Indulgent Smoked Mac 'n Cheese S'Affer Style

Dad Joke Alert:

Everything is better with cheese

Macaroni? Good

Macaroni and cheese? Gouda

Macaroni and cheese is the good old standby dish. Quick and easy when everyone's hungry and you don't feel like the effort of creating.  Yes, we can make it snazzier with bacon, peppers, and more types of cheese. Can it be even better? The answer is yes! I decided to give smoked mac and cheese a go. Not just making it and then smoking it. No, no, no - too boring. I smoke everything to add an unexpected and delicious flavour level that is not possible with plain old oven-baked mac 'n cheese. (Please note I still love that and will chomp it any time, I'm not such a savage) It is a bit more effort, but well worth it. I really enjoyed this cooking session!

What you need:

1 x 500g packet of pasta - yes, I know it says ‘macaroni’, but I used penne because I like it

1 tablespoon of garlic powder (ignore if you're a vampire)

500 ml Milk

125g smooth cottage cheese or cream cheese (half a tub, leaving some for sandwiches. Just saying)

1 finely chopped onion

2 x Spring onions, sliced

750g Ham and tongue loaf or you can use bacon, but I had already finished all mine. Yum, bacon. (Chop your bacon)

200g each of cheddar and mozzarella. Put in the freezer for half an hour before using it.

What to do:

Cut the meat in half and smoke for half an hour, I used oak barrel chunks. Cube when cooled. If using bacon, skip the smoking, fry, and cut into bits. 

Smoke 200g cheddar, and 200g mozzarella.  Cut the blocks in half to get more surface area exposed to the smoke. Check every 10 minutes, aiming to try for half an hour smoke, but remove it if the cheese looks like it’s starting to melt.

My mozzarella was done much earlier than the cheddar.

Yes, I smoked the meat first. Meat needs more heat than cheese to be just right.

Boil the pasta and rinse with cold water and drain. Place in suitable container.

Difficult bit - not nibbling the smoked meat while waiting. Handy hint - put this somewhere that you can't reach while you wait.

Cube the cheese.

In a pan, heat up a splash of olive oil, and soften the onions.

Turn the heat down to low and stir in the cheese cubes.

Stir constantly .

Add in garlic powder, and cottage cheese and stir.

When sauce is looking smooth, add in 500ml milk, and stir. Add more if your sauce is too thick.

Turn the heat off and add in the meat cubes.

Gently mix the sauce through the pasta and serve.

Chomp and enjoy!

Score: 6/10 golden spatulas  - I will be changing the recipe and trying again

Puppy paw of approval:  ✅ To be fair, she only got a bit of the meat, and loved it

Teen nod of acknowledgment:✅ Teens have a love of all things cheese, this is a winner

Family verdict: ✅ Burp

Notes:

Definitely have savoury snacks on hand while smoking. The glorious smells will drive you insane. I nearly snacked all the meat before I could cook I conducted quality testing on the meat and found it to be acceptable. So much so, I had to double-check to make sure I had enough for my dish.

When smoking the cheese, put a container underneath to catch any accidental melted bits

The cheese is done when it looks like it's about to start melting through the rack, remove immediately

Smoked cheese is freaking delicious! It is fantastic as part of a cheese platter, on a sandwich, or sneakily gobbled immediately

For all that stirring, I found a rubber spatula worked best

To maximise the cheese factor, I grated more on after, and browned it under the grill. You can do the same on the braai, but the cheese will ooze and melt, not turn into a cheesy crust. I am undecided about which is yummier.

I will be changing this recipe as I felt it needed more sauciness - stay tuned because the next time will be a video!