Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

Mac and Cheese

¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
115 g cream cheese
4 cups whole milk
3 cups shredded Gouda cheese
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon hot paprika
½ tablespoon ground black pepper
5 cups fully cooked macaroni
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
⅓ cup bread crumbs
handful oak and apple blend wood chunks

Topping

¼ cup chopped chives

Preparation

1. Preheat your smoker to 115°C.
2. In a large cooking pot over medium heat, melt the butter then whisk in the flour to make a roux.
   HOT TIP – Roux is made from equal parts of flour and fat and used as a thickening agent, providing the base for a dish. Other ingredients are added after the roux is complete.
3. Add cream cheese and whole milk. Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken. Whisk in the gouda cheese, Dijon mustard, hot paprika and ground black pepper and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to melt cheese completely.
4. Turn off the heat and add macaroni to the cheese mixture.
5. Transfer the mac and cheese into a large aluminium foil pan. Top with shredded parmesan and bread crumbs.
6. Place the mac and cheese in your smoker, toss a few wood chunks onto hot coals and smoke for 1 hour.
   HOT TIP – To give your mac and cheese an even smokier taste, stir every 20 minutes while smoking to infuse the dish with more smoke flavour.
7. Remove from smoker. Top with chopped chives and serve.