Mac & Cheese - Ten Top Tips to Perfect Mac & Cheese
Top Ten Tips to the Perfect Mac & Cheese
Crispy top and creamy , cheesy pasta
I wasn’t a big fan of mac and cheese; that was before going to live in Cincinnati Ohio where mac and cheese is the go-to dish at every pot luck lunch, BBQ and every tail-gating get together at the local college ‘football’ games.
In America, macaroni and cheese is taken very seriously, with most families keeping their recipes close to their chest, along with how they vote.
When the lovely Mr G and I moved back to County Durham, my American friends got together and gave me the best goodbye gift I could ever have asked for, although the lovely Mr G would have preferred a truck with giant tyres.
They gave me a book full of treasured family recipes, including all the family secret ingredients, maybe they thought it was ok to share them with me as I was leaving the country?!
Im sharing one of those recipes with you here along with some tips i picked up while i was out there.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life
1) Pasta
Now there is a lot of thought about pasta for mac and cheese, some saying that the pasta should be expensive, some saying that it should be hand made with free range eggs, not me. I think that the pasta i use should be the pasta I’ve got.
One thing that I am stick about for my mac and cheese is that the pasta should have soe shape to it.
I like to use macaroni shaped pasta, for me, it’s the shape that holds the most sauce so I’m always guaranteed a good mouthful of the sauce with each bite.
Apart from that, you go with the kind of pasta that you prefer, the more ridges the better.
A couple of things to remember, if you’re going the whole wheat direction, best to ass more sauce to the pot, it does tend to soak up more than just wheat pasta.
Also, don’t over cook the pasta in the hot water. It’s going to be cooked again in the oven, so over cooking it in the first boil will just make it one big mush. My rule is to follow the cooking instructions on the packet and then take of 2 minutes of the cooking time.
One pack of pasta, usually 500g, will feed at least 6 people as a side dish and 4 hungry people as a main, so adjust any of my recipes according to how many you are serving.
Not the most expensive pasta , but it works really well!
2) To Salt or Not to Salt?
Don’t be afraid to salt the water you’re boiling the pasta in. Some chef once told me that the water should be as salty as sea water, I’m not sure that I have make mine that salty, but I do add a lot of salt to boil it in.
Remember, all the salt added to the water isn’t going to be absorbed into the pasta, so don’t be afraid to add a good couple of table-spoonful’s.
3) Boil It
When I was a kid, my mum cooked dried spaghetti in water that wasn’t boiled. What I mean is, she placed the pasta in cold water and then let it come to a boil while the pasta was already in the pot, result = soggy overcooked spaghetti every time.
Bring the pot of salted water up to a good rolling boil before adding the dried pasta and then follow the packet cooking instructions.
If making mac and cheese, take off a couple of minutes boiling time.
The pasta is going to carry on cooking once the sauce is added and the whole thing is in the oven.
Let the water come to the boil before adding the pasta.
4) Sauce it up
Mac and cheese, it’s all about the sauce, making the sauce from scratch is my preferred way to get as much of it on the pasta.
Starting the sauce with a roux base, is my preferred way of saucing.
If you know how to make a roux, then skip this bit, but a creamy roux sauce is the base of many dishes and I truly think that knowing how to make a roux sauce opens the world up to an amazing amount of foodie possibilities.
It all starts with just a little flour, butter and milk and then the flavours and seasoning is added to make a creamy rich sauce great for a lot of things.
A good gravy, a great sauce for fish and even the good old and much loved in my house, cauliflower cheese.
A glossy creamy roux sauce
5) Make more than you need
Pasta soaks up a lot of liquid, so making more sauce than you think you need; trust me, you’ll need it so that all of the pasta gets coated and becomes slippery with it.
Have you ever had a dry mac and cheese?
It’s not the nicest of things, at least I don’t like it. When the pasta cools, it looks a little congealed.
Now, the lovely Mr G loves mac and cheese when it’s cold, it’s in his top ten list of ‘take leftovers to lunch’ items, so it doesn’t get wasted in my house, and I like to re-energise the pasta by just giving it a little bit of heat in the ping ping machine.
6) The Cheese
Cheese, cheese and more cheese, always more cheese.
There is never enough cheese in a cheese sauce and when you think there is enough in the sauce, add some more.
Don’t limit the choice of cheese to just a good cheddar, really go for it.
As you probably know, food waste isn’t allowed in my house, so if there is even a little corner of cheese left, it goes in the freezer, and when I’m ready to make a sauce, they all come out and get melted together to make a flavoursome creamy meal.
If you’re sticking to just one type of cheese, I recommend a strong flavour, the stronger the better for me and the lovely Mr G.
The more cheese the better
Good for Mac and cheese!
Mature Cheddar
Gouda
Smoked Gouda
Parmesan
Stilton
Gruyere,
Goats Cheese
Boursain
Add the cheese to the hot sauce and don’t rush it.
Once the sauce is the right thickness, it’s time to turn the heat down to very low to add the cheese and keep the heat low to let the cheese melt slowly.
Too hot when the cheese is added and it may split the cheese leaving the sauce curdled and grainy.
Don’t forget that the cheese has to be grated before its added, the smaller the grating the easier it will be to melt.
7) Crunch the top
Soft chewy pasta and creamy cheesy sauce needs to be topped with a crispy crunchy topping, and it’s really easy to add one.
There’s the obvious way, add more grated cheese to the top of the pasta before putting it into a hot oven to bake. The cheese will go brown with delicious crispy bits, my favourite bits and always a chef’s perk.
Then there is my favourite way of adding a crunch.
Bread crumbs with stuff added to them.
Old bread is the best thing for breadcrumbs, so don’t throw any stray slices or crusts away.
My favourite combination is pretty simple.
Once the breadcrumbs are in a bowl, add some vegetable oil and some dried parsley, give it all a mix and layer it on top of the mac and cheese before it goes in the hot oven for a crispy topping.
Here are some great combinations to add to the breadcrumb’s mac and cheese topping
Bacon and Onion
Chives
Spring Onions
Thyme and Rosemary
Black Pepper and Mushroom
Sausage
Breadcrumbs, dried parsley and a little oil for the crunchy topping
8) To Bake or Not to Bake?
Baking the macaroni and cheese or not, is always a subject for debate.
Which camp are you in?
I’ve never eaten macaroni and cheese which has had it’s second cooking on a pot on a burner, and I’m not sure I want to give it a go.
I like a contrasting crispy topping and the corner pieces are my favourite.
Cooking the pasta a little bit al-dente before adding the sauce means that the oven bake not only help get the top crispy but it also gives the pasta a second chance to soak up more of the incredible cheesy sauce.
Topping sprinkled and ready for the oven bake.
9) Add Something Extra
It’s pretty easy to make mac and cheese from a family favourite to a dish that is worthy of a posh dinner event just by adding a couple of more ingredients to the sauce or pasta without breaking the bank.
Upgrade Your Mac & Cheese – Add:
Tinned Salmo
Tinned Tuna
Bacon Bits
Tinned Sweetcorn
Chopped Red Pepper
Spring Onion and Bacon
10) The Rest
Freeze it - Macaroni and cheese is great to freeze which makes it perfect for batch cooking and planning ahead.
Once it’s all assembled with the breadcrumbs on top, double wrap in foil and freeze for up to three months.
Defrost completely and put the whole thing into a hot oven until golden brown on the top and piping how in the middle.
Make it small - Another way to elevate the humble mac and cheese is to make it small and individual.
Individual portions served straight to the table in cute oven proof dishes look amazing on a beautiful table setting.
Serve with a cold green salad and I’m all set for the evening.
Leftovers – If there are any leftovers that you don’t want to freeze (don’t re-freeze if already been frozen) it’s easy to use them in a different way.
Try making mac and cheese arancini.
Roll the cold mac and cheese into balls, roll into beaten egg then into breadcrumbs before deep frying until golden brown and hot and soft in the centre.
Add More – There are ways to make the sauce even more creamy. Add some cream, yoghurt, cottage cheese or burrata to melt in with the addition of the cheese for a more decadent dish.
Crunchy , Creamy Mac & Cheese
What You Need
500g – (1 packet)-Pasta
Sauce
1 Large Onion – Finely Chopped
Milk 1 Litre – See Tip Box
100g Plain Flour
6 tbsp Vegetable Oil – See Tip Box
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
200g Grated Cheese – See Tip Box
2 tbsp - Dijon Mustard – See Tip Box
120g Mayonnaise
Crunchy Topping
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Dried Parsley
120g Cup Bread Crumbs – See Tip Box
How It’s Done
Heat the oven to 180c
Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.
Once it’s cooked, drain the pasta really well and set it aside until needed.
Sauce
In a large pot, add 3 tablespoons of the oil and the chopped onion.
Cook the onion on a medium heat until the onion is soft and slightly transparent. (Approximately around 5 minutes)
Once cooked, place the onion onto a plate and set it aside until needed
Place the remaining 3 tbsp of the oil into the same pan as the onion was cooked and place the pot on to a medium heat.
Add the plain flour and stir it until the oil has soaked up all of the flour.
Keep the flour mixture on the heat, keep stirring and let it cook for a couple of minutes to cook the flour.
Take the mix off the heat and add the milk one cup at a time.
After each addition of a cup of milk, whisk it in until the milk has completely been soaked up before adding the next cup.
After all 4 cups of the milk have been added, return the mixture to a medium heat.
Keep whisking until the sauce is thick and creamy.
Add the mayonnaise, grated cheese, mustard and salt and pepper.
Whisk them all into the sauce until everything is melted and mixed in.
Add the onions and stir to mix them in.
Add all of the cooked pasta to the pot with the sauce and mix really well together until the pasta is completely covered.
Set aside until needed.
Place the breadcrumbs, the dried parsley and 3 tbsp of oil into a small bowl.
Give them all a stir until it’s all well mixed together
Pour the pasta mixture into an oven proof dish and cover the top of the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture.
Bake in the hot oven until the top is crispy, golden and the pasta is piping hot in the centre of the pot. (Approximately 30 – 45 minutes – See Tip Box)
If the breadcrumbs are getting too brown before the pasta is hot enough, cover the pot with foil and continue cooking until hot in the middle.
Serve straight from the oven proof pot.
Tip Box
Milk – Any milk is good for this recipe.
Oil for sauce – If you want a richer flavour sauce, use 100g of butter instead of vegetable oil to make the sauce
Cheese – 1) If you have more cheese to use, then use it all up. The more cheese the better it tastes.
2) I’ve used mature cheddar cheese in this recipe, but it’s a great dish to use up any leftover bits of cheese.
That’s what the freezer is for, right?
3) If you’ve any leftover bits of blue cheese, parmesan in the freezer, this is the time to get them out and use it up.
It doesn’t matter if you use lots of different flavours of cheese in this cheese sauce, the more the merrier, they just make the sauce more interesting.
Mustard – Dijon Mustard brings out the flavour of cheese and I’m a lover of Dijon mustard in lots of other cooking too, so if you don’t have any, it’s worth getting yourself a jar.
If you don’t have any Dijon, then miss out the mustard completely.
Bread Crumbs – 1) Bread that’s a few days old is the best thing to use to make breadcrumbs, so don’t throw away any stale bread, get it in the freezer until there’s enough to bring out and use for this dish.
2) To make the bread crumbs, place the stale bread into a food mixer, switch it on and let it run until the bread has turned to crumbs.
3) If you’ve not got a food mixture, toast the stale bread and once cooled, put the crispy slices into a freezer bag and crush with a rolling pin or the back of a saucepan.
Oven – All ovens vary so adjust cooking time accordingly.
Dig in
