smoked mac and cheese??
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You mean, making the mac and cheese, and then putting the whole thing on the smoker?
I have made mac & cheese with meats and cheeses that I put on the smoker. I also used a bit of stout in there. I personally like a nice crispy top on the mac & cheese, so I prefer baking it at pretty high temps for a short time.
I have made mac & cheese with meats and cheeses that I put on the smoker. I also used a bit of stout in there. I personally like a nice crispy top on the mac & cheese, so I prefer baking it at pretty high temps for a short time.
I've not done it, but both the cheese and noodles will absorb plenty of smoke flavor so I imagine that it'd get quite a bit of flavor. I have done the same as weirdboy though, and really liked the addition of the smoked flavor from the meats and cheeses.
Beezy
Well-Known Member
I add smoked cheddar and bacon to mine. It's great with the smoke but IMO putting it a smoker would be too much. I would at least give it a try if someone offered me some.
If it were me, I'd make the dish in a dutch oven or casserole dish, top it off with some gruyere mixed with crushed corn flakes and/or ritz crackers and maybe some minced shallots, and then stick the whole thing on the smoker at something like 400-425F for 20-30 minutes or so until the cheese on top gets brown and bubbly. That should be plenty of time to imbue the dish with smokiness without it completely overwhelming the rest of the flavors.
Beezy
Well-Known Member
My trick is cheezits. They even have smoked ones now. That would be overkill for you though.
Oh yeah cheezits or goldfish also work well.
There is a local food truck called Grilled Cheese Truck that sells a sandwich that is basically mac & cheese and pulled pork smashed together. It is DELICIOUS.
EDIT: Oh yeah, there are also carmelized onions on there.
I have put a block of really good Swiss cheese wrapped in brined brown papertowels and cheese clothe for an hour on the coolest spot of my sidecar smoker while smoking porkbutt at 215-250 during the last smoke/woodchip addition. Using this cheese to make Mac n cheese at about 25% of the total cheese makes a delicious dish(I also add a little diced smoked pepperoni). I have topped pulledpork sandwiches with it, with and without coleslaw. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!!!!
BTW, have you ever tried coleslaw with "smoked vinegar"?
BTW, have you ever tried coleslaw with "smoked vinegar"?
dfess1
Well-Known Member
So I made my mac and cheese recipe last night, and smoked it for 2 hours @ 230. Came out pretty damn good, with a nice smoke profile. Not over powering (used apple), but not super faint either. I think this will go really well over the top of pulled pork.
toolboxdiver
Well-Known Member
that sounds interesting
dataz722
Well-Known Member
Good god man, that sounds amazing.
paulster2626
Well-Known Member
Thank you so much for this idea.
It's about smoked shoulder time, and while the beast is cooking, I can make up a batch of mac+cheese. I'll cook it, let it cool, then smoke it for 30 minutes while the shoulder is off the heat and resting.
It's the equivalent of putting my mac+cheese in primary for a while, then transferring to secondary and dry-hopping. Should end up with a side dish with lots of bite, and some fantastic aroma.
**** I'm so hungry now...
It's about smoked shoulder time, and while the beast is cooking, I can make up a batch of mac+cheese. I'll cook it, let it cool, then smoke it for 30 minutes while the shoulder is off the heat and resting.
It's the equivalent of putting my mac+cheese in primary for a while, then transferring to secondary and dry-hopping. Should end up with a side dish with lots of bite, and some fantastic aroma.
**** I'm so hungry now...
dfess1
Well-Known Member
this is going to be my entry for this years "Smoke'm if you's got'm", along with some salt potatoes and ABT's. Assuming the weather holds that is...
OMFG i have to do this.
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
Smoked Mac and cheese with say.....fried catfish sounds GREAT!!!!!
BUT.............
(yes, that's a BIG but)
With smoked brisket and ribs and smoky beans or whatever else has been on the smoker for 12 hours?
Overkill if you asked me.
I am a flavor JUNKIE. I would have been the first moron to throw EVERYTHING including the salad in the smoker.
And YOU and ME might have enjoyed EVERYTHING smoked.
But mere mortals like SWMBO and your buddies and relatives?
Overkill.
I have learned from pushing the envelope and getting burned too many times.
CONTRAST is what wins.
If your protien is SMOKY, then the mac and cheese probably should have NO bacon or smoke. Nor should the cole slaw or whatever else. Your comment that it would have to be the "last" thing on the smoker leads me to envision a procession of smokiness.
BUT.............
(yes, that's a BIG but)
With smoked brisket and ribs and smoky beans or whatever else has been on the smoker for 12 hours?
Overkill if you asked me.
I am a flavor JUNKIE. I would have been the first moron to throw EVERYTHING including the salad in the smoker.
And YOU and ME might have enjoyed EVERYTHING smoked.
But mere mortals like SWMBO and your buddies and relatives?
Overkill.
I have learned from pushing the envelope and getting burned too many times.
CONTRAST is what wins.
If your protien is SMOKY, then the mac and cheese probably should have NO bacon or smoke. Nor should the cole slaw or whatever else. Your comment that it would have to be the "last" thing on the smoker leads me to envision a procession of smokiness.
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
Good MAN!
What side dishes will we be enjoying?
What side dishes will we be enjoying?
paulster2626
Well-Known Member
You're not bringing me down with you, negative nancy.
Smoked shoulder, with smoked mac + Cheese, and a smoked porter to wash it down. Contrast THIS, mo-fo!
(well, maybe we'll have some corn bread to balance it out a bit...)
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
Oh you could smoke the mo-fo out of that cornbread, and make it with chipotles to boot!
dfess1
Well-Known Member
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
dataz722
Well-Known Member
You add some sugar to your ABTs? I have had a lot of different ones but I don't think i've had any with sugar.
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
right on.
It all sounds VERY good, and if you are serving REAL jalapeno turds, then the audience isn't your run of the mill pedestrian mortals, and the smoked mac and cheese my be perfect.
It all sounds VERY good, and if you are serving REAL jalapeno turds, then the audience isn't your run of the mill pedestrian mortals, and the smoked mac and cheese my be perfect.
dfess1
Well-Known Member
well, it's my entry for the "amateur bbq" comp, as part of the Yard's Brewing Company Smoked Beer fest. I also will have a keg of my own smoked rye pale ale, but that's for me, and people that "know" i have it there. Not the general public...
http://www.yardsbrewing.com/smoke-em.asp
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
Ahhhh! VERY COOL!!!!
Making more sense.
Hope you take all honors!
Making more sense.
Hope you take all honors!
Uberfess
New Member
I can attest that dfess1's smoked mac n cheese came out AMAZING!! Not just saying that b/c I am his wife....I am also his taste tester/assistant Pit Master/brewer! ha! Wishing him luck today at the Yards competition...anyone in the Philly area should go check it out!
cheezydemon3
Well-Known Member
dataz722
Well-Known Member
How'd you do? If it I didn't have to work and it wasn't the end of the month I would have probably come up.
dfess1
Well-Known Member
not so hot. Unfortunatly, there is not really much feed back. Other than I didn't place. That said, I couldn't keep any of my food out there, as it was getting gobbled up by the crowd. Just didn't hit it right with the judges.
dataz722
Well-Known Member
Damn man, that sucks. Was it a sanctioned comp? You should at least get your overall placing if it is.
dfess1
Well-Known Member
No, it was the owner of Yards and two foodies that were judges. I had one guy tell me my ribs werent good because they didnt fall off the bone like the other guys. When i explained that meant they were over cooked, he started to argue with me. I let it be after that. I did get a shout out for my homebrew though.
dataz722
Well-Known Member
Yeah, thats when you just walk away. Probably not something you would even want to win in that case.
Good to hear about the beer though since that is something they really should know.
jpoder
Well-Known Member
That's crap! You had the best BBQ there, Derek! The ABT's were awesome, too. Sorry to hear that you didn't place. Who won...don't tell me it was the guys with the meatballs! That's it...I'm not drinking Yards beer for the next year (and only then if I get to come help you out with this event again next year and drink their free beer)
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