I finally did it! I came up with the perfect cheese sauce for homemade Mac and Cheese.
Pay close attention because a great macaroni and cheese is not as easy as one would think. One of my favorite dishes is Mac and Cheese and I have struggled for years to get the recipe perfect. Hopefully I can impart all the tricks so you can enjoy the same great results and learn some new cooking words while you are at it.
Ingredient List:
4 Tbs Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup All Purpose Flour
3Cup nonfat milk warmed +1 cup half and half cream warmed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups grated pepper jack cheese (16 oz.)
1 lb cooked elbow macaroni
Crumbled bacon for garnish
Perfect sauces originate from a perfect Bachamel Sauce first. First you have to make a Roux, turn that into Bechamel Cream Sauce and then add cheese to make your perfectly Cheese Sauce to which you add your macaroni.
Roux is a combination of unsalted butter, cooked with flour until the flour itself is “cooked out” at which time you get a nutty aroma.
Here we go: Making the Roux– Heat4 Tbs Butter. Add 1/4 cup white flour. Stir with a whisk on a medium low heat that allows some bubbling but not burning. If it turns dark brown or burns, toss it out and start over! No one wants to eat brown macaroni and cheese! Cook stirring constantly until a nutty aroma appears. This should take about 5 minutes. Getting to the nutty aroma stage is a must otherwise you will taste the uncooked flour in your sauce.
Heat up 3 cups nonfat milk in the microwave for 2 minutes. Heating up the milk is IMPORTANT as it will cut down on the cook time . If you add cold milk, it has to heat up before it combines with the roux. This creates lumps that take time to dissolve.
So, slowly add warm milk 1 cup at a time to roux while stirring continuously over low-med heat. The Roux will expand as you add the milk to create a smooth silky sauce. Do not add more milk until the bit that you have added has been absorbed by the roux mixture and turned silky smooth. Once all the milk is added stir over medium- low heat until silky smoooth.
Add 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper.
Turn heat off and fold in 8 oz. shredded cheese. I prefer Pepper Jack. But, you could use Colby and Jack or even cheddar. You can use whatever cheese you like. Stir mixture until cheese is all melted.
Fold in 1 lb. cooked macaroni. Serve immediately with crumbled bacon on top or Transfer to a baking dish. Top with extra cheese and crispy fresh crumbled bacon and set aside. Simply heat in microwave just before serving.
Makes eight 1 Cup Servings.Awesome!!!!!!