I found this recipe on TasteSpotting last night, and we decided to give it a try today as a possible alternative to the standard Mozzarella Sticks. The recipe here is pretty much what was posted to TS, but I did make modifications in the procedure based on what we learned today. Changes we’ve already tried will follow the recipe, as well as a few other notes.

Puerto Rican Cheese Fritters
2 c. water
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 c. cornmeal
1 c. shredded cheese
oil for frying

Boil water and salt, remove from heat and slowly stir in cornmeal to avoid lumps, add cheese. Let cool, then place in fridge for about 30 minutes (cover to avoid having the top drying out and getting crusty). Heat oil to about 350*. Using about 2 tsp per fritter, form cornmeal mixture into oblongs about 2″ long. Fry until golden and done on the inside.

The first thing we noticed is that the cheese we chose wasn’t particularly strong enough: there wasn’t a whole lot of flavor. In fact, the fritter seemed more like a cornmeal version of hush puppies and were pretty bland. (We were trying them without any dipping sauce to get an idea on their flavor before we played with them; and we’d fry one, taste, make a few changes, then fry another.) We used queso fresco crumbling cheese, and the mild flavor of the cheese was overwhelmed by the cornmeal, at least at these measurements.

So, we increased the cheese until we had about 2 1/2 cups. We also added about 1 1/2 TBL paprika and 1/4 to 1/2 tsp red pepper. While all this helped, we’re thinking about adding some cubano peppers. We still have some of the dough left, so we’ll make the adjustment and I’ll edit to indicate how it came out. We like to taste the food we’re making without overwhelming it with too much spice, but this one just might need the spice to work out.

The other thing I noticed was that you definitely have to watch the oil temp and the thickness of the fritters or they won’t cook through.

Even if we tinker with this recipe enough to where we like it at home, I’m not sure it will land in SaxyK’s. I don’t think it would work well as a catering recipe since it’s definitely a serve hot recipe, but it might work in the restaurant.

Or the Chef may just want to stick with Mozzarella Sticks.

ETA: So we tried adding the peppers (1 each poblano and cubano), and the things fell apart in the oil. don’t know if we’ll be trying again. We’ll see.