Smažený sýr
Czech fried cheese: a thick slab of Edam in breadcrumbs, shallow-fried to a crisp crust, with boiled potatoes and tartar sauce.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
A slice of Edam a centimetre and a half thick is coated in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, twice over if you want insurance against leaks, and shallow-fried until the crust is deep gold and the cheese inside has only just melted. It is served with boiled potatoes or fries and a spoon of tartar sauce, here mayonnaise stirred with chopped gherkin, onion, mustard and lemon. Eat it at once. The window between melted and escaped is about four minutes, and a cold smažák is a sad thing.
What you'll need
12 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Ingredients
- Coating
- To serve
- Tartar sauce
Ingredients
Ingredients
- Gouda cheese, Edam is the Czech standard; a young Gouda is the closest substitute. Cut into 4 slabs 1.5 cm thick600 g
- Neutral oil, for shallow frying300 ml
- Salt, for the potato water4.9 ml
Coating
- Wheat flour60 g
- Egg, beaten with a pinch of salt2
- Breadcrumbs, fine dried150 g
To serve
- Potato, peeled, quartered800 g
Tartar sauce
- Mayonnaise150 g
- Dill pickles, finely chopped2
- Onion, very finely chopped½ small
- Mustard4.9 ml
- Lemon juice4.9 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes, and keep warm. Stir the tartar sauce ingredients together and chill.
22 min
Step 2
Set out three plates: flour, beaten egg, breadcrumbs. Coat each cheese slab in flour, then egg, then crumbs, pressing them on. Then do egg and crumbs a second time, making sure the edges are sealed.
10 min
Tip: The double coat is what stops the cheese running out into the oil. Do not skip it.
Step 3
Heat 1 cm of oil in a frying pan to 170°C, when a crumb sizzles at once. Fry the cheese two at a time, 2 to 3 minutes a side, until deep golden. Lift out with tongs onto kitchen paper.
12 min170°C
Watch: Too hot and the crust burns before the middle melts. Too cool and the cheese leaks. A crumb that fizzes briskly is right.
Step 4
Serve immediately with the potatoes and a generous spoon of tartar sauce. Cut in and expect it to run.
2 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 1359 kcal
- Protein
- 49.5 g
- Carbs
- 80.1 g
- Fat
- 93.6 g
- Saturated fat
- 35.6 g
- Fibre
- 6.2 g
- Sugar
- 3.8 g
- Sodium
- 1704 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Milk
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Vegetarian
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Boiled potatoes → Fries
The pub standard. Nobody will object.
Tips
- Chill the breaded cheese 20 minutes before frying if you have time. The crust sets and holds better.
- Hermelín, the Czech camembert, fried the same way is the fancier pub version.
History & culture
Pub food, canteen food, and the vegetarian option on every Czech menu since long before menus had vegetarian options. At night it is sold in a bread roll with tartar sauce from hatches in the wall, smažák v housce. Visitors mock it as a joke dish and then order a second one. Children request it for birthdays.
Breadcrumb frying is Austro-Hungarian schnitzel technique turned on cheese. It shows up in Czech cookbooks after the Second World War and the state canteen system of the 1950s to 1980s made it universal, as a meat-free Friday dish that filled people up. Slovakia has the same thing as vyprážaný syr. It is a product of socialist menus more than peasant tradition, and nobody pretends otherwise.
Traditional
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Smažený sýr take?
45 min all in — 15 min prep, 30 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 4 plates. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Easy.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Milk, Wheat, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian.
7 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Frying pan, Saucepan, Mixing bowl, Tongs.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp (for the potato water).
What can I use instead?
Boiled potatoes → Fries. The pub standard. Nobody will object.
What should I watch for?
Too hot and the crust burns before the middle melts. Too cool and the cheese leaks. A crumb that fizzes briskly is right.
Any tips from this recipe?
Chill the breaded cheese 20 minutes before frying if you have time. The crust sets and holds better. Hermelín, the Czech camembert, fried the same way is the fancier pub version.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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