It’s time for the Super Bowl, and with that comes Super Bowl parties full of nachos and pretzels and popcorn and pizza. Whether you’re hosting or going to someone else’s shindig, these great snacks will make sure you have something to eat while you’re watching the big game! In this post I have four delicious recipes for you: Fried Mozzarella Sticks, Fried Pickle Spears, Everything Bagel Deviled Eggs, and Chicken Wings with Italian Herb Butter.
Keto Fried Mozzarella Sticks
I was for sure these were not going to turn out, and I was going to have an oozing, weeping mess of cheese leaking out of sad breading when I fried them. Amazingly, they both look and taste awesome. My kids especially adored them and we were fighting over them. The recipe is somewhat time-consuming, but it’s absolutely worth it.
The reason why it’s time-consuming isn’t necessarily the cooking or prep part of it. You have to make these ahead of time so you can freeze them. You bread them twice, otherwise you’ll end up with the oozing, weeping mess, and you freeze them so the cheese doesn’t completely melt before the breading cooks when you fry them. Freezing them between breading also helps ensure that you get a nice even coating of breading that doesn’t have any gaps in it.
To begin this recipe, unwrap 6 mozzarella string cheese sticks and cut them in half crosswise to make 12 shorter sticks. Beat an egg in a small bowl and set it aside. On a dinner plate, mix together 1/4 cup of pork rind crumbs, 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of Italian seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder. Grind some black pepper into it as well. You won’t need any additional salt for these, as the ingredients themselves are plenty salty on their own. Dip each piece of cheese into the egg, then dredge into the crumb mixture, making sure to coat all sides as thoroughly as you can. I rolled them in the crumbs and then pressed more crumbs onto the sides. Try not to leave visible cheese, but if you do, the next coat should cover them. Put the finished sticks on a plate lined with parchment paper and put it in the freezer for at least an hour. If you have any extra egg, put it in the fridge for later.
When you’re ready to do the second layer, get out the leftover egg from before and mix the same ingredients on a new plate. Remove the plate with the mozzarella sticks from the freezer and quickly repeat the egg and breadcrumb dredging. Really press those crumbs into the frozen cheese sticks. Once they’re finished, put the plate back in the freezer and heat up the oil. You’ll need two cups of avocado oil for this one, because any less and it won’t coat the sides enough. You don’t want to have to flip these more than once when they’re in the oil. I like using an enameled cast-iron skillet for these, to reduce the chance of them sticking to the bottom. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches 375-400 degrees (using an infrared thermometer to check the temperature of oil in the skillet). When the oil reaches the proper temperature, remove the plate from the freezer and use tongs to gently lower the cheese sticks into the oil, one at a time. Be careful not to squeeze them too hard with the tongs, as you don’t want to dislodge any of the breading. By the time that you get all 12 of them into the oil, the first one should be golden brown on the bottom. Very carefully turn it with the tongs. If you squeeze too hard, you run the risk of breaking the breading. I use these silicone-headed tongs for a nice soft grip. Continue turning the cheese sticks in the order you put them into the pan, until they’re all turned. Continue frying for 1-2 minutes at most, until both sides are evenly golden brown, then use the tongs to remove them to a cookie sheet lined with paper towels. If you’re not serving these immediately, you can put them in an oven set to 200 degrees, but these are best straight out of the fryer. Serve them with a warm marinara sauce for dipping. Make sure the sauce has no sugar added!
Keto Fried Mozzarella Sticks
Ingredients
- 6 sticks mozzarella string cheese
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese divided
- 1/2 cup pork rind crumbs divided
- 2 tsp dried Italian seasoning divided
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder divided
- black pepper to taste
- 2 cups avocado oil for frying
- 1/2 cup marinara sauce optional, for dipping
Instructions
- Unwrap the string cheeses and cut them in half crosswise to make each one into two shorter sticks.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl. Mix 1/4 cup of the parmesan and 1/4 cup of the pork rind crumbs on a large plate with a teaspoon of the Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon of the garlic powder. Line another plate with parchment paper.
- Dip each cheese stick into the egg mixture and then coat in the crumb mixture, making sure to coat each stick as thoroughly as possible. Place them on the parchment-lined plate when finished. When all of the cheese sticks are dipped, put the plate in the freezer for at least an hour. Refrigerate the remaining egg to use for the second round of dipping.
- When you're ready to cook, remove the egg from the fridge and mix together the remaining half of the crumb ingredients the same way you did before. Take the plate out of the freezer and dip each frozen mozzarella stick into the egg and then into the new crumbs. Put them back on the plate when you're done and then put the plate back in the freezer.
- Heat up two cups of avocado oil in an enameled cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, until the oil reaches 375-400 degrees. Remove the plate from the freezer and using tongs, gently and carefully lower each mozzarella stick into the oil. When you see the bottoms turn golden brown, turn them in the same order you put them into the oil. Once they're turned, fry for 1-2 minutes more, until they're uniformly browned, then remove them carefully to a plate or cookie sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Serve immediately with warm marinara sauce for dipping, or place into a 200-degree oven to keep warm.
- Macros per serving will vary depending on how much oil is soaked up into the breading, so these are my best estimate. Including the marinara, a serving of 3 sticks has 312 calories, 3 grams net carbs, 22 grams protein, and 23 grams fat.
Keto Fried Dill Pickle Spears
When I made these, I prepared them with the mozzarella sticks, so I didn’t end up wasting oil. They use a lot of the same ingredients as the cheese sticks as well, so it’s all pretty convenient. Plus, it’s like getting a bunch of bar food all at once, so you really feel like you’re cheating on keto even when you’re not!
You’ll need twelve dill pickle spears, which is about a full jar of pickles. If you can, find the kind that you get in the refrigerator section, because they turn out crunchier. These don’t have to be frozen and double-battered like the cheese sticks do, but it’s best if you dry the pickles off as thoroughly as possible. Otherwise, the breading doesn’t stick as well and the oil splatters a lot. If you’re dealing with a time crunch, you can pat them dry with paper towels, but if you have time, dry them on a wire cooling rack for an hour or two. If you’re doing it like me and making the cheese sticks at the same time, this is perfect to do while they’re in the freezer.
When you’re ready to bread and fry, you’ll be doing it in one fell swoop, so set your breading station up right next to the oil. Heat up two cups of avocado oil in an enameled cast-iron skillet to 375-400 degrees, using an infrared thermometer to check the temperature. While the oil is heating, beat an egg in a small bowl, and on a large plate, mix together 1/2 cup of pork rind crumbs, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of dried parsley, and 1/4 teaspoon of dried dill. Grind in some black pepper as well. Dip a pickle spear in the egg, dredge it in the crumb mixture until fully coated, and use silicone-headed tongs to carefully place it in the oil. Repeat with the remaining pickles. When all the pickles are in the oil, the first one is likely ready to be turned, so flip it carefully to make sure the remaining breading is under the oil. Continue flipping the rest of the pickles in the same order you placed them in the pan. When they get to an even golden brown on both sides, remove them from the oil and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the frying oil. Serve immediately with ranch dressing for dipping. These can keep in a 200-degree oven for a few minutes while you fry the cheese sticks, so if you’re serving them both, definitely fry these first.
Keto Fried Dill Pickle Spears
Ingredients
- 12 dill pickle spears
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup pork rind crumbs
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- black pepper to taste
- 2 cups avocado oil for frying
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing optional, for dipping
Instructions
- Prepare the pickles for frying by blotting them as dry as possible with paper towels, or air-drying them for at least an hour on a raised rack.
- Heat the avocado oil in a large enameled cast-iron skillet until it reaches 375-400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the oil is heating, beat the egg in a small bowl, and mix together the pork rind crumbs, parmesan, parsley, and dill on a large dinner plate.
- When the oil has reached frying temperature, dip a pickle spear into the egg and dredge in the crumb mixture. Use tongs to gently place the pickle spear into the oil. Repeat with the remaining pickle spears.
- Once the final pickle spear is in the oil, the first spear should be ready to flip. Carefully turn it using tongs. Repeat with the remaining pickle spears in the same order you put them in. Cook them for about 2 minutes more and then remove from the oil with tongs and place them on a plate or cookie sheet lined with paper towels to drain. Serve immediately with ranch dressing for dipping, or place in an oven set to 200 to keep warm until serving.
- As with most fried foods, macros are estimated based on how much oil is soaked up by the breading. My best estimate per serving (3 pickles), including the ranch dressing: 338 calories, 6 grams net carbs, 11 grams protein, 29 grams fat.
Everything Bagel Deviled Eggs
I love deviled eggs. I don’t know what it is about them. I couldn’t eat six hard-boiled eggs if you paid me, but hand me a dozen deviled eggs and I’m gonna toss those down my gullet like I’m a python. I’ve never met a deviled egg I didn’t like, unless you make those gross kind with all the sweet pickle relish. I’m always disappointed when I pop a deviled egg in my mouth and it’s super sweet. But I digress.
I’ve always hated making deviled eggs, because mine always come out looking like they got run over by a car. I don’t know if it’s because I use eggs that are too fresh or what, but I can never peel them without gouging huge chunks out of them. So when I went to make this recipe for the blog, I decided that I was going to watch those YouTube tutorials on how to make hard-boiled eggs that are easy to peel. I ended up settling on putting salt and apple cider vinegar in the water, and let me tell you, it worked! The eggs I used were fairly new, and they peeled like a dream. So I will highly recommend that you do the same, for all your hard and soft-boiled egg needs.
So to get started, put a dozen eggs into a large pot and fill it with cold water until the eggs are covered by at least an inch or two. Add two tablespoons of salt and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the water, then put the pot over high heat until it just hits a vigorous boil. You’ll want to make sure to watch the pot, because as soon as it begins boiling, you need to turn off the heat entirely and cover the pot with a lid. Set a timer for 12 minutes, and while you’re waiting, fill a large mixing bowl at least halfway with ice. When there’s about a minute left on the timer, add cold water to the bowl. As soon as the timer goes off, remove the lid from the pot and extract the eggs with a wok skimmer or a slotted spoon. Put the eggs in the ice bath and let them sit for another ten minutes.
To peel the eggs, smack them gently on the counter all over the surface of the egg to create some cracks, then place the egg on the counter and roll it under the palm of your hand. Then pick it up, find the place with the most cracks, and begin to peel from there. The shell should come off without much resistance at that point. Rinse the peeled eggs to remove any tiny flecks of eggshell that may be remaining, and place them on a cutting board.
When all the eggs are peeled, drain the water from the ice bath bowl, give it a quick rinse with soap and water, and dry the inside of the bowl off with paper towels. We’ll be using that to make the filling. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and carefully scoop out the yolks. Put the yolks in the bowl and leave the whites on the cutting board for now. Add 1/4 cup of mayonnaise and a teaspoon of dijon mustard to the yolks, and then mash them with a potato masher until they make a chunky paste.
Push the egg whites to the side of the cutting board and chop 4 ounces of cold-smoked salmon, also known as lox. You’ll want these in about 1/2-inch or smaller pieces. Put those in with the egg yolks and use the potato masher on them again until the salmon is incorporated. Drain the liquid from 2 tablespoons of capers and stir those into the eggs with a spoon. Don’t use the potato masher on the capers, because they’ll squish. Add white pepper and salt, if necessary, as well as extra mayonnaise if your mixture is a bit too dry. I found that the salmon and capers made the mixture salty enough, but your mileage may vary. I did not use any extra mayonnaise, but whether or not you’ll need it depends on the size of your egg yolks.
Scoop out the mixture by scant tablespoonfuls and place them into the reserved egg whites. Don’t worry about making these look pretty. They’ll be overfilled and chunky, so you’re going for a rustic look. When they’re all filled, sprinkle them with everything bagel seasoning, then put them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them. If you’re taking them to a party, you can put them in one of those fancy deviled egg holders, otherwise just throw them on a plate. They won’t last long, I promise.
Everything Bagel Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
- 12 large eggs
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 4 oz lox
- 2 tbsp capers drained
- salt and white pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp everything bagel seasoning
Instructions
- Place the eggs in a large pot and add cold water until it covers the eggs by 1-2 inches. Add the salt and vinegar and place the pot over high heat until it just reaches a rolling boil. Turn the heat off, put a lid on the pot, and set a timer for 12 minutes.
- Fill a large mixing bowl at least halfway with ice. When there is about a minute left on the timer, add cold water until the bowl is 2/3 of the way full of water.
- When the timer goes off, remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon or wok skimmer and place them gently into the ice bath. Leave the eggs in the bath for 10 minutes.
- Remove the eggs from the bath and peel them, then rinse them in cold water to remove any remaining flecks of eggshell. Place the eggs on a large cutting board. Clean out the bowl that you used for the ice bath and dry out the inside thoroughly with paper towels.
- Slice the eggs lengthwise and carefully pop the yolks out into the mixing bowl, reserving the whites. Add the mayonnaise and mustard to the yolks and mash them with a potato masher until it creates a chunky paste.
- Chop the smoked salmon and add it to the yolks, using the potato masher to disperse the salmon. Add the capers and stir the mixture with a spoon, Add white pepper, as well as salt if necessary.
- Fill each egg white with scant tablespoonfuls of the yolk mixture. Sprinkle the everything bagel seasoning evenly over the top of each deviled egg. Refrigerate until serving.
- Macros per serving (2 egg halves): 116 calories, 0 grams net carbs, 8 grams protein, 9 grams fat.
Italian Herb Butter Chicken Wings
I may have mentioned this before, but my stepfather and his family are from Buffalo, hence why I have recipes like my Beef on Chaffleweck on the blog. About the only Western New York food I haven’t tried to tackle is the garbage plate, and frankly I’m not sure if I should, even if I could. I have yet to post a wing recipe on here, mainly because the standard “Buffalo” wing recipe is really simple. For mild wings just mix equal parts butter and Frank’s Red Hot sauce and toss the wings in them. Serve them with blue cheese dressing and celery. It’s barely a recipe at all.
But this wing recipe, while almost as simple as the standard “Buffalo” wings (nobody in Buffalo calls them that, which is why I put it in quotes), is not something you’ll find just anywhere. There’s a small hidden gem of a restaurant in our neighborhood, one of those places where the owner goes around and greets every table. Tommy knows almost all of his regulars by name, and he’s one of those characters who never runs out of stories to tell you on a slow day or late night at the bar after the kitchen closes.
It’s one of my favorite places to grab a bite to eat in town, and that’s mainly because of his wings. They’re always perfectly crispy and piping hot. I burn the roof of my mouth every time, because I just can’t wait until they cool down a bit to eat them. They do a special wing every week, so you never know what he’s going to come up with. Coffee, cocoa and chipotle dry rubbed wings? Sure. Watermelon butter and habanero pepper? I’m not even sure what that is, but it was amazing. But the wings I’m about to describe to you are my favorite ones he ever did. The crazy thing is that they’re not even spicy at all, and I love a good hot chicken wing. These ones were rubbed in Italian spices and drizzled with butter, but there was some sort of crazy umami thing going on there where it was much more savory than it should have been with just those two ingredients. Even my kids loved them. I went nuts trying to figure out what it could possibly be, but I know better than to ask Tommy to hand over his trade secrets.
I figured out the secret after some experimentation for last year’s Super Bowl, and it was so simple that I hated myself for not figuring it out sooner. All it needed was a little bit of chicken boullion, and suddenly it was elevated from good wing to God-tier wing. There’s something about the combination of ingredients that just clicks, and it’s so simple to do. This will be the centerpiece of your Super Bowl party for sure.
First off, you need to decide if you’re baking or frying your wings. Either way, you’re going to need 3-4 pounds of them. If you’re baking, set your oven to 400 degrees, line a rimmed cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and put a wire cooling rack on top of it. Put the wings in a large mixing bowl, toss them with a teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of avocado oil, and several grinds of pepper. I used white pepper for this, but black works as well. Put the wings on the rack, put the whole shebang in the oven, and bake them for 50 minutes. Turn the sheet halfway through so they cook evenly, since ovens do tend to have hot spots.
To fry them, heat up at least a quart of your favorite frying oil in a cast-iron Dutch oven until it’s 375-400 degrees. Separate the wings into drums and flats and fry them in batches. Most recipes will tell you to fry wings for 10 minutes. That’s not enough to get the skin crispy. When you don’t fry them enough, you get flabby, rubbery skin, and that’s gross. So fry them in batches, drums first and flats second, for 12 minutes. And as an aside, unless you’re in Buffalo, order your restaurant wings well done. It’ll change your life. When the first batch is done, put it in a warm oven and do the second batch. They sauce better if you do them all at once.
To make the sauce, melt four tablespoons of butter and a half tablespoon of Better than Bouillon chicken base in a large heat-safe mixing bowl in the microwave. If you don’t have a microwavable heat-safe bowl, you can do the melting on the stovetop and transfer it into the bowl. Add two teaspoons of Italian seasoning, crushing it in your hands or a mortar and pestle to make the texture more fine. When the wings are done, toss them in the bowl to coat with the sauce, and serve them immediately so they don’t lose their crispiness.
Italian Herb Butter Chicken Wings
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs split chicken wings
- avocado oil for baking or frying, see instructions
- salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1.5 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken base
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning crushed finely
Instructions
For Baking Wings
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire cooling rack on top.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss wings with two tablespoons of avocado oil, a teaspoon of salt, and pepper to taste.
- Space the wings evenly on the wire sheet, skin side up, and bake for 50 minutes, turning the sheet halfway through.
For Frying Wings
- Heat 1-2 quarts of avocado oil in a cast-iron Dutch oven until the oil reaches 375-400 degrees.
- Separate the wings into drums and flats. Fry the drums first for 12 minutes, then remove them from the oil and place them into a warm oven while you fry the flats for 12 minutes.
For Saucing
- Melt the butter and chicken base together in a large heat-safe mixing bowl in the microwave. Whisk in the Italian seasoning. If you fried the wings, add pepper to taste. When the wings are cooked, put them in the bowl and toss them with the sauce. Serve immediately.
- Macros per serving for baked wings: 478 calories, 0 grams net carbs, 34 grams protein, 36 grams fat. For fried wings, numbers are an approximation and can vary based on the amount of absorbed oil: 521 calories, 0 grams net carbs, 34 grams protein, 41 grams fat.
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