Recipe:
The Pasta and Cheese Sauce:
1 LB noodles Cavatelli, shell or elbow macaroni
1 tbsp salt more or less depending on taste to add to the water
½ cup butter salted
½ cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp Big D’s Carolina Mustard (can use dijon or mustard powder)
1 ½ cups heavy cream
½ cup milk (more as needed)
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup Gouda cheese fresh grated
1 cup Gruyere cheese fresh grated
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese fresh grated
For the panko bread topping
¼ cup butter, salted and melted
1 tbsp Heath Riles Honey Chipotle Rub or bbq rub or your favorite seasoning
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Cooking Instructions
- Boil pasta noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt to the water
with pasta noodles. Boil pasta to al dente, or a minute shy of the cook time on the
box (because the cooked macaroni noodles will continue cooking in the smoker).
Drain and set aside. - Preheat your pellet grill. 225 degrees F.
- Make the roux. Add butter to a large 12″ cast iron skillet on Medium-High
temperature. Once butter is melted, add flour. Stir regularly. When the roux starts to
bubble, turn the burner down to Medium heat. Continue stirring until mixture is smooth, about 5-7 minutes, until it turns light brown. - Finish the sauce. Grab the skillet with the roux, turn to medium heat, add mustard. While whisking, slowly pour in heavy cream.
Once it comes to a boil, turn down to medium-low to get a simmer. Add in milk
and whisk until smooth and creamy. Add 1-2 tbsp more of milk as needed to get the
sauce to the consistency of smooth pancake batter. - Add cheese and noodles. Turn the burner to low and add cream cheese.
Whisk until combined. Then slowly add in grated cheeses, stirring regularly until
combined. Turn off the burner and add cooked pasta. Stir to combine and fully mix
pasta with smoked mac cheese sauce.
- Make the crispy bread topping. To a mixing bowl, add melted butter, bbq
rub / seasoning, and panko bread crumbs. Whisk to combine. Add a layer of crispy
topping on smoked mac and cheese prepared in the skillet. - Smoke mac and cheese with gouda, gruyere, and cheddar for 1-2 hours as
desired. Mac and cheese is done smoking when the panko topping is lightly
browned and crispy. The longer you leave it on the smoker, the more smoky it will
taste. (We usually take it off around 60-90 minutes) - Serve. Mac and cheese will be hot. To serve immediately, leave uncovered
and let it cool until it’s safe enough to eat. Great leftover, too! Enjoy!