Skillet Mac n Cheese
Cook Notes
BBQ Used: Weber 57cm Kettle
Cooking Method: Direct and Indirect (in Petromax 35cm skillet)
Fuel used: Lumpwood Charcoal
Cooking Temperature: Medium - High Heat
Ingredients
375g Macaroni
45g butter
45g flour
900ml milk
2tbsp BBQ rub
180g smoked cheddar
120g mozzarella (60g for sauce, 60g for topping)
130g mature cheddar (70g for sauce, 60g for topping
250g bacon lardons
Method
Place a skillet over a medium to high direct heat and brush with a little oil. Add the bacon lardons to the cold skillet. Adding the bacon while the skillet is cold will allow it to cook slowly and render out the fat - giving you crispy bacon. When the bacon is cooked, remove it from the pan using your tongs or a slotted spoon. Place on a paper towel to drain.
Next add your butter to the skillet with the bacon fat still in it. Mix the BBQ rub with the flour to make a seasoned flour and add it to the melted butter. Continue to stir the flour / butter mixture until it forms a smooth paste called a roux. Allow the roux to cook for a few minutes to remove that raw flour taste.
Slowly start to add your milk, a little at a time, and continually stir the mixture to combine the milk with the roux. Once all your milk has been added, allow the sauce to come to a rolling simmer before adding your cheese. Remember to only add the cheese for the sauce, keeping the extra cheese to the side to use as a topping later. Stir the sauce until all the cheese has melted.
Boil your macaroni until, lifting it off the heat a few minutes before it is fully cooked. It will finish cooking when we baked the mac and cheese.
To put the mac and cheese together, add half of your bacon back into the sauce then add your macaroni. Mix everything together, ensuring all the macaroni is covered in the cheese sauce.
spread it out across the base of the skillet then top with the remaining mozzarella, cheddar and bacon. Move the Skillet to the indirect side of the BBQ and bake the mac and cheese for approximately 20-30 minutes, or until the top is golden in colour.
