I don’t know about you but I never grow tired of fried cheese. I think as we get older our taste buds develop a little more so the type of fried cheese we consume maybe changes a bit. Does that make sense? Like when we’re children we’re forced to eat mozzarella sticks and now that I’m older and obviously more refined (I’m giggling as I say that) I’ve moved over to fried goat cheese. And let me tell you, the goat cheese life is where it’s at.
Truth be told, goat cheese isn’t my absolute favorite cheese. Do I like it? Sure. But I don’t always have it in our fridge. Sometimes goat cheese can be very overpowering – I know this. Too much of it isn’t always a good thing but when it’s fried ALL BETS ARE OFF. Do you hear me? At first glance, fried goat cheese balls seems a little ambitious. There are a couple of restaurants that I love and they make their own versions of goat cheese balls. For these, I would happily never make fried goat cheese balls again. I probably shouldn’t say that in a post where I’m suggesting you make goat cheese balls.
Whatever.
Here are the restaurants:
Ecco – Located in Atlanta. I remember eating these after work or during happy hour with friends. They’re honey and black pepper and they are delicious.
St. John’s Meeting Place – Here in Chattanooga. I usually get an order of these whenever we go for happy hour. They’re drizzled with a rosemary honey and they are so worth it!
Make at home: fried goat cheese balls (with buffalo sauce)
When making these, you can use regular goat cheese which would be delicious or you can do what I did and use a flavored one. I went with a garlic and herb goat cheese (yum). Have you tried drunken goat cheese? I don’t know if it will work well fried but it’s a really delicious option.
If you really want to amp up the flavors in this dish, I’d drizzle some honey (this is my favorite) on top while the goat cheese balls are still warm. Serve these before dinner or even along with a ‘Netflix and chill’ Friday night. These would make such a yummy movie night snack.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- Black pepper
- Salt
- 1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 log (10 ounce) garlic & herb goat cheese (or regular)
- Oil, for frying
- Chopped chives, for garnish
- Honey, if desired
For the buffalo sauce
- 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup Franks Red Hot Sauce
- 3/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Add the flour, salt and pepper to a medium bowl. In a separate shallow bowl, add the egg and 2 tablespoons water. Add panko to another medium sized bowl.
- The fun part: roll the goat cheese into balls - about a tablespoon (may make 20ish balls). Roll each ball in the flour, then dip in the egg mix, and lastly, dredge in the panko. Place each ball on a baking as you work. Freeze for 15-20 minutes (so they get firm).
- While the goat cheese balls are freezing, make the buffalo sauce by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Heat 1-2 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the goat cheese balls in batches, 1 to 2 minutes or until golden and browned on all sides. Remove and drain on a paper towel lined baking sheet.
- Place the balls on a serving plate and drizzle with honey (if desired) and buffalo sauce. Sprinkle with chives or green onions. Serve and enjoy!
