smoked mac and cheese??

[dfess1]

Anyone ever made this? Does it absorb any smoke profile? Looking for something "different". Thoughts, ideas?

 

[weirdboy]

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.

 

[HexKrak]

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]

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.

 

[Tnoodle]

It would be awesome, especially if you made it in a dutch oven and threw the whole thing in there. I bet a half hour would be plenty for mesquite or hickory but with a fruit wood it might take longer.

 

[dfess1]

well, i can get the smoker up pretty high in temp. This would have to be the last thing to go on though. The smoker in my sig is basically a charcoal fed oven.

 

[weirdboy]

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]

My trick is cheezits. They even have smoked ones now. That would be overkill for you though.

 

[weirdboy]

Oh yeah cheezits or goldfish also work well.

 

[dfess1]

how bout smoked mac and cheese on top of pulled pork. a BBQ shepards pie if you will...

 

[weirdboy]

how bout smoked mac and cheese on top of pulled pork. a BBQ shepards pie if you will...

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.

 

[jouimette]

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"?

 

[dfess1]

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]

how bout smoked mac and cheese on top of pulled pork. a BBQ shepards pie if you will...

that sounds interesting

 

[dataz722]

how bout smoked mac and cheese on top of pulled pork. a BBQ shepards pie if you will...

Good god man, that sounds amazing.

 

[paulster2626]

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...

 

[dfess1]

that sounds interesting

Good god man, that sounds amazing.

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...

 

[Melana]

how bout smoked mac and cheese on top of pulled pork. a BBQ shepards pie if you will...

OMFG i have to do this.

 

[cheezydemon3]

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.

 

[dfess1]

ehh, we'll see how it goes. you may be right but i'll give it a go either way. And yes, i'm putting crumbled bacon and browned panko bread crumbs on top of this.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Good MAN!

What side dishes will we be enjoying?

 

[paulster2626]

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.

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]

Oh you could smoke the mo-fo out of that cornbread, and make it with chipotles to boot!

 

[dfess1]

Good MAN!

What side dishes will we be enjoying?

Salt potatoes
Honey glazed cornbread
ABT's

 

[cheezydemon3]

Salt potatoes
Honey glazed cornbread
ABT's

Honey glazed!!!! *drools*

Albanian berry tarts!!!???!? WOW!!

(ABT's?)

 

[dfess1]

I know ABT's as Atomic Buffalo Turds. jalepno peppers with cream cheese/sugar/onion mixture inside, with a cocktail weenie, wrapped in bacon and smoked.

 

[dataz722]

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.

 

[dfess1]

i put a little Trubino sugar in there. and some minced onion. that's all.

 

[cheezydemon3]

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.

 

[dfess1]

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.

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