Smoked Mac and Cheese

Elevate your mac and cheese on the grill. A great side dish for your next cookout.

Note: Recipe is for 1 batch. The pictures shown are a double batch I did for a party.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup unsalted butter

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon mustard powder

• 2 cups milk

• 3 cups grated cheddar

• 2 cups gouda cheese

• 4 ounces cream cheese

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon pepper

• 1 pound elbow macaroni (use a good ribbed noodle)

Topping

• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

• 3 tablespoons melted butter

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Directions

1. Cook the noodles

   1. Add the elbow macaroni to boiling, salted water, and cook to al dente (tender but firm).

2. Create the cheese sauce

   1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour to the butter and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.

   2. Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese, salt, and pepper to the saucepan. Continue to stir the mixture until the cheese has melted. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and stir until the pasta is completely coated with the cheese sauce. Remove from the heat.

3. Prep the topping

   1. In a small bowl, toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter.

4. Assemble

   1. Coat the inside of a 3-quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

   2. Pour the mac and cheese into the casserole dish and spread it out evenly.

   3. Top the mac and cheese with the breadcrumbs.

5. Cook

   1. Cook on indirect heat at 225°F.

   2. Allow the mac-and-cheese to smoke until bubbly and golden brown. To get a good smoke test, this could be 2 hours. Even better yet if you have meat smoking at the same time!

Want to make them even better?

Add some pulled pork and drizzle some great BBQ sauce on the top!