CRACKIN' CORNFLAKE CRUSTED MOZZARELLA STICKS

Oh, I do love a good mozzarella stick! Biting through that crispy breadcrumb coating and letting that stringy cheese just dribble all over your chin? Yup, it's totally messy, dirty and wrong but I bet there are a lot of people out there reading this agreeing me right now. One question? How can you make mozzarella sticks even better? Simple! Make your own home made versions and use crushed cornflakes mixed with panko breadcrumbs, garlic and onion powder to make the most delicious, crispy coating ever!

Honestly; try this recipe with the cornflakes before you change up the recipe. I think you are all going to love it! If however you don't (we are all different after all), then you can replace the cornflakes with an additional 120g of panko breadcrumbs.

 If you want you can mix up the herb mixture I've used to season the cornflake/breadcrumb coating. I find the mix in my recipe perfect if your looking for a garlic and herb vibe but you could add some chili flakes for a bit of spice or some paprika to make them a bit more smoky if you are making these for a BBQ. Experiment and find a type and flavor of coating that you prefer.

Recipe below will make 16-20 sticks depending on how big you cut up your mozzarella block. If you can't find a block of cheese you could use mozzarella pearls instead and always remember to be careful when deep frying. Make sure you have a good pan, a metal slotted spoon to place the sticks in and out of the oil and a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil.

Cornflake Crusted Mozzarella Sticks

450g Block Mozzarella Cheese 

120g Plain Flour 

3 Large Eggs

3 Tbsp Milk

120g Cornflakes

120g Panko Breadcrumbs

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp Onion Powder

1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano

1/2 Tbsp Dried Basil

Large Pinch Of Salt

Vegetable Oil For Frying 

1. Begin by cutting the mozzarella block into 16 equal sized batons and pat them dry with some kitchen roll. Leave them to one side.
2. Tip the flour out onto a large plate. On a second plate, crack open the eggs and whisk them up with the milk until well combined. Leave both plates to one side.
3. Crush the cornflakes until they are roughly the same size as the panko breadcrumbs and then combine them with the panko breadcrumbs, garlic and onion powder, oregano, basil and salt. Tip this mixture onto a third plate. 
4. Line up the plates starting with the flour, then the egg mixture
   
   and then the cornflake and breadcrumb mixture and then one by one, take a piece of mozzarella and dip it in the flour, then the egg mixture and finally the breadcrumbs making sure the mozzarella is covered as much as possible. 
5. Place the coated mozzarella stick on a baking tray that can fit inside your freezer and then repeat until all the cheese is coated. Wrap the tray in film, ensuring the film doesn't touch the cheese and then pop the tray in the freezer for at least 1 hour. 
6. When you are ready to start frying the sticks, pour enough oil into a pan so that it's about 2 inches deep and heat on a medium heat until the oil is 180 degrees. 
7. Remove the mozzarella sticks from the freezer and then fry the sticks in batches of 2-3 for around 1-2 minutes until the breadcrumb coating is golden brown. Remove the sticks from the oil and drain on a wire rack whilst you repeat the process until all the mozzarella sticks have been fried. 

Serve your mozzarella sticks straight away so that they stay at their most crunchiest. It can be hard to reheat these bad boys as they can just completely melt so do not try and attempt to make these hours in advance of when you want to serve them. Do be careful when you bite into them as they will be super hot. They are best served with a warm tomato salsa alongside some of my Cheats Garlic Knots for a proper little picnic tea. The cornflakes totally ramp up the crispiness of the mozzarella sticks, giving them a tasty and satisfying crunch as you bite into them to reveal the gooey cheese inside. Proper crackin' that lad, tuck in!