Fried Goat Cheese Balls

It’s installment numero dos of Goat Cheese Week, and apon exploring the world of Goat Cheese Recipes, I’ve realized that it’s gonna be a tough week picking from so many delicious looking ones!

Although, I gotta say this 2nd one was pretty darn easy –

Step 1: www.pinterest.com

Step 2: Enter ‘Goat Cheese’ in search bar

Step 3: Behold – a recipe for ‘Fried Goat Cheese’ – DING DING DING we have a winner!

This recipe from The Hungry Mouse has been liked, pinned and repinned over and over again –  that + the word ‘fried’ was good enough for me.

I added just a couple touches of my own – instead of slices of goat cheese, I rolled each slice into a small ball instead.  Another thing I did, which I really think made a delicious difference is to mix the Panko Breadcrumbs with crumbled Funyuns – yes – Funyuns – the salty, dried onion ring from Frito Lay that is a snack that I believe is often overlooked, but everytime I revisit it, I think to myself “man, I gotta eat these more often”.

Fried Goat Cheese Balls
*Adapted slightly from The Hungry Mouse

INGREDIENTS
*yields about 16 goat cheese balls

1 – 8oz log of goat cheese

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup crumbled Funyuns
(you could pulse in the food processor for a few minutes for a fine crumb, or just crumble w/ your hands)

1 tsp. dried parsley

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. ground ground black pepper

pinch of kosher salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup of flour

olive oil

1) In a small mixing bowl, combine the panko, crumbled funyuns, parsley, tyme, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Set aside.

2) In another small mixing bowl, beat the two eggs and set aside.

3) Put the flour on a small plate or shallow bowl.  Set aside.

4) Slice your goat cheese into 1/4″-1/2″ thick slices.  Take each slice between the palms of your hands and roll into a small ball.  This will get pretty sticky so you could put some flour on your hands to try to decrease the stickiness.  Place each goat cheese ball on a wax or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

5) Fill a non-stick skillet with about an inch or so of olive oil.  (Since the goat cheese is in balls vs. slices, the thicker your oil, the easier it is to get an even ‘fry’ on all sides).  Once the oil is heated, drop each goat cheese ball gently into the olive oil, turning occasionally with a pair of tongs or spoon, until golden brown on all sides.  Try not to crowd the balls – I’d say maybe put about 6-8 in at a time.  If they’re too crowded, you’ll get more of a ‘steamed’ cheese ball vs. a ‘fried’.

6) Remove each ball from oil and place on a paper towel-lined plate and let cool for a couple minutes.  Best served warm!

Pretty sure you’re going to love these 🙂 Perfect appetizer that’s easy, delicious and made with FUNYUNS!