St. Louis Style Toasted Ravioli

nmlawrence's Note:

Authentic St. Louis Style toasted ravioli that you can find on the menu of any resturaunt in St. Louis. When I moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, I was suprised to find out that no one had even HEARD of these tasty treats that I had so often taken for granted when I lived in St. Louis. What is an out-of-towner, or in my case a relocated St. Louis Native, to do? Follow this recipe of course! Memories of Imo's or Cecil Whittakers pizza will surely ensue...ENJOY!

• Total Time: 50 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 (16 ounce) package beef ravioli (fresh or frozen -thaw if frozen)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt (optional)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
• fryer
• vegetable oil (See your Deep Fryer or Fry Daddy Instructions on proper amount needed)
• aluminum foil
• paper towels

Directions:

1. Prep:
2. Heat vegetable oil in deep fryer or skillet to 350 degrees for deep frying. It is ready when a tiny splash of water makes the oil sizzle. (CAREFUL WITH THIS METHOD, IT SOMETIMES MAKES THE OIL POP. DON’T LEAN OVER THE FRYER, AND USE AN OVEN MIT(S) TO PROTECT YOUR HANDS AND ARMS!)
3. Mix water with eggs and beat well, set aside. Pour Italian bread crumbs and garlic salt(optional) in a bowl, set aside. Pour flour in a separate bowl, set aside. I have found that lining the ingredients up in this order makes things more efficient and less messy; Flour, egg mix, and bread crumbs.
4. Roll out a 13-15in section of aluminum foil. This is where the breaded ravioli can set until you are ready to fry them.
5. Roll out a 13-15in section of paper towels, 3-4 layers thick. If you have one, place a cooling rack on top of the paper towels. This is where the fried ravioli will drain.
6. Cook:.
7. Dip ravioli in flour, then in the egg mixture, and then roll ravioli in the bread crumbs. Ravioli should be completely and thickly covered in bread crumbs. If you are having a hard time making the bread crumbs stay on thick, re-dip in egg mix and roll in bread crumbs again. Set breaded ravioli on the aluminum foil until you are ready to fry them.
8. Depending on the size of your fryer, place 2-5 raviolis in the fryer at a time. USE A METAL SPOON TO TRANSPORT RAVIOLIS TO THE FRYER, AND USE AN OVEN MIT ON THE HAND YOU ARE HOLDING THE SPOON. NEVER USE YOUR BARE HANDS! Stir occasionally to make sure raviolis aren’t sticking together. It should take about 1 minute to cook, or until the raviolis are crispy and golden brown. Remove from the fryer and spread out on the paper towels/draining rack.
9. Serve HOT with you favorite marinara or spaghetti sauce!
10. Note* - After they are fried, Raviolis can be frozen until you are ready to eat them. To heat frozen Raviolis, heat oven to 375 degrees and cook 10-15 minutes, or until sizzling hot. Monitor carefully, you don’t want them to burn!

Reviews

[Chef #281719]

I tried your recipe tonight and it was a major hit. I'm from Oakville, MO about 20 miles from St. Louis. I joined the Navy and ended up staying in CA. Really took me back. The only change I made is that I had a problem with the egg sticking to the flour, so I went the 1 egg with 2 table spoon milk mixture and then coated them with the bread crumbs. The ravioli and came out completely coated and perfectly golden brown and crunchy. Thank you so much. This will be a definate regular. The freezing/reheating instructions are great. I made St. Louis style ribs also and we are stuffed with left overs and no way am I going let those go to waste. It was an awesome St. Louis night at my house. Thanks again.

[Kelley Maillard]

I'm a St. Louis native living overseas, and this recipe was just the remedy I needed to cure a touch of homesickness! To speed up the breading process, I put the flour, the eggs and the breadcrumbs in the three separate tupperware containers with tight-fitting lids. I put the raviolis in the first container and shook vigorously, then I repeated with the following containers, in the suggested order. Worked like a charm! I used the Italian Breadcrumbs Italian Breadcrumbs and served the ravioli with Homemade Marinara Sauce Homemade Marinara Sauce. Delicious! I will make these again and again. Thank you so much for sharing!

[littlethibault]

There are a lot of recipes out there that claim to be St. Louis toasted ravioli, and just are not. This is NOT one of them! Thank you so much for posting, very very similiar to the Imo's I've been craving!!!