes, nuts, olives, olives, vegetables, etc. It is better to prepare plates with additions in advance, because the appetizer may cool down before such a long-awaited reunion with a cold beer.
Field notes
First, fry one cheese stick for testing to see how hardy the batter is and how quickly the cheese melts. If not, then you need to understand why. When “epic fail” you can add more oil to the pan and heat it up better, making it look like deep-frying.
Bon appetit and have fun!