food

7 Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

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Better than a box. A lot better.

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Is The Bacon the right place to share recipes? Is food nerdy enough? I certainly think it can be. And we do have the word “bacon” in the name. And I am calling this little area “sidemeat” (which is technically 2 words). So macaroni and cheese it is. This can be a little pricey, but it’s worth it. Splurge once in a while, and use the leftovers of your $7 to $12 wedges of cheese to experiment with other cheesey recipes.

I’m going to give you the standard list of ingredients, but I want to point out a couple of things first.  You probably won’t find a nice little bag of shredded fontina or gruyere, so go to your grocery store’s cheese counter and pick up an actual block or wedge.  Even for the cheeses that you can find bagged or pre-shredded, I’d recommend picking up a block/wedge anyway.  Cheese ain’t cheap, so buy what you can pre-packaged if you must, but remember, you’ll have lots of cheese left over, about half of it will have a decent shelf life if stored properly, and cheese is one of those things more people should explore anyway.

Also, if you don’t have everything on this list, see my note directly underneath for some suggestions/substitutions/other options.  You may be able to get away with it even if you’re missing a couple of items.

• 3/4 to 1 cup of shredded quality sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of shredded gruyere
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of shredded fontina
• 1/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese (parmigiano reggiano for best results)
• 1/4 cup of shredded asiago
• 1/4 cup of shredded sharp provolone
• 1/4 cup of shredded pecorino romano 
• 2 cups milk (whole milk for best results) plus 1/2 cup on standby
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground mustard or prepared mustard
• 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• dash of freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 strips of thick bacon
• 1/2 onion, diced (white, yellow, or red onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups of elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, finely ground

This is my 100% idealized list of ingredients, but it’s worth noting that some substitutions and omissions can be made.  For instance, you can leave out the bacon, onion, and garlic if you want.  You can also omit either 1 or 2 of the hard cheeses (asiago, sharp provolone, pecorino) if you must, though obviously I recommend all 4 and I would strongly advise keeping the parmesan. You can also get away with omitting the breadcrumbs, but you won’t have quite the same upper crust.  Finally, I would actually suggest leaving out the nutmeg if you don’t have the fresh seeds available.  The pre-ground stuff is fine for mulled wine and pumpkin pies, but it does not belong in this recipe.  Only use nutmeg if you have whole seeds available that you can grate yourself.  You can also use other noodles similar to elbows if you like, just keep it at 2 cups.

Step 1: Grate Your Cheeses!

Have you ever grated multiple wedges of cheese before?  If so, you’ll know that it takes a while.  If not, you’re in for a surprise.  It takes a bit of time and energy to shred 3 cups of cheese, so it’s best to get this done ahead of time.

For the cheddar, fontina, and gruyere, you’ll noticed that I’ve listed a range when it comes to amount.  This is because measuring shredded cheese can be somewhat inexact.  As long as you have somewhere between 3/4 and 1 cup of cheddar and between 1/2 and 3/4 each of gruyere and fontina,  you’re good.  You can go ahead and shred these 3 and set them aside, all in the same bowl.

You’re going to want to keep the next 4 cheeses separate from your 3 soft cheeses.  Be sure you are shredding them, not grating them.  Once you have 1/4 cup each of parmesan, pecorino, asiago, and sharp provolone, mix these 4 together.  From this, you want to take a heaping 1/4 cup and add it to your mixture of 3 soft cheeses.  Save the rest of it for spaghetti night or another Italian dish or a salad.  This is a great little all-purpose blend that can be used anywhere you’d normally use parmesan for an extra boost of flavor.

You should now have a bowl with all 3 of the soft cheeses and a heaping 1/4 cup of your “Italian blend” all together.  Go ahead and set this aside.  It’ll be best to have this at room temperature.

Step 2:  Starting the Sauce

We want to turn those 4 raw strips of bacon into cooked bacon bits.  How you do this is up to you; some people prefer to cook the bacon whole and then crumble it up.  However, I find it much more effective to dice the bacon first, and then cook it.  I take all 4 strips and stack them, and make one cut length-wise, then go down the strip and dice.

Cook the bacon thoroughly, and then remove from the pan but leave the grease.  Make sure the bacon/bacon bits are placed on a paper towel to properly drain.  In the grease, go ahead and throw in the diced onions.  When the onions are almost done (translucent), throw in the garlic.  Let it cook for about a minute, and then remove from heat.

Transfer the cooked onions and garlic to a bowl and set aside.  It’s normal for some of the bacon grease to tag along, though I do recommend using a slotted spoon to remove the onions from the pan instead of dumping the entire contents directly.

Step 3:  Start the Macaroni

Now you can get going with the noodles.  Get a big pot, fill it with water, and put it on the stove to start boiling.  Also be sure to salt your water adequately; remember, pasta water should be about as salty as the ocean.

You’ll want to go ahead and cook the elbows according to the package instructions, with one small caveat.  I recommend pulling the noodles just before they’re done, maybe about 1 to 2 minutes early.  This isn’t because we want undercooked pasta, it’s because these noodles are going to end up cooking a little more in the oven, and we want to be careful that their time in the oven doesn’t overcook them.

However, if you’re uncomfortable playing with pasta cooking times, go ahead and cook it like the box says.  Overcooked pasta is better than undercooked pasta, in my opinion at least.

Once your noodles are finished, drain them, but do not rinse.  While you’re waiting for the water to boil and the macaroni to cook, you can actually get started on the next step.

Step 4:  Making the Sauce

While the macaroni is cooking, it’s time to get started on the sauce.  Grab a medium sized pot, and toss in your onions, bacon bits, and the 2 tablespoons of butter.  Stick it over medium-low heat and wait for the butter to melt.

Once the butter has melted, stir in the 2 tablespoons of flour.  Stir it in well.  It will begin to absorb the butter and create a sort of paste with the bacon and onions; don’t worry, this is normal.  Continue to stir well and let the paste cook for a minute or two (this is to ensure we don’t get that “raw flour” taste).

Now slowly pour in the 2 cups of milk and prepare to add the seasonings: salt, pepper, red pepper, mustard, Worcestershire, and nutmeg.  With the seasonings in, bump up the heat to medium and start stirring.  Don’t leave the stove during this step.  You’ve got plenty of wiggle room before something horrible happens to the milk, but it’s best to stay attentive.

 

Stir, stir, stir.  It won’t be a very attractive mixture at first.  The flour/bacon/butter/onion paste will look lumpy and weird in the midst of the milk, but that’s ok.  Just keep stirring and as the milk heats up, everything will start to integrate.  Pretty soon the mixture will thicken.  When it thickens and when the milk just barely starts to steam, cut the heat, and remove the pot from the heat.

Place about half of your cheese mixture into the sauce and stir well.  When it’s mostly mixed in, go ahead and put the other half in and stir that in as well.  Having the cheese at room temperature helps move this step along.  Go ahead and keep stirring until all the cheese is well incorporated and you have a nice smooth sauce.  Bear in mind that there will be some lumps left over, but they should just be bits of bacon and onion.

At this point, you may feel the sauce is too thick.  Keep in mind that this sauce will eventually enter the oven and thicken up a little more, so you may want to make it just a tad thinner depending on preference.  To thin the sauce, add some of that standby 1/2 cup of milk, 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time.  Stir until it’s all one homogenous mixture again and repeat as needed.  Usually I end up mixing in about 1/4 cup of milk during this part, although it does change.  Simple variables such as the brand of cheese can affect the result, so I always leave myself a little room during this step to add milk as needed.  Be careful not to add in too much milk at once or you may have a hard time mixing it in without the help of some additional heat.  This is definitely doable, but if you don’t know what you’re doing, you run the risk of breaking your sauce.

You may also want to give the sauce a taste at this point to make sure it’s seasoned to your liking.  If you feel like it needs an extra dash of salt or pepper, now is the time.

Step 5:  Putting It All Together

Preheat your oven to 350º.

Find yourself a medium-large casserole dish, but make sure it’s deep rather than shallow.  You can use a square/rectangular or a circular dish, but I’ll let you in on a little tip.  If you like those crusty corners in casseroles (think lasagna or Thanksgiving dressing/stuffing), use a square/rectangular dish.  The corners receive twice as much heat, which is what gives us those crusty corners.  If you can’t stand crusty corners, go with a circle!

Mix the elbows (preferably still hot, but well-drained and not rinsed) with the cheese sauce (preferably at least warm) thoroughly.  Put the mixture in the casserole dish.  Grab the breadcrumbs.  Some people like to make their breadcrumbs from scratch, and although I’m all for scratch, breadcrumbs are so plain anyway that I don’t have a preference.  Store bought breadcrumbs are a shortcut that I’m never ashamed to take.  Spread the 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs over the top of the macaroni and cheese evenly; you may need slightly more or less than 1/4 cup, don’t sweat it.  Just give the top a nice dusting.

Place the dish into the preheated oven uncovered for about 25 to 30 minutes.  The top should be a nice golden brown.

Step 6: Serving

I know you’ve worked hard on this dish so far, but hold on!  Don’t dig in just yet.  When you remove the dish from the oven, you should set it aside at let it rest for at least 15 to 20 minutes (as you should all casseroles) to allow some of the heat to dissipate and disperse evenly throughout the dish.  Don’t worry, it’ll still be plenty hot in 20 minutes.

This won’t be the kind of ooey gooey mac & cheese out of a box that you slop into a bowl, this will be a formed and composed mass of cheese and noodle, but believe me, it’s a million times better.  Take a big spoon and dig in!

Other Possibilities

What I’ve listed above is my ideal version of the dish.  Sometimes I make adjustments based on what is or isn’t on hand, but if I could have it perfect every time, this is what I’d use.

However, it’s worth noting that you can make some simple variations on this recipe to suit it to your tastes.  If you love onions, add a whole one!  If there are some particular herbs you enjoy, throw them in during the seasoning step.  You can eve play with the cheeses a little – but be careful.

If those slightly funky Italian cheeses aren’t your thing, you can go with just the cheddar, fontina, and gruyere.  I like the proportions I’ve listed above the best, but you can play around with these, or even substitute something similar.  Just don’t go too heavy on strong cheeses.  The finished dish may taste good, but it’ll be too rich to eat much of if you throw in 2 cups of parmesan cheese.  With so many cheeses mixed together, you probably won’t be able to discern each and every one of them, but they do come together in fine form.

Gouda is another popular choice.  If you want to go heavier on the bacon and accentuate its smokey flavor, go about 1/4 cup less on the cheddar, gruyere, and fontina, and use 3/4 cup of smoked gouda.  Or remove the gruyere altogether; I tend to think that the smoke flavor overrides the subtle, nutty notes of gruyere.

Monterey Jack and Colby, or Colby Jack, are also popular cheeses with mac and cheese recipes.  If you’re ballin’ on a budget you can go half cheddar and half colby jack, and though I don’t think it’s a bad combination, I think it ends up tasting a lot closer to “run of the mill” mac and cheese than it should.  It’s still better than the box, but it doesn’t possess that “oomph” or complexity of what I’ve listed above.  Keeping the Italian cheeses in the mix (or at least 2 of them) can help liven up the somewhat ordinary cheddar/colby jack combo.

I made several batches of mac and cheese just to experiment with what I call “the Italian blend.”  What I listed above is what I like best, but the truth is, here’s where you’ve got the most room for creativity, especially if you’re already knowledgeable when it comes to different cheeses.  For instance this is a great time to play with blue cheese if you’re into them.  Novices should not attempt this – you could ruin your whole batch by using too much of this fun-filled funk.  Note that I recommend using blue cheese instead of hard Italian cheeses, not in addition too.  You don’t want too many strong flavors competing at once.  If you don’t believe me, stick a few shavings of pecorino in your mouth along with a crumble of Stilton.

My 1:1:1:1 ratio of parmesan to asiago to sharp provolone to pecorino can be adjusted as well, especially if you’re already familiar with one or more of these cheeses and want to bump up the flavor of a particular one.  For me, parmesan adds that familiar, comfortable funk that we all know.  Asiago adds a touch of sweetness while the sharp provolone has a slightly sourish twinge to it, and the pecorino is like parmesan squared and contributes nicely with its pleasant bite.

In the end, macaroni and cheese is a great blank canvas when it comes to tasting cheese.  The possibilities are endless, just remember that generally speaking, soft cheeses are milder, melt better, and usually tend to be gooey-er.  Harder cheeses don’t melt as well, but that’s ok, because it takes a lot less.  They’re typically stronger, funkier, and saltier.  Once you nail the basics of making a bechamel sauce (or perhaps more correctly a mornay sauce), which is what we did here, this dish is yours to do what you will with.  Take a chance and experiment.  I’ve been itching for a way to work Manchego into the dish, but I’m not too sure where it fits yet!  Also keep in mind that there is such a thing as too many cheeses and not every flavor will work together!  But part of discovering recipes that work is finding out the ones that don’t work…I’d just hate for you to waste all that cheese!

Have you tried my recipe yet?  Got an awesome one of your own?  Or a great suggestion?  Let me know!

Written by The Cubist