Pan Fry Cheese Curds Are Great Appetizers

It was something Leon hadn’t tried before - fried cheese curds.

But he hit it out of the park with these appetizers at our Locally Grown Meal.

Don’t confuse these with deep fried cheese curds which are the kind you get at the fair. These are lightly fried with maple syrup and bacon.

This appetizer was joined by a charcuterie board. This charcuterie was a mini version and included meats from a local meat market with cheeses from Fruitful Season Dairy and Red Head Creamery.

First, the fried cheese curds.

Leon says….

“Well, this is my first attempt to actually fry cheese curds,” Leon writes. “What? Yes pan fry cheese curds!

“A few weeks before this meal, Lori (Leon’s wife) and I along with friends Dave and Shawn Schneeberger visited Red Head Cheese factory near Brooten, MN. We took the tour of the farm and got the whole story from top to bottom. We tasted their fried curds on site that day and they so impressed me, that I bought some for this meal.

“They told me that if you are goin to pan fry the cheese curds, do not freeze and thaw them. Use the freshest curds for this.”

A note here from Carol, the post author: Leon said he wanted to try this recipe before our big meal so he purchased some at a local grocery store. The store-bought curds were not frozen when he purchased them. But, when he put them in the pan, the curds melted. While it was still tasty with the bacon and syrup added, Leon said the fresh curds maintained its shape.

The Recipe

“I used a cast iron pan with high heat, just a dripping of olive oil in the pan. I also sprinkled chopped up bacon bits that I had fried earlier and kept refrigerated for this use. Then just a drizzle of local maple syrup over the top while still in the hot pan. This makes for a fun appetizer or sampler at any meal. The fry process takes only 5-10 minutes, but keep your cheese curds moving in the pan. They will come out toasty brown and very tasty!

(Bacon is from Haffner Family Farm. Check out their story at thelocalgrowers.com/haffner-family-farm-a-true-farm-to-table-model.)

And the charcuterie board - mini version

I don’t know if you could call it a full blown charcuterie board, but it reminded me of one as a variety of cheeses and meats were nicely placed on a cutting board.

Cheese choices included Lucky Linda Cheddar from Redhead Creamery at Brooten, MN and Applewood Smoked Gouda from Fruitful Seasons Dairy at Holmes City, MN. A great hard salami was the perfect meat choice purchased from a local meat market.

For more info on Redhead Creamery (plus ordering info) check out the story at thelocalgrowers.com/meet-the-redhead-behind-redhead-creamery-cheese.

A Special Local Salad

Leon included a salad with our appetizers and it definitely was Minnesota local.

The start of our meal included salad with Minnesota dressing, pan fry cheese curds and a meat and cheese board with local cheeses.

The salad was made of spinach leaves and Romaine lettuce from the Fergus Falls Farmers Market. He added banana peppers plus his neighbor’s cucumbers. He did purchase radishes from the grocery store, Leon said.

The vinaigrette was Minnesota local meaning it is made and processed in Minnesota. Crisp Apple Maple vinaigrette is made by Salad Girl from Willernie, MN.

I love the slogan of this company - “Don’t panic. We’re organic.”

An added note: Honey used when making the meal came from Hofmann Apiaries of Richville, MN.