Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls

Deep Fried Ham & Cheese BallsI’ve deep fried plenty of cheese in my day, but for some reason I’ve never deep fried ham and cheese together. Well, that all changed this past weekend when Dietz & Watson sent me a huge package of their various meats, cheeses and sausages.

The cheese selection they hooked me up with was amazing — everything from Buffalo Wing Cheddar to Habanero and Jalapeño Cheddar to Bacon & Horseradish Cheddar.

For as anxious I was to try all those different varieties of Cheddar, I decided to go with Dietz & Watson’s Mild Yellow Cheddar for these Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls because if you can’t make a good classic Cheddar you have no business expanding into flavored Cheddars. Luckily Dietz & Watson’s Cheddar is phenomenal, and this is coming from someone who was born and raised in Wisconsin where cheese is pretty much a necessary part of any meal.

Much like their cheese Dietz & Watson’s ham is also top-notch. It’s hand trimmed from premium North American pork, and their Originals Line contains no antibiotics ever and their Originals Ham is nitrate and nitrite free. Combined with their Mild Yellow Cheddar it made for quite the delicious little snack.

When it came to the breading on these Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls I wanted to keep it as thin as possible so it didn’t distract from the meat and cheese, so while I normally use panko breadcrumbs to coat the many, many things I deep fry on a weekly basis I just stuck with a super thin coating of regular breadcrumbs this time around. I even got my wife — who normally never eats ham — to try them and according to her they were “Pretty damn good!”

If you want to try these Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls for yourself the recipe is below. In addition, if you live in Milwaukee like I do you should join me at Metro Market at 1123 N. Van Buren St. on Thursday July 12th from 5:30pm – 8pm where you’ll be able to sample small plate recipes developed by Dietz & Watson corporate chef Michelle Garde. Oh, and if that isn’t enough there will also be wine and beer tastings from local craft breweries, so come on out!

 

Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls

Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls Recipe

Nick @ DudeFoods.com

If you love ham and cheese then you need to try these Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls!

5 from 6 votes

Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 47 minutes

Course Appetizer
Cuisine American

Servings 11

Ingredients

  

  • 8 ounces Cheddar cheese shredded
  • 4 ounces ham diced
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 2 quarts oil for frying
  • Ranch or your preferred dipping sauce

Instructions

 

  • Combine shredded Cheddar, diced ham, flour and eggs into a bowl and mix thoroughly.
  • Roll into golf ball-sized balls and then coat in breadcrumbs.
  • Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  • Heat oil in deep fryer or heavy skillet to 375°F.
  • Fry ham & cheese balls for 2 minutes or until golden brown.
  • Drain on paper towels and serve with ranch or your preferred dipping sauce.

Keyword appetizers, cheese, deep fried food

9 Comments on Deep Fried Ham & Cheese Balls

  1. Robert
    December 26, 2020 at 12:32 pm (3 years ago)

    Try these

    Reply
  2. sharon
    January 1, 2021 at 3:08 pm (3 years ago)

    5 stars
    would not form into balls

    Reply
  3. Stormy
    February 6, 2021 at 1:31 pm (3 years ago)

    5 stars
    Turned out awesome. Next time I’m going to try Swiss and use more ham 🙂

    Reply
  4. Susan
    November 5, 2022 at 10:08 pm (1 year ago)

    Are you sure you need 3 eggs??

    Reply
    • Nick
      December 4, 2022 at 10:39 am (1 year ago)

      I mean, that’s how many I used, but if you wanna use less than go for it.

      Reply
  5. Liv
    December 4, 2022 at 12:48 am (1 year ago)

    5 stars
    Why naming your blog this way?Because eating hearty food is so manly and badass isn’t it?how can you not see the stereotyping and sexism?
    Excluding women from even getting nutritions?

    Reply
    • Nick
      December 4, 2022 at 10:38 am (1 year ago)

      Who said I’m excluding women? Women make up 45% of the audience that follows me….

      Reply
      • Tamara
        February 22, 2023 at 9:11 am (1 year ago)

        5 stars
        Awesome recipe ♡♡♡ I have been thinking of winging my own recipe up …been craving these for weeks ! Great recipe ♡♡♡ I also love the name FOOD DUDES . Lol
        DUDE , I LOVE YOUR FOOD !!

        Reply
    • Tamara
      February 22, 2023 at 9:07 am (1 year ago)

      5 stars
      what are you talking about ? who ate your soul that people can’t even share yummy recipes , without some anger filled HOSTILE rager , spewing negativity at them ?

      Reply

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