Smoked Mozzarella Sticks

Name: Smoked Mozzarella Sticks
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 40 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 8 oz mozzarella, sliced 1/4” thick; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tbsp half and half; 1 cup flour; 1 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub; 2 cups neutral flavored oil for frying; 1/2 cup mayonnaise; 2 tbsp Kozlik’s Triple Crunch; 1-2 tbsp buttermilk

Oct 01, 2024 • Tom Jackson

This Smoked Mozzarella Sticks recipe adds a smoky flavor twist to a classic dish. Mozzarella slices are cold-smoked for two hours on a Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill using an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker, then breaded with a seasoned panko and brisket rub mixture. After being coated in an egg wash and flour, the mozzarella sticks are fried until golden brown in hot oil. Serve them with a tangy dipping sauce made from mayonnaise, Kozlik’s Triple Crunch mustard, and buttermilk for an irresistible appetizer.

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

Cold-smoked cheese changes everything: Running the YS640s in fan-only mode with an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker for two hours infuses the mozzarella with real wood smoke flavor before a single piece of breading goes on — you taste the smoke in every bite, not just on the surface.
Cattleman's Grill Lone Star in the breading: Mixing brisket rub directly into the panko adds seasoning to the crust itself, so the breading isn't just texture — it's flavor that complements the smoky cheese underneath.
The dipping sauce is a genuine upgrade: Mayo, Kozlik's Triple Crunch mustard, and buttermilk makes a tangy, slightly grainy, complex sauce that's a significant step up from the marinara that usually comes with a basket of mozzarella sticks.
Two-hour smoke, five-minute fry: Most of the time investment is completely hands-off cold smoking in the refrigerator — the active fry window is under five minutes, making these easier to execute for a party than they look.

Smoked Mozzarella Sticks

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 2 users

Cuisine

American

Servings

8

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

90 minutes

Calories

379

Get ready to take your snack game to a whole new level with these Smoked Mozzarella Sticks! Imagine the classic mozzarella sticks you love, but with a smoky twist that makes them irresistibly flavorful. Cold-smoked on a Yoder Smokers Pellet Grill, the mozzarella takes on a subtle smokiness before being coated in a crispy panko and brisket rub breading, then fried to golden perfection. Dip them in a tangy, creamy sauce made with mayonnaise, mustard, and buttermilk, and you've got the ultimate snack or party appetizer. Whether you're impressing guests or indulging solo, these smoked mozzarella sticks will have everyone coming back for more!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

8 oz mozzarella, sliced 1/4” thick
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp half and half
1 cup flour
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star Brisket Rub
2 cups neutral flavored oil for frying
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp Kozlik’s Triple Crunch
1-2 tbsp buttermilk

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Directions

Press the power button on the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill, but do not press the start button. This will allow the fans to push air through the grill without igniting a fire.
Fill an A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker with the wood pellets of your choice. Place the tube on the bottom left side of the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill and light the pellets with a torch. When the pellets are well ignited blow out the fire. Place the sliced mozzarella on a Frog Mat and transfer to the second shelf of the grill.
Cold smoke the cheese on Yoder for 2 hours. Remove and refrigerate until use.
Whisk eggs and half and half. Place in a bowl. Place flour in a bowl. Place panko and Cattleman’s Grill Lone Star in a bowl and mix.
Heat the frying oil 375ºF in a Lodge 12” Cast Iron Skillet.
Fry the breaded creese on both sides until golden brown, about 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a wire rack over a sheet pan to drain the oil.
Whisk the mayonnaise and Kozkik’s Triple Crunch. Continue whisking
while thinning with buttermilk to desired consistency.
Serve the smoked mozzarella sticks with the dipping sauce.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What does "press power but not start" mean on the YS640s?
On the Yoder Smokers YS640s, pressing the power button activates the fans without igniting the fire. This puts the grill into a cold airflow mode — the fans circulate air through the cooking chamber without generating any heat. This is essential for cold smoking: you want smoke from the A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker to pass over the cheese without any heat that would melt it. It's a YS640s-specific feature that makes cold smoking cheese clean and easy.

Do I need to freeze the breaded mozzarella sticks before frying?
Yes — this step is critical and should not be skipped. After breading, place the sticks on a sheet pan and freeze for at least 1 hour (overnight is fine). Frying cold or room-temperature breaded cheese at 375°F melts the interior before the breading can set, resulting in cheese leaking out into the oil. Frozen sticks hold their shape long enough for the crust to form and crisp before the cheese reaches melting temperature.

Can I cold smoke without a YS640s?
Yes, with the right equipment. Any grill or smoker that can be set up for cold smoking works — you need a way to generate smoke without heat. An A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker in a cold charcoal grill or a dedicated cold smoke generator attached to any smoker can replicate the process. The key is keeping the chamber temperature below 90°F so the cheese doesn't melt during the two-hour smoke.

How do I know when the mozzarella sticks are done frying?
They're done when the breading is deep golden brown — approximately 2–3 minutes at 375°F, turning once. Don't rely on color alone; if any cheese starts to bubble out at the edges before the breading is fully golden, the interior froze well but is now melting — pull them immediately. Fry in small batches to keep the oil temperature stable; overcrowding drops the oil temp and extends the fry time, which increases the risk of cheese blowout.

Can I make these indoors?
3 out of 5 — Works indoors with adjustments. The frying step is fully indoor-capable in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop at 375°F. The cold smoke step requires either a dedicated cold smoke generator (like the A-MAZE-N Tube in an unheated grill or smoker box) or purchasing pre-smoked mozzarella from a specialty grocer as a shortcut. Without the smoke step, these are excellent fried mozzarella sticks — but the defining flavor element of this recipe is the cold-smoked cheese.

Recipe Highlights

Slice mozzarella ¼" thick — not thinner: The ¼" thickness is the right balance between smoke penetration during the cold smoke and structural integrity during frying. Thinner slices melt too fast and blow out of the breading; thicker slices don't absorb smoke as effectively. Use a sharp knife and a consistent hand — uneven thickness means uneven frying.
Three-station breading: flour, egg wash, panko-rub: The flour coat goes first to give the egg wash something to grip; the egg wash goes second as the glue; the panko-Lone Star mix goes last as the crust. Skipping the flour coat — going straight from cheese to egg wash — produces a thin, patchy breading that falls off during frying. Each station has a job; all three are necessary.
Cattleman's Grill Lone Star mixed directly into the panko: The brisket rub seasons the entire crust uniformly rather than just the surface. This means the flavor is built into the breading throughout — not just the outside — and it doesn't wash off in the oil the way a surface seasoning would. Mix the rub and panko thoroughly before the first stick goes in.
Maintain 375°F oil temperature throughout: Oil temperature is the single most important variable in the fry. Below 350°F and the breading absorbs oil and goes greasy before it crisps; above 400°F and the exterior browns before the interior is ready. Use a thermometer and fry in batches of 3–4 sticks maximum to prevent the cold cheese from dropping the temperature too far between batches.