Photo: Claire Lower
If you’ve ever eaten a cheeseball, you know that what’s on the outside is almost as important as what’s on the inside (cheese). A cheeseball’s outer layer should offer crunch, contrast, and intrigue. You should take one look at that ball of cheese and go, “Yeah, I’d like to dig in to that and see what it’s all about.”
Fried garlic does all that and more. It’s crunchy, savory, and just a tad bitter–a perfect foil for a ball of rich and creamy dairy.
Though I am sure you are capable of frying garlic to golden-brown perfection, please understand that I am not telling you to mince a bunch of cloves and then fry a bunch of tiny bits. That would be tedious and time-consuming, two things that directly contradict the spirit of the cheeseball. (Cheeseballs should be easy and breezy.)
What I am suggesting is that you get a tub, bag, or tin of already fried garlic bits, which are available in nearly any Asian grocery store (and online) for a reasonable amount of dollars. And I am suggesting you roll your cheeseballs in that.
Excluding dessert cheeseballs with chocolate chips and the like, there are few cheeseballs on which garlic would not be a welcome addition. I tried it on this “Tangy Cheeseball” from AllRecipes—the tang comes from pickle juice—and I consumed a quarter of it in a quarter of an hour. (That’s an impressive cheeseball consumption rate, if I do say so myself.)
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The process for coating a cheeseball in garlic is the same as the process for coating a cheeseball in nuts or everything-bagel seasoning. Dump it on a rimmed plate and roll the cheese around in the bits, pressing them into the ball as needed to help them stick. Serve with crackers, and watch your savory, slightly pungent ball of cheese get devoured at an almost disturbing rate.
