What do you guys think of this mac and cheese recipe?

[hammb]

For my money Mac and cheese needs a bechamel. Without it you'll never get the right texture.

Well I suppose you could use processed cheeses to get a creamy texture without bechamel, but I'll pass on those.

 

[krex1010]

For my money Mac and cheese needs a bechamel. Without it you'll never get the right texture.

Well I suppose you could use processed cheeses to get a creamy texture without bechamel, but I'll pass on those.

I always mix my cheese into a bechamel too. About 5 cups of milk per pound of pasta, and about 6 tblsp of flour/butter to thicken...and 6 cups of shredded cheese. Some minced onion cooked in the butter to start, salt and pepper to taste, little bit of minced fresh tyme, and some smashed up cheeze it crackers to top it.

 

[hammb]

I always mix my cheese into a bechamel too. About 5 cups of milk per pound of pasta, and about 6 tblsp of flour/butter to thicken...and 6 cups of shredded cheese. Some minced onion cooked in the butter to start, salt and pepper to taste, little bit of minced fresh tyme, and some smashed up cheeze it crackers to top it.

I do mine a bit thicker...4 cups of milk per pound of pasta. But if you want a more "saucy" mac & cheese, then certainly more milk

I do a classic bechamel with nutmeg, whole milk, flour, butter. I always add dijion mustard, sriracha, white pepper, salt, and a LOT of celery seed. Most people love that addition.


For cheese I do 1# of medium or sharp cheddar and 1/2# of Gruyere for every 1# of dried pasta (of which Cavatappi is the only choice, IMO).

Lastly, and to me this is huge, NEVER EVER EVER use pre-shredded bagged cheeses. They pretty much all contain wood pulp as an anti-clumping agent and I think makes a world's of difference in the texture of your final Mac & Cheese. Block cheese is cheaper, doesn't contain that unwanted ingredient, and really isn't THAT much work to shred (especially if you've got a food processor).

 

[SmokinJohn]

I came across this recipe for mac and cheese on google. Apparently several different Q joints in Georgia use this same recipe. I've done quite a few mac and cheese recipes over the years that had 20+ ingredients and I've never really been happy with one yet. Just thought I'd throw this simple one out there and see what you guys thought.

Salt
1 (16-ounce) box rigatoni noodles
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
4 ounces grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups heavy cream
Freshly ground pepper (if desired), to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat and season with salt. Add pasta and cook until just tender, about 12 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain well in a colander without rinsing.

Transfer the pasta to a large bowl. Add half the cheddar, Monterey Jack and Parmesan, reserving the rest for the top. Add heavy cream and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer the noodle mixture to a medium buttered gratin dish or casserole. Sprinkle remaining cheddar, Monterey Jack and Parmesan cheeses on top. Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 30 to 45 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool slightly before serving.

It looks good to me.

It also looks to be a faster prep time over the one I make.

 

[highergr0und]

Looks good.

Maybe it's me, but I really like simple, classic mac and cheese. When people try to get too fancy with it, it never really hits the spot for me. Cheesy noodles is where it's at.

 

[AtlGator]

So for another POV on this, I didn't see that any recipe had eggs in it!

 

[SmokinJohn]

So I made a batch of this yesterday....had a really good taste, but the sauce ended up a little clumpy, like it was broken (even though it was never really "whole"). I don't know what the texture was supposed to be, so I can't say if it was something I did, or some other reason.

This could be due to the heat breaking down the heavy cream and/or the parmesan not blending with the jack and cheddar. Non-melting cheeses add a "graininess" to the mix.