What Are Texas Roadhouse's Rattlesnake Bites, Exactly?

Baskets of rattlesnake bites that the Texas Roadhouse team place onto dining tables don't require any anti-venom. These chewy morsels of spicy cheese balls are fried to golden perfection and are presented alongside sauce for dipping. Lovers of gooey, stringy mozzarella sticks and fried appetizers like the cheesy Greek saganaki and jalapeño poppers will appreciate the crunchy texture that is followed by peppery, creamy mounds of Monterey Jack cheese. 

While you can find other fried cheesy appetizers at other restaurants, Texas Roadhouse's rattlesnake bites come with a side of a creamy, spicy dip, but you can get creative with other sauces of your choosing. When tucked into your preferred dish of barbecue sauce, ranch dressing, or honey mustard, these golden cheese balls will disappear almost as quickly as they arrived.

If you were to try to make a copycat recipe at home for yourself, you may be looking at several hours of prep and kitchen work before you can nip into one. Thankfully, Texas Roadhouse orders arrive to diners on demand, no cooking or cleaning required. But if you do decide to attempt to make these spherical poppers to snack on at home, the flavors and level of heat is placed into your own hands, and you can choose the kinds of cheeses and peppers that you'd like to taste in your unique recipe.

From combinations of mozzarella and pepper jack cheeses to spoonfuls of cream cheese and goat cheese mixed with ancho chile powder, smoked paprika, or habanero peppers, you can go wild experimenting with ingredients to make your own version of Texas Roadhouse rattlesnake bites. The breading you use to roll the cheese balls through can also be modified with anything from DIY everything bagel seasoning or powdered sriracha. Texas Roadhouse also conveniently offers a Texas Roadhouse Rattlesnake Bites Seasoning Blend if you're looking to mirror similar flavors of the dishes found at the restaurant without too much experimentation on your part. 

Once the seasoning blend is stocked in your kitchen, you can also use this punchy powder to flavor popcorn, main dishes like steaks and salmon fillets, or spruce up a sweet heat BLT. Yet after pulling batches of these crispy, crunchy cheese balls out of the basket of an air fryer or from a vat of boiling oil, this appetizer is best served warm. However, a platter of your rattlesnake bite creations would surely land well on a grazing table set up with various sauces at your next party.