My twist on Mac & Cheese

[SuperDave]

I've come up with a twist on mac & cheese that will now be my way to make smoked mac & cheese from here on out.  Smoking the whole pan of mac & cheese was good but seemed like it only gave smoke to the top and would cause the noodles to absorb all the sauce to the point of being drier than I liked.  My solution was to smoke my cheese sauce alone and then assemble the noodles and sauce at the end.  A couple minutes under the broiler created what I think is the perfect smoked mac & cheese.

 

[old sarge]

Looks like winner to me.

 

[EFGM]

Dave, do you use cold smoked cheese as an ingredient or just use regular cheese?

 

[SuperDave]

Dave, do you use cold smoked cheese as an ingredient or just use regular cheese?

Regular.

I’m a cook by sight kind of guy so I’ll do the best I can at converting it into quantities. I make the sauce on the stove top and then transfer to a foil pan and into the smoker.

1 pound bag of large elbow noodles
1/2 pound American cheese
1/2 pound medium cheddar cheese
1/2 pound Colby jack cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
1 can Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup
2 cups half & half (If the sauce appears too thick, just add a little milk)
3 tablespoons butter (or bacon grease)
1 cup bread crumbs or cracker crumbs for topping

*optional
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dry mustard
crisp bacon bits

 

[pargolfr2003]

Very interesting technique. I've made mac n cheese many times and have had some successes and failures. Yeah sometimes it turns out a little dry so I'll have to try this method. Thanks Dave!