Fried Pulled Pork Balls with Cheese

Our Fried Pulled Pork Balls are a fantastic solution for leftover Pulled Pork / Carnitas, transforming them into a wonderful treat that’s packed full of flavor. For this recipe you will need to make our amazing Slow Cooked Carnitas dish, which we’ll outline an abbreviated version on how to make in this recipe as well. The yield is massive, so you’re guaranteed to have leftovers. There’s perhaps no better way to enjoy leftovers than stuffing them with cheese, breading them, and deep frying them!

The star of this dish is the Pulled Pork, here’s how to make it

We highly recommend heading over to our dedicated Pulled Pork recipe to get the full outline on how to make this delicious Pulled Pork. It is a slow cooked dish, so you will need to dedicate a good portion of the day to produce it. This recipe is more about what to do with the leftovers, but here’s a quick outline on how to make this wonderful Pork dish

All you need to do is load up your slow cooker (such as a Crockpot or an Instant Pot) with a big slab of Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt that has been seasoned generously with a spice combination of Paprika, Cumin, Coriander Powder, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and Cayenne Pepper – along with a load of Salt and Pepper

Check out our recipe for this amazing Pulled Pork (Carnitas), which you will need to make these delicious fried treats

Along with the Pork, load up the slow cooker with Orange Juice and Cola (yep that’s right!) and slow cook it for 6 hours. You want to ensure that the Pork is fully submerged in the liquid for the best result.

After 6 hours the Pork will be so tender and juicy. Remove the Pork and using two forks, tear it into shreds. Then, reduce the braising liquid by cooking it over high heat on the stovetop for about 30 minutes. This will produce a beautiful sauce for the Pork

We recommend avoiding adding too much of the sauce when making your Fried Pulled Pork Balls. We don’t want the filling to be too liquidy, as this will not produce the crispiness you are after. You can always simply squeeze out any excess liquid from the Pork before beginning the breading process

As with most recipes, adding Cheese to the Fried Pulled Pork Balls is a great idea

There’re not many dishes that won’t benefit from adding a bit of cheese to it. Ok Seafood may be on the spectrum here, but hey – Lobster Thermidor anyone? To be a bit more specific, there’s no deep fried food that doesn’t benefit from adding Cheese. These Pork Balls are no exception!

You can stuff the Balls with any kind of cheese you like to draw out all kinds of beautiful flavor profiles. In our recipe we used good old Cheddar Cheese and Parmesan, and it came out amazing. The Cheddar gives that beautiful sharpness, and the Parmesan brings a slight nuttiness to the dish

I would highly recommend going with an extra-sharp Cheddar Cheese if you can. This dish is not about subtly, so a sharp Cheddar is going to really cut through the flavors

While adding a cheese like Mozzarella does seem appealing, especially for the gooey cheese pull we all know and love, I’d recommend against it. While the texture of Mozzarella is amazing, it doesn’t offer up a lot in the flavor department

Other great cheeses to try are any kind of Swiss Cheese variety like Comte, Gruyere, or Emmentaler cheese. They will bring a beautiful nutty flavor to the Fried Pulled Pork Balls, while offering a great texture

We added Parmesan Cheese to both the stuffing and the breading

Parmesan Cheese is a fantastic addition to the recipe. However, why stop just using it in the filling? By mixing Parmesan Cheese into the Panko Breadcrumbs, you can add even more cheesy flavor to the dish

You don’t need a whole lot, I’d go with about 1 part Parmesan to 5 parts Panko (or thereabouts, no need to be too specific). You want to have that Parmesan flavor evident in dish, without it impacting the overall look and texture of the fry

Panko Breadcrumbs are the best choice for breading

Depending on what kind of texture you are looking for will dictate the breadcrumbs to use. We have opted for Panko Breadcrumbs for this recipe because of its textural qualities. Panko Breadcrumbs are larger, chunkier breadcrumbs than other types. This gives the overall coating a beautifully rough texture, adding even more crispiness to the dish

The one watch-out with Panko Breadcrumbs, however, is that because they’re thicker than regular breadcrumbs it can be difficult to get an even coating. To alleviate this, I recommend ensuring a thorough and even coating of Egg wash is applied before they are dipped in the Panko. Give the Balls a very thorough coating in Breadcrumbs too, ensuring the entire outside is well coated before they are dropped into the frying Oil

Deep-Frying

Load up a large heavy-bottomed pot with Oil. You want to add enough Oil so that the Balls can be completely submerged in the Oil. The quantity of Oil may vary depending on how large your Pot is. Heat the Oil on the stovetop until the temperature hits about 300F. You want to maintain this temperature throughout, being wary that the temperature will drop when the Balls are added. Best to use a Candy Thermometer to monitor the temperature

The Balls will need to be fried for about 5 minutes. You can go off visual cues to tell when they are done. Because the ingredients are already cooked, it’s just about re-heating the filling, melting the cheese, and getting a beautiful golden-brown color

Once fried, remove them from the Oil using a strainer (Spider Strainers work the best) and set them aside on a wire rack. This will remove any excess Oil and is the best time to season them with Salt. Hit them with Salt and they’re ready to eat!

Serve with your favorite dipping sauce!

The Fried Pulled Pork Balls with Cheese are best served hot, so that cheese is beautiful and gooey inside. For the best result we recommend serving them with your favorite dipping sauce. You can use any kind of sauce here such as a Spicy Mayo or classic Sweet Chili Sauce. Just serve the sauce in a separate bowl for dipping and enjoy!

Fried Pork Belly Balls with Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• ½ lb. Pulled Pork (recipe here)
• ½ cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Eggs, whisked
• ½ cup Panko Breadcrumbs
• ¾ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1 cup Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1 gallon of frying Oil (Vegetable / Canola Oil)
  
  

Instructions

1. Remove any excess juice from the Pulled Pork, the place in a bowl along with ½ cup of Parmesan Cheese and 1 cup of Cheddar Cheese. Mix well then form into tight golf-ball sized Balls
2. Create a breading station by filling three bowls. The first with Flour and Salt, the second with whisked Eggs, and the third with Panko Breadcrumbs and the remaining Parmesan Cheese
3. Heat the Oil in a large heavy-bottomed Pot over medium high heat until the temperature is 300F. Maintain this temperature using a thermometer (eg: Candy Thermometer)
4. Coat the Balls in breading by dipping them first in Flour, then Egg Wash, and finishing with Panko Breadcrumb. Ensure an even coating for each step
5. Carefully drop the coated Balls in the hot Oil and fry for 5 minutes until golden-brown. Once cooked, remove using a spider strainer and set aside on a wire rack to remove any excess oil
6. Season with Salt and then serve
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You can also refrigerate the formed Balls for 20 minutes before breading. This will help them to keep their shape
• You can use regular Breadcrumbs for a smoother coating
  
  

That’s our delicious recipe for amazing Fried Pulled Pork Balls with Cheese. This recipe is the perfect way to enjoy leftover Pulled Pork, transforming it into a special treat for the family to enjoy

We love transforming leftovers here at Dinnertime Somewhere. We’ve got a dedicated section of our site here which looks at fun and interesting dishes you can create using leftovers. Here’s a few of our favorites that we recommend you check out:

• Cuban Sandwich Bites
• Lamb Lasagna Roll Ups with Pea Puree
• Peking Pork Belly Pancakes
• Pepperoni Fried Rice
  
      

Happy Cooking!