Test #104: Bacon and STRING CHEESE

The subject The first time most people encounter string cheese is during childhood, after unearthing it from the depths of a plastic cartoon-decorated box at school. Most youngsters are amazed to witness the transformation of the boring white stick to gossamer strands of dairy deliciousness. Then, as a jaded old person, you learn the magic cheese is nothing more than low-moisture mozzarella, and pretty much any old hunk of the World's Boringest Cheese will peel like that. As adults, we're much more amazed by the fresh mozzarella one finds in a caprese salad, the melty goodness of baked brie, or the Greek cheese that's fried, then lit on fire, to transform into the marvel that is saganaki. String cheese, rather, just...lies there.

We at BDJ Labs figured it was high time to restore some of that original wonder to string cheese, so we wrapped one stick of it with two strips of bacon--tightly, so that the cheese didn't all melt and run out between the strips, then burn to black in our test oven.

The results
Undoubtedly, you've had mozzarella sticks as an appetizer in some bar or family restaurant. Those are fairly yummy, right? Now, imagine the best mozzarella sticks you've ever had in your life. Okay, now imagine those incredibly tasty cheese sticks and multiply the deliciousity by about a hundred. Now, you've got some distant idea of how delicious our bacon-wrapped string cheese turned out.

Granted, the finished test subject wasn't much to look at--despite our careful swaddling, some cheese did end up leaking out mid-bake, and it turned into a darkened, solid cheese shingle. However, upon tasting the string cheese, we found the salty bacon the perfect complement to the smooth, creamy cheese. No longer stringy, the cheese had taken on a chewy consistency that nearly squeaked--and if you've ever had fresh cheese curds, you are aware of how delightful that experience is. Even the hardy cheese fins growing out the side of the bacon-wrapped stick were delicious--the crispy outside and chewy innards reminded us of bacon-infused saganaki (without the risk of setting our laboratory on fire).

Needless to say, this is one test that left little for the BDJ lab assistants to clean up afterward--nothing more than grease smears on the test plate. We can only hope that the bar-and-grills of the world will be moved to replaced their battered (in more ways than one) cheese sticks, in favor of bacon-wrapped mozzarella wands.

The conclusion: Bacon + string cheese = delish

Thursday: Bacon and Pop-Tarts
Friday: Bacon and pierogi