Buffalo Bleu Cheese Fritters

Buffalo wings are the quintessential football food. And now, there are a million ways you can turn that classic finger food into many other dishes. Some of my favorite variations are Buffalo Chicken Chips, Buffalo Chicken Mac n' Cheese, World Famous Buffalo Chicken Dip, and Buffalo Chicken Bombs. I knew that for the Super Bowl, I had to have that buffalo flavor in some way. I finally decided that I wanted to take the idea of mozzarella sticks and fuse it with buffalo wings. All I did was roll creamy bleu cheese into small balls, bread them in panko, and fry them until the outside was golden brown & crispy and the center was ooey gooey. Once you fry them up, quickly and gently toss them in your favorite buffalo sauce until completely coated. I personally would serve these fritters on top of a carrot-celery slaw with a side of homemade ranch for dipping. I think this recipe would also be great with goat cheese!! Enjoy :)

Buffalo Bleu Cheese Fritters

For the Buffalo Bleu Cheese Fritters:

8oz Bleu Cheese, Rolled into Balls & Frozen

½C AP Flour

1 Egg, Beaten

¼C Buttermilk

1C Panko Breadcrumbs

Oil, For Frying

Salt, For Sprinkling

Buffalo Wing Sauce, For Coating

Homemade Ranch Dressing, For Dipping

Directions:

1. Roll your favorite bleu cheese into golf ball sized balls until nicely compacted. Place them onto a plate and freeze the cheese for roughly an hour. This will help keep the cheese from melting when you deep-fry them.
2. Preheat your oil in a deep fryer to 350 degrees.
3. Breading the Bleu Cheese: Set up a battering station. I use 3 pie tins. For the first station, I mix the flour. For the second station, I whisk together the eggs and milk. For the third station, use the Panko breadcrumbs. Now, place the balls of chilled bleu cheese into the flour mixture, then into the egg wash, and finally the panko (making sure they are completely covered). Put them on a tin foil-lined baking sheet with a cooling rack on top, and then put the pan into the refrigerator and let the balls rest for about 15-30 minutes.
4. Fry the bleu cheese balls, in small batches, in the hot oil for roughly 1-2 minutes each or until they are golden brown & crispy (make sure not to cook them too long because then the cheese will leak out). Drain the bleu cheese fritters onto a paper towel lined plate to drain the excess oil and sprinkle with salt. Once they have cooled slightly, toss the fritters gently in your favorite buffalo sauce until completely coated.
5. Serve the Buffalo Bleu Cheese Fritters on a bed of carrot-celery slaw with homemade ranch dressing for dipping.