Smoked Mac And Cheese

After watching a ton of Mac And Cheese videos on YouTube, I have the following recipe I have yet to try. I put it together based on what I saw. Plan to try this soon and will edit this page once I have.

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tablespoons Butter
  • 2 Tablespoons Flour
  • 2 Cups Heavy Cream
  • 1LB. Extra Sharp Cheddar (shredded)
  • ½LB. Pepper Jack Cheese (shredded)
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon Onion powder
  • 1 Jalapeno pepper (I prefer to remove the seed and ribs)
  • 2/3 Cup Mayo
  • 3/4 Cup Sour Cream
  • 12 oz Elbow Macaroni Noodles (cooked to al dente as per box directions)

Topping:

  • 1/2 Cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 lb Sliced Bacon
  • 1/3 C. chopped green onions

Making the Cheese Sauce:

We start by making a rue. in a large pot, combine the butter and flour, melt over medium heat – 3-4 minutes. Add the cheese and the heavy cream and continue to cook until the cheese has melted. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and mix. Pour into a season cast iron pan or dutch oven safe for the barbecue.

The Topping:

To prepare the topping cook the bacon until crisp. Take the pieces out of the fry pan and place on paper towels, removing the excess bacon fat. put bacon into a food processor and grind until the bacon pies are about not quite dust, but a little bigger than that. In a bowl, add the three ingredients and mix. By hand, cover the top of the Mac And Cheese evenly. Once done, gently press down on the top.

Cooking:

Soak some Pecan wood in water for at least 15 minutes. Prepare your barbecue for indirect cooking at a temp of 350 degrees F. You need to try to keep it around that temp as best you can. You are only cooking for about an hour. If your temp is lower you will cook longer, if your temp is higher you may only need 45 minutes. Best is 350. Please Mac And Cheese on grill away from the heat. Add some soaked pecan wood chips to the coals. Close the lid, watch the temperature and try not to open the grill for one hour. At this point take the pan off the grill and let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Notes:

The cheese sauce will be very runny but will thicken up on the BBQ.