Smoked Mac N Cheese ideas?

[O.L. Der Cracker]

Hey y'all,
I have been trying to perfect my recipe and technique for Smoked Mac N Cheese, and have managed to make some very flavorful product, but I keep running into the same problem. The sauce always separates. When I make the sauce it is creamy and rich, but after the smoking process, when it begins to cool, the sauce becomes clear and oily looking. I use only real cheese, (no processed cheese food nonsense) which I grate by hand. It almost looks like the butter is separating out. The sauce consists only of butter, heavy cream, grated cheddar, cream cheese, and smoked gouda. I was told by some that starting with a roux would solve the separating problem, so this last time I tried that, but it did not solve the problem. It still separated after the cook. I have been smoking it low and slow, at about 220 for 1 1/2-2 hours. I have thought about raising the temp to about 350 to heat it faster, but have not tried that yet. I also make the sauce, cook the macaroni, and mix it all together the day before smoking to save time the day it is cooked, when we're usually having company. Maybe that is part of the problem? Just wondering what all you Pit Boss gurus have experienced with your own Smoked Mac N Cheese.

 

[ANT0407]

The last time I made Smoked Mac and cheese I used cheese I cold smoked. I made my sauce with the smoked cheese. I mix my cooked pasta and the hot cheese sauce then put the Mac and cheese on the smoker for 30 minutes at 250. It didn't separate. I think it was monterrey jack, extra sharp cheddar, and smoked cream cheese in the sauce.

 

[Steve In Pa]

For this I use the smoker like a stove and set to 350 along with a couple smoke sticks.
Prep is just like it was going in a regular oven.

 

[tkmcj]

You could always make your own "american" style cheese. I believe Chuds BBQ (youtube) has an instructional video on it.

 

[O.L. Der Cracker]

Thanks for all the input guys!

 

[O.L. Der Cracker]

The last time I made Smoked Mac and cheese I used cheese I cold smoked. I made my sauce with the smoked cheese. I mix my cooked pasta and the hot cheese sauce then put the Mac and cheese on the smoker for 30 minutes at 250. It didn't separate. I think it was monterrey jack, extra sharp cheddar, and smoked cream cheese in the sauce.

I may just try your method. It sounds delicious!

 

[O.L. Der Cracker]

You could always make your own "american" style cheese. I believe Chuds BBQ (youtube) has an instructional video on it.

Thanks for the heads up about Chuds BBQ. I couldn't find the one about the American Cheese at first but he has one on Brisket Topped Macaroni and Cheese where he cold smokes the cheese first, then uses Sodium Citrate as an emulsifier. Sodium Citrate may be the key ingredient I have been missing. In the Mac n Cheese video he talks about a hamburger video where he makes his own American Cheese which is the one you referred to. I'll have to check that one out too. I hadn't watched any of his videos for a while so I'm glad you recommended him. The man is a genius. Along with Malcolm Reed he is one of my favorites for BBQ videos.

 

[Redoctapus]

Hey y'all,
I have been trying to perfect my recipe and technique for Smoked Mac N Cheese, and have managed to make some very flavorful product, but I keep running into the same problem. The sauce always separates. When I make the sauce it is creamy and rich, but after the smoking process, when it begins to cool, the sauce becomes clear and oily looking. I use only real cheese, (no processed cheese food nonsense) which I grate by hand. It almost looks like the butter is separating out. The sauce consists only of butter, heavy cream, grated cheddar, cream cheese, and smoked gouda. I was told by some that starting with a roux would solve the separating problem, so this last time I tried that, but it did not solve the problem. It still separated after the cook. I have been smoking it low and slow, at about 220 for 1 1/2-2 hours. I have thought about raising the temp to about 350 to heat it faster, but have not tried that yet. I also make the sauce, cook the macaroni, and mix it all together the day before smoking to save time the day it is cooked, when we're usually having company. Maybe that is part of the problem? Just wondering what all you Pit Boss gurus have experienced with your own Smoked Mac N Cheese.

Hey y'all,
I have been trying to perfect my recipe and technique for Smoked Mac N Cheese, and have managed to make some very flavorful product, but I keep running into the same problem. The sauce always separates. When I make the sauce it is creamy and rich, but after the smoking process, when it begins to cool, the sauce becomes clear and oily looking. I use only real cheese, (no processed cheese food nonsense) which I grate by hand. It almost looks like the butter is separating out. The sauce consists only of butter, heavy cream, grated cheddar, cream cheese, and smoked gouda. I was told by some that starting with a roux would solve the separating problem, so this last time I tried that, but it did not solve the problem. It still separated after the cook. I have been smoking it low and slow, at about 220 for 1 1/2-2 hours. I have thought about raising the temp to about 350 to heat it faster, but have not tried that yet. I also make the sauce, cook the macaroni, and mix it all together the day before smoking to save time the day it is cooked, when we're usually having company. Maybe that is part of the problem? Just wondering what all you Pit Boss gurus have experienced with your own Smoked Mac N Cheese.

Hey Cracker,
At work we have a smoked cheese macaroni. We take a big cheddar block and break it down to 4x4x4" cubes, then wrap with cheese cloth , and then smoke it until it starts to change shape. Then it goes quickly into the walk in to cool. It then gets shredded in the robot coupe. From there the roux is made to be the cheese base. That's our start... the cheese Mac is assembled and then goes back in the smoker. It gets stirred twice during the retherm process. We serve it in small and large oven proof dishes. Bread crumbs are put on top and it gets browned in a hot oven for individual service. Just wanted to throw that process out there... this guy has a interesting recipe. https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-mac-and-cheese/

 

[Steve In Pa]

Hey Cracker,
At work we have a smoked cheese macaroni. We take a big cheddar block and break it down to 4x4x4" cubes, then wrap with cheese cloth , and then smoke it until it starts to change shape. Then it goes quickly into the walk in to cool. It then gets shredded in the robot coupe. From there the roux is made to be the cheese base. That's our start... the cheese Mac is assembled and then goes back in the smoker. It gets stirred twice during the retherm process. We serve it in small and large oven proof dishes. Bread crumbs are put on top and it gets browned in a hot oven for individual service. Just wanted to throw that process out there... this guy has a interesting recipe. https://heygrillhey.com/smoked-mac-and-cheese/

I like the stirring idea to mix in the smoke. I’ll try that.

 

[LPadrino]

Often, when cooking a sauce on the stove top, the sauce may break but can be restored by adding back some water. Too much water has been cooked off. Maybe that's the case with your recipe. You might try adding some extra water to the your sauce preparation.

 

[Private]

Often, when cooking a sauce on the stove top, the sauce may break but can be restored by adding back some water. Too much water has been cooked off. Maybe that's the case with your recipe. You might try adding some extra water to the your sauce preparation.

Cheese sauce usually break as a result of overcooking/too high heat.

I suspect you are cooking too long.

If you start with a sauce made with smoked cheese and cooked pasta, you should only need to smoke it for a short time to firm it up/brown it. We would probably not even put it back in the smoker - just put it under the broiler and let the smoked cheese carry the flavor. Does require you to do a good job smoking the cheese, but much more flexible.

 

[tkmcj]

Thanks for the heads up about Chuds BBQ. I couldn't find the one about the American Cheese at first but he has one on Brisket Topped Macaroni and Cheese where he cold smokes the cheese first, then uses Sodium Citrate as an emulsifier. Sodium Citrate may be the key ingredient I have been missing. In the Mac n Cheese video he talks about a hamburger video where he makes his own American Cheese which is the one you referred to. I'll have to check that one out too. I hadn't watched any of his videos for a while so I'm glad you recommended him. The man is a genius. Along with Malcolm Reed he is one of my favorites for BBQ videos.

He is a genius, an annoying and kind of cringe genius, but a genius nonetheless lol. I've learned a lot from him, but I can only take so many snake in my boot jokes. The burger video is the one where he gives step by step instructions on making your own american style cheese. That opened up so much in terms of creative possibilities for me when I understood how the emulsificaiton was done.

 

[MrDavePa]

Hey y'all,
I have been trying to perfect my recipe and technique for Smoked Mac N Cheese, and have managed to make some very flavorful product, but I keep running into the same problem. The sauce always separates. When I make the sauce it is creamy and rich, but after the smoking process, when it begins to cool, the sauce becomes clear and oily looking. I use only real cheese, (no processed cheese food nonsense) which I grate by hand. It almost looks like the butter is separating out. The sauce consists only of butter, heavy cream, grated cheddar, cream cheese, and smoked gouda. I was told by some that starting with a roux would solve the separating problem, so this last time I tried that, but it did not solve the problem. It still separated after the cook. I have been smoking it low and slow, at about 220 for 1 1/2-2 hours. I have thought about raising the temp to about 350 to heat it faster, but have not tried that yet. I also make the sauce, cook the macaroni, and mix it all together the day before smoking to save time the day it is cooked, when we're usually having company. Maybe that is part of the problem? Just wondering what all you Pit Boss gurus have experienced with your own Smoked Mac N Cheese.

Low great for meats and tenderizing. It's not needed for Mac and cheese.
To make it smokey I'll run it at 200 for 15/20 min or so. then bring it up to 350 to finish the cook.

For even more flavor, trim off the thin parts of your brisket, sirloin or other meat. The parts that will dry out to much in a longer cook.
You can smoke these but for less time as they get done much quicker. These parts can be added to baked beans, mac&cheese or a potato dish( au gratin). They add smokey flavor and texture.

For the final flavor bump, smoked some wagyu tallow or rendered bacon/pork belly fat or collected duck fat. Use this in your bechamel sauce along with butter.

 

[O.L. Der Cracker]

Sorry guys, I hadn't looked at this thread for a while, so thanks for all the responses. I did try the sodium citrate as an emulsifier, and it seems to be the silver bullet I was looking for. No separation in the cheese sauce, even after reheating after refrigerating the leftovers. I got it from Amazon like everything else these days. Thanks again everybody!