literalpsychotroll: I really shouldn’t watch these first thing in the morning. Now all I want is Mac and cheese
DougEECummings: Full recipe from [TipHero](http://tiphero.com/velvety-baked-mac-cheese/)
**Baked Mac & Cheese**
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
**Ingredients:**
* kosher salt
* ½ pound (225 g) elbow macaroni
* 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
* 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
* 1¼ cups milk
* 3 cups grated cheddar cheese
* ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
* ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce
* 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, or ½ teaspoon mustard powder
* 1 cup grated Gruyère or Emmental cheese
* ⅔ cup crushed butter cracker crumbs (about 15 crackers), or panko bread crumbs
**Directions:**
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C.
1. In a medium pot of salted boiling water, cook the elbow macaroni until it’s just shy of al dente, about 5 minutes (or 2 minutes less than the cooking time listed on the package). Drain the pasta and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
1. Toss the pasta with 1 tablespoon of the butter, until the butter is melted and the pasta is evenly coated. Set aside.
1. In a large saucepan, melt 1½ tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to form a paste. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 1 minute or until the flour is lightly cooked.
1. Whisk in about half of the milk to form a thick paste. (Make sure to get into all corners of the pan while mixing as the paste tends to stick.) Add the remaining milk to the pan and mix it well to combine. The sauce will initially become very thick, then it will thin out once all of the milk is added. Cook, stirring often, until the sauce comes to a simmer and begins to thicken again. Turn off the heat and, working in increments, whisk in the cheddar cheese until it forms a smooth cheese sauce.
1. Whisk in the garlic powder, paprika, hot sauce, and mustard or mustard powder. Taste the sauce and season it with salt, if necessary.
1. Add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce and mix to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese mixture to a greased 8-inch baking dish and stir in the grated Gruyere cheese.
1. In a small mixing bowl, add the crushed butter crackers or panko bread crumbs and 1½ tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well to combine. (If using panko bread crumbs, you may want to season them with a little salt.) Top the surface of the mac and cheese with the buttered bread crumbs.
1. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the top is nicely browned. Let the mac & cheese cool for 5 – 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
ledger319: My Wisconsin based company sends a few pounds of Wisconsin cheddar and Colby as part of our xmas gift each year. So yeah, I’ll just be in the kitchen…
Josh18293: The hot sauce + mustard touch brings up your mac game like 40%. Some people add tang with sour cream but that makes it too fatty (as if it matters). Also adding spring onion + crushed white peppercorns + bacon makes this a meal.
I know what I’m making for lunch.
byrdnasty: Good gif
Need to make sure heat isn’t too high when you add the cheese or it will separate and get stringy.
I like to add a little acidic liquid to smooth out the cheese too. Sometimes white wine or a tea spoon of vinegar
funnybonzo: Unpopular opinion: why ruin it with crackers for a topping? Just broil it after baking to get a nice crispy cheese crust.
lochjessmonster13: coating cooked pasta in butter or olive oil creates a barrier which prevents the pasta from absorbing the sauce. i would suggest making the sauce first and then the pasta so you don’t have to find a way to prevent the pasta from sticking together.
looks real good though!
UnceasingAnguish: Does baking remove the obvious grittiness of your cheese sauce?
TheBlackTempestHaar: My recommendation is to use more cheeses than just chedder because chedder doesn’t melt that well.
Spinnnerette: This is very similar to Alton Brown’s recipe for baked mac and cheese. It was life changing to be sure.
bridgettebutton: If ya got no crackers, try crushed up chips, shake n bake or breadcrumbs with butter, these are great alternatives tooo! Sometimes we throw a can of drained diced tomatoes or some nice summer savory in there.
BucketHatSteez: Looks good but Not enough bacon.
jayesch: Your healthy recipe for 7000 Kcal diet.
danooli: Oh man. The mustard is a great touch!
Was that flour cooked enough before the milk was added?
HanSolosBoots: westerners love butter asians love mayo
whileImworking: Butter, next step Butter
toksen: I can never make mac n cheese like this
PM_ME_UR_SEX_VIDEOS: Cook that bitch in a pre-heated cast iron pan in order to make it even better
Also, add additional cheese – and cheeses – to the initial sauce. More Cheddar and more than just cheddar
loganbdh: Wait why is my family’s recipe on here???
learnedperson: Maybe it’s just me but that seems like a lot of cheese sauce for that little of pasta. I’d make a full pound of pasta.
I like that you put mustard in it. I feel like so many recipes don’t. I haven’t had it with hot sauce, curious how that tastes.
WalletPhoneKeysPump: Mac & Cheese is great.
Mac & Cheese with a crunchy crust, greater!
the_Snuffaluffagus: Look at this spoiled man, with his indoor cooking and stove. Be like Greg and use a grill!
nebuNSFW: I was thinking, “damn, that’s a lot of cheese”, then he pours *more* cheese on it.
Demolitions75: Needs some pancetta but looks good
AnonymousMemory: My arteries filled up with fat just watching this
Edit: Not saying it doesnt look delicious
MyHorseIsAmazinger: I’ve never seen something so beautiful
greenishblue02: This is probably a dumb question but what does baking the mac and cheese do versus just boiling/mixing the ingredients together?
Duckseatbooty: Holy crap
CaptainSquab: I had a problem with gritty cheese sauce for the longest time until I learned that if the milk is warm before you pour it in to the roux it won’t be gritty.
Just pop how ever much you need in the microwave for a minute or two.
IDontWantToArgueOK: I would probably add some nutmeg to the rue, but looks damn good.
duckandcover: The mustard is so important.
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skankyfish: I make a very similar mac & cheese but use stilton instead of cheddar. I’m not a huge stilton fan, but it makes a really good cheese sauce.
HaplessPenguin: You can enhance this by melting some finely chopped garlic to the butter and letting it almost brown before adding the flour.
Another addition is to add thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves in a cheese cloth to the flour and let it float while you let the cream cook. Take it out before you add the cheese.
Add some cayenne to the spices for extra kick. A hint of nutmeg too.
Instead of buttering the bread crumbs, I use ritz crackers because of the taste it adds.
For cheese I use cave aged white cheddar and goat cheese. Cheddar to goat cheese at a 3:1 ratio. I typically buy 4 types of cheeses.
Also, adding a salty baked ham adds to this. Bacon must be cooked and cubed correctly or it will over power the Mac and cheese and take away from the cheese flavor. Ham adds the perfect balance of salt and meat.
Another method is replace macaroni with shells since shells can hold more sauce but would require a meat. I use bbq pulled pork in this version but you need to find the right balance between the cheese and the bbq sauce you use which is why you should avoid heavy molasses sauces. I’ll goto my local bbq joint and pick up some pulled pork and use their house sauce to my liking.
but-I-play-one-on-TV: This looks good and all but is it too much to ask to see how this would be prepared using a grill?
compromised_username: Haven’t had success with those roux, mine always end up a bit… gritty?
ClearRide: How to get upvotes on food subreddits: mac n cheese
DrSmartron: I’m usually kind of disappointed about the mac and cheese things you see on the internet, because they’re usually kind of gross, gimmicky things, but this is the real deal. Well done, OP!
Silydeveen: Good grief, I’m drooling all over my keyboard. I know what’s for dinner tomorrow.
PM_ME_YOUR_APP_IDEA: Worst roux ever, I was taught to melt butter, add flour until it forms something like a cookie dough, and smells like it too.
Then you add milk until it nicely dissolves and has the texture you want. Be sure to also make it boil to get rid of that flour-y taste.
Cristian_01: Fucking ew
apollorockit: Needs more grill
the_krc: Don’t boil the macaroni, and increase the cook time 15 minutes for an al dente instead of near-mush experience.
Rebailey0794: Just gimme that Kraft Mac
Gangreless: Use panko instead of crackers, drizzle with butter. Also add cooked, crumbled bacon in the cheese sauce.
rob5i: This looks better than your [stove top Mac & Cheese](https://gfycat.com/ThinLonelyAmericanriverotter) recipe that got 29.1K up-votes.
Lucy_Snowe-Emanuel: Where’s the grilling part? I expect a grill
uratwat1000: Personally prefer not mixing the cheese into the white sauce, but to each their own
streetsworth: M E A L T H Y
the-mulchiest-mulch: Can I buy you a whisk?
AzHighways: I would take a bite, but there’s no way I’m eating a whole serving. Too rich for me
fransamarseille: I have never eaten mac and cheese in my life
Zizerix: I thought this was Terry Crews mac and jeezy at first.
backfire10z: If you’re making this for somebody you really love, add 10x the hot sauce. Trust me, it tastes way better!
seemonkey: Pfft, not even cooked on a grill.
Magell4n: I can tell how bad your taste and ingredients are from the amount of spices you put together..it’s like throw everything in there because ingredients are so shit I have to add everything else to give a taste to it. Plus, now wonder people are FAT considering the amount of butter used in every recipe on this sub. Cheers from Italy