Bacon Mac & Cheese
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
1lb thick cut bacon*
2 cups Mac Sauce**
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 clove or 1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup diced onion
salt & pepper to taste
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Slice bacon strips into 1/2 inch pieces, break apart, fry in a large skillet over med heat. Fry in two batches to keep bacon crispy. Drain all but 2-3 tbsp rendered bacon fat. Over med heat sauté onion and garlic. Set aside.
Make or reheat Mac Sauce, slowly add grated cheese. IMPORTANT: remove sauce from heat before adding cheese or you will have gritty oily sauce.
Stir together cooked pasta, bacon, onion, garlic and cheese sauce. Salt & pepper to taste. May be served immediately or covered and kept warm in the oven. A good entree or side.
The recipe pictured used 1lb pasta, is topped with cheese and needed an extra half batch of sauce.
For heartier fare use ground beef or turkey, add peas, broccoli florets, asparagus tips, experiment with cheeses – smoked Gouda, Mexi blends, any Jack cheese too. Go wild with the comfort. Make it your own kind of cozy.
*Place bacon in freezer for 15 – 20 minutes. This makes it easier to dice.
**Mac Sauce
3 cups whole milk
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup AP flour
1 tsp salt
Heat milk in sauces pan or I microwave safe bowl. (Not necessary but makes the thickening process quicker) Melt butter in sauce pan, whisk in flour allow to cook to a pale brown (blonde roux). Add milk, whisk over low heat until sauce sticks to a spoon. Not too thick, it will thicken as it cools and when cheese is added.
19 Comments
October 8, 2013 at 4:50 pm
That looks absolutely yummy. Will save and try soon.
October 9, 2013 at 10:20 am
Let me know how it turns out and what hubs thinks.
October 8, 2013 at 6:40 pm
Love the title and this sounds delish! (It contains two of my favorite things, bacon and cheese!)
Just as an aside, I have to say when I saw asterisks next to “Mac Sauce” I expected a footnote: “Not to be confused with Daxos, an Arcadian soldier”
October 9, 2013 at 10:20 am
HAHAHAH! You never know around here what the ** could mean.
October 8, 2013 at 9:19 pm
Well jut look at this. AMAZING! God damn!
October 9, 2013 at 10:21 am
Thanks! Let me know if you give it a try and any tweaks you make.
October 8, 2013 at 10:56 pm
Now I know what I’m cooking tomorrow
October 9, 2013 at 10:22 am
😉 Enjoy! Let me know the verdict.
October 14, 2013 at 7:39 pm
So I made this today. John took a spoonful and said, “It’s GOOD!”
Tweaks I made were to add a bit of the bacon drippings into the roux, gave it more bacon flavor which is never a bad thing. Unfortunately, I had no whole milk so made it with skim but then I had to add a bit more flour to thicken. It gave a little different texture, but not bad. I will try next time with whole milk. And yes there will be a next time!!!
October 14, 2013 at 7:42 pm
Oh one other thing I just cut up the bacon into small pieces before I cooked it. It cooked faster and more evenly.
October 14, 2013 at 9:08 pm
Dawn, I used 2% milk in mine. We haven’t bought whole milk in years. Never having made this dish before, I don’t know that it made a real difference. And I cut my bacon into small pieces too. Will have to try the bacon drippings in the roux trick, I bet that was really good.
KB, the verdict at dinner last night seemed to be that it was really very good. The only change I would make next time is something that I messed up on this time. I doubled the mac and the bacon, but forgot to double the onion and garlic. Silly me! I think it needed more of those extra flavors to make it complete! I also made a double batch of Mac Sauce and had about 2 cups left over. I put that in the frig to make more this week. Confession time: I had never made mac-n-cheese from scratch before and I was so nervous about it. Darling Daughter is a mac-n-cheese snob and I was not sure I was up to it. But Hubby was out of town and it was up to me! She really liked it. In fact, I sent what was left over from my batch after filling the cassarole I was using last night home with her for them to warm up for dinner one night this week. Because I doubled the recipe I had more than would fit in the one dish I had planned to use. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe, KB!
October 9, 2013 at 11:13 am
I’m with you, S.A. I love bacon and I love cheese! I never tried bacon or any other meats in my macaroni and cheese. Hmmm!
October 9, 2013 at 3:02 pm
We put polska kielbasa in mac-n-cheese all the time! Haven’t tried bacon! We will definitely give this one a try! Thanks, KB!
October 9, 2013 at 3:04 pm
In fact, hubby just made a batch this week with turkey kielbasa, sauteed diced zucchini and edamame added into it.
October 9, 2013 at 8:45 pm
All delish sounding add-ins Mary.
October 9, 2013 at 2:59 pm
Totally making this over the weekend!
October 9, 2013 at 8:46 pm
Kiss the boys from Auntie KB when you serve it up!
October 10, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Reblogged this on A-Rod 42.
October 10, 2013 at 12:43 pm
Reblogged this on WRONG.