Buffalo Cauliflower

It’s no surprise that there is a “cauliflower craze” right now. Cauliflower is a mashable, fryable, bakeable, low carb, nutrient-dense veggie that can be seasoned, texturized, and molded into low-carb versions of some of your favorite high-carb dishes. Eating low- carbohydrate foods and dishes are all the rage due to current research which promises weight loss and increased energy… among other things.

Although I’ve attempted the cauliflower replacement technique with several dishes, there are very few that I’ve actually enjoyed. The best cauliflower recipe I made (before this one) was a mashed cauliflower bake, and that’s because I loaded it with butter, heavy cream, and cheese. If you told me a few days ago that Buffalo Cauliflower is damn delicious I wouldn’t have believed you, but America’s Test Kitchen made me a believer (as it often does for many people).

In short- if you’re looking for a tried and true recipe “A.T.K.” is where to find it.

The Buffalo Cauliflower I made is almost the same as America’s Test Kitchen’s “Vegan Buffalo Cauliflower Bites” but I added some heavy cream, extra cornstarch & corn meal to the batter, used a deep fryer, and a store-bought Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese dip.  I also increased ingredient measurements but maintained the correct ratios. This recipe can easily be made vegan by leaving out the heavy cream and making (or buying) a vegan ranch or blue cheese dip.

Ingredients 

• Head of Cauliflower – chopped into pieces
• ½ Cup Coconut Oil
• ¾ Cup + 2 Tbsp. Hot Sauce
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 4 tsp. Apple Cider Vinegar
•  1 ½ Cups Cornstarch
• 1 Cup Corn Meal
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper
• 13.5 oz. can of Coconut Milk
• ¼ Cup Heavy Cream
• Vegetable Oil (or another oil) for Deep Frying

Melt coconut oil in saucepan on low heat. Add 3/4 Cup hot sauce. Stir. Add 2 Tbsp. brown sugar. Stir. Add 4 tsp. apple cider vinegar. Stir the mixture together. Leave on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Heat vegetable oil (or other frying oil) in a deep fryer (according to directions). You can also heat oil in a pot to 400 degrees. Make sure oil is at 400 degrees before each batch of cauliflower is placed in pot.

In a bowl mix 13.5 oz. coconut milk, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and 2 Tbsp. hot sauce. Put cauliflower pieces into this wet mixture.

In another bowl mix 1.5 cups cornstarch, 1 cup corn meal, salt, and pepper.

Add dry mixture to the wet mixture & cauliflower pieces. Gently stir/fold everything together. Make sure the cauliflower is coated well & all the crevices are filled. This should create a thick batter around each cauliflower piece.

Place coated cauliflower pieces gently into deep fryer or pot. Do not crowd deep fryer or pot with too many pieces at once. Pieces often stick together. Gently stir and break them up while frying.

They are done when they are golden brown and float to the top.

Remove and place on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Lightly salt pieces.

Toss in hot sauce mixture.

Serve with Blue Cheese or Ranch Dressing/Dipping Sauce. It’s easy to make your own! However, I used a delicious store-bought Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dip. It’s natural, healthy, and is refrigerated at the grocery store.

Enjoy!