This wonderfully smoky, uber-cheesy, mac and cheese makes itself at home with any barbecued meat.–David Leite
What is LC PASTA HUMP DAY?
I’m glad you asked. LC Hump Day Pasta (#LCHumpDayPasta) is a little something we cooked up to help you on the night of the week that you feel least like cooking. Wednesday was traditionally Prince Spaghetti Day (for those of you old enough to remember). We’ve revamped and updated that to Hump Day and included every type of pasta there is.
Smoked Mac and Cheese
Equipment
- Gas grill, pellet grill, or smoker
- Wood chips, wood chunks, or pellets (optional)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 oz) unsalted butter
- 1 cup cottage cheese, preferably full fat
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, preferably full fat
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups canned chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade hot sauce
- 1 1/2 pounds Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 pound small pasta, such as elbows, shells or bowties
Instructions
- In a large blender or food processor, combine the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, milk, chicken broth, ground mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and hot sauce. Blend it on high until smooth and frothy, about 30 seconds. Stir in the shredded cheese and blend again briefly just to incorporate.
☞ TESTER TIP: If your blender can't hold the full volume of the sauce ingredients, prepare two batches of the sauce, using half the ingredients in each batch.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry pasta and sauce and mix gently. Pour into the prepared dish. Alternatively, the pasta and sauce can be mixed directly in the prepared dish. Spread evenly in the dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
- Bake in your preheated grill for 45 minutes, rotating the dish and stirring the contents once after 30 minutes. Continue cooking and check the pasta for doneness every 15 minutes until it is al dente, about 1 hour total. Stir the mixture if parts look dry or the pasta has popped out of the sauce.
- When the pasta is al dente, remove the foil cover, arrange bits of the remaining 2 tablespoons (28 g) of butter on top of pasta and return the baking dish to the grill, uncovered, until bubbly and golden, 8 to 10 minutes more. Serve immediately.
Notes
*How do I make smoked mac and cheese gluten-free?
This recipe could absolutely be made gluten free, and easily too. Rather than making a roux for the cheese sauce, which traditionally has flour in it, this recipe uses the pasta to absorb the liquid from the mix, leaving behind the creamy melted cheese. Substitute gluten-free pasta and adjust the cook time based on when the pasta gets al dente. That’s it.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
I loved this smoked mac and cheese, and it was cheesy, indeed. It formed this fabulous “crust” on the bottom, that was both pleasantly chewy, but a bit crusty, too. Oh, it was truly heavenly. I made half a recipe in a cast-iron skillet (which made the most of that crust).
The ease of making the sauce in the blender, certainly is a plus. I did add a couple of fresh garlic cloves to the sauce, a half teaspoon of salt, and Calabrian chile powder instead of hot sauce. I think this would be a great campfire dinner. By making the sauce ahead, campsite assembly would be a breeze. I’ll absolutely be making this again.
The final product was creamy and golden, with a fabulous golden crust on the bottom. When serving, I flipped the mixture, so the crusty bottom layer was on top. So beautiful. This would serve 4 relatively hungry people, with a side salad and perhaps garlic bread. I can’t wait until Hatch chile season, so I can toss some in. Bacon bits could also be a great addition. My husband thought he would like some hot dogs cooked in it…next time! And there will be a next time.
I was grilling ribs today, so I started the smoked mac and cheese first. The first issue I had was realizing that neither my Hamilton Beach food processor nor my Waring blender would hold nearly 3 quarts of ingredients for the sauce as called for in the recipe. After some extra clean-up (and a little foul language) I managed to get everything into the pan, mixed, and onto the grill.
I did experience some difficulty maintaining a consistent 400ºF “oven” (grill). Cook times as such were pretty accurate, and the pasta cooked thoroughly, with the sauce clinging to the pasta nicely. Mrs. De Kok loved the creaminess of the dish, and I would definitely make it again, but in a conventional oven.
I served this dish with St. Louis cut spare ribs, dressed with mustard, Mission BBQ “red rub”, and Sweet Baby Ray’s original sauce.
My husband wanted mac and cheese for his Father’s Day dinner. He couldn’t stop raving about this dish. Personally, I’m not a fan of that side but I found religion with this recipe.
Bless you, Rae. Bless you!