Homemade Deep Fried Pickle Beer Battered Cheese Curds Recipe

This Homemade Deep Fried Pickle Beer Battered Cheese Curds Recipe is the perfect combo of crisp and tangy fried cheese curds and the flavor of fried pickles- with a quick and easy batter and a sriracha dill mayo to serve on the side! This crispy app is on the table and ready to devour in about 30 minutes!

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A Beer Battered Cheese Curds Recipe for Pickle Lovers!

If you love cheese and pickles- you have come to the right place. This beer-battered cheese curd recipe is crispy, fried, and delicious! It's like the perfect marriage of fried pickles and fried cheese. What's not to love?

The lovechild of fried pickles and fried cheese, this tasty cheese curd recipe makes a great appetizer or game day snack! These famous cheese curds always disappear at parties!

Ingredients

Here's what you'll need to make these addictive fried cheese curds with homemade beer batter:

• 1 cup beer (lager or pilsner), freshly opened. This won't be quite a full 12 oz beer, so enjoy the rest as a chef's treat! I prefer the flavor of lager beer for the batter, but if you prefer lighter beer flavor, go with a pilsner.
• All-purpose flour.
• Baking powder. This adds a bit of lift to the batter for light, crispy curds.
• Finely chopped dill pickles.
• Pickle brine/jar liquid.
• Garlic powder.
• Fresh dill.
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper.
• White cheddar cheese curds. I get Wisconsin cheese curds from Aldi, but you can sometimes find them in a local grocery store, or sometimes you can get fresh cheese curds at your local cheese store, or a local farm or dairy farm.

Sriracha Dill Dip Ingredients

• Mayonaise (I prefer Kewpie).
• Fresh dill, chopped.
• Sriracha sauce.
• Apple cider vinegar. I love Bragg.

Dip tip

I like to make the Sriracha Dill sauce up to a day in advance to allow time for the dill flavor to really pop, and keep it nice and cold. You could make the sauce up to 2 days in advance, or as little as an hour before serving the fried cheese curds for best flavor.

Tools

• A blender, for easily incorporating the fresh ingredients into the beer batter.
• A large deep cast iron skillet, or deep fryer. I love using my T Fal deep fryer to make these, but a cast iron works great, too! A dutch oven works well, too! Just be sure to add more oil than specified for a more shallow cast iron skillet.

How to make Pickle Beer Battered Cheese Curds

1. Make the sauce. Add all mayo ingredients to a small bowl or container, and whisk until smooth and well combined. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Can be made in a day or 2 in advance. The dill flavor becomes more pronounced as it sits, so it is best to make this mayo at least an hour in advance of serving.
    
2. Make the beer batter for the cheese curds. Combine the beer, 1 cup flour, baking powder, chopped pickles, pickle brine/jar liquid, garlic powder, dill, salt, and pepper in a blender until well combined and a thick batter forms.
    
3. Before frying, set a cooling rack over a large baking sheet near your work station (line with paper towels under the rack to minimize mess). Heat 2” of canola oil (or other high smoke point neutral oil) in a large, deep frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering, about 4-5 minutes. Test with a small pinch of batter- if it float to the top and sizzles on contact, the oil is ready to fry. Alternatively, you can fry them in a deep fryer at 375 degrees.
   
4. Working in small batches, careful not to overcrowd the pan (or fryer basket), dip the cheese curds one by one into the batter- you want to essentially scoop the batter with each curd and immediately (and carefully- letting any excess batter drip off) drop the battered curds into the hot oil. Fry the curds very briefly- 1-2 minutes a side until light golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer to a cooling rack to drain. Repeat until all curds are fried. (see recipe card below for full instructions and ingredients list).
   

Frying tips

Once your dip is chilling and your batter is ready to go, all that's left to do if fry the cheese curds! Drop them in hot oil until they're crispy, golden brown and gooey perfection.

Pro tip: work in small batches. This way, the cheese curds cook easily and won't stick together as much. Fry them for just 1-2 minutes a side- they cook quickly- and the cheese melts super fast! Be sure to keep the batches light to maintain an even oil temperature.

Substitutions and Additions

This Homemade Deep Fried Pickle Beer Battered Cheese Curds recipe is easily adapted to work with your personal preferences! Here are some great swaps and additions you can use to make this recipe your own.

• Use peanut oil or avocado oil in place of the canola oil.
• Add a dash or 2 of cayenne pepper to your batter for a bit of heat.
• Swap the homemade sauce for your favorite dipping sauce, such as ranch dressing or a side of marinara.
• Not a huge fan of pickles? Make a classic beer batter and omit the pickles, brine and dill.
• No fresh dill? Add a teaspoon of dried dill.

More great appetizer recipes!

If you love this Homemade Deep Fried Pickle Beer Battered Cheese Curds recipe, you'll love these tasty snacks, too!

• Ranch Fried Pickle Dip
• Brat Sauerkraut Balls
• Mini Korean Style Corn Dogs
• Salami Cheesesteak Wontons

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