Macaroni and cheese

I do not have a good relationship with macaroni and cheese.  I have failed making this about 80% of the times I've attempted it.  To those who think it's easy, I promise you mine is better than yours and what you consider a successful mac and cheese I would consider a failure.  This recipe is a pain staking labor of frustration and it cost me a shit ton of money, but I believe, hope, and pray that I have broken it down enough such that I can be confident it will come out almost perfect every time.

Right off the bat I would like to say that a STIFF BLOCK OF CONGEALED MAC AND CHEESE is a failure in my eyes.  For me personally, a successful mac and cheese should be gooey, creamy, and luscious.  The cheese sauce should flow and just ooze down your throat and directly attack your heart and arteries.  But achieving this is no easy feat.  Just go and check youtube for mac and cheese recipes.  How many of them actually achieve this?  I could count it on one hand.

Now, the obvious point one could make is, if its stiff, then use more cheese?  and this is obviously true to a certain point, but let me explain what I mean when I say a mac and cheese comes out dry and congealed: Two identical mac and cheeses could be made with the same exact amount of ingredients, and one can end up dry and congealed, and the other smooth and creamy, all depending on how you make it.  I can tell you, from personal experience, that it is very very easy to make the dry and congealed version.  What you see in the vast majority of mac and cheese recipes is the dry and congealed version because it was improperly made NOT because there wasn't enough cheese.

Also, it is very very easy for the cheese to separate and give the sauce a slightly grainy texture even though it may look smooth.  Most people will still deem these mac and cheeses a success, but I see them as failures, especially because it is noticeably better when perfectly smooth.  I am sure most of the mac and cheese recipes you find care nothing for this sensitive, but destructive detail and think as long as it looks creamy, its good enough.

Anyhow, lets get started:

Cheese Brands - One companies sharp cheddar cheese can be another's mild.  I have even gotten 2 sharp cheeses from the same company, but different colors, that tasted very different from each other.  This is a big problem because the sharpness of the cheese will literally make or break the entire mac and cheese bringing it from bland, to just right, to overly sharp by just the brand you decide to use.

I try to stay away from yellow cheddar because 1. Cheddar is naturally beige to white anyway and is only yellow due to additives.  2.  I found that there were many different versions of sharp/extra sharp yellow cabot cheddar.  Depending on the packaging and which super market I went to, I could literally have 2 different tasting sharp cabot yellow cheddars even though they were 'supposed' to be the same product.  

So, that being said, I simply choose the same brand every single time from the same exact super market.  This way I can expect consistent flavors every single time.  You should do the same.  Experiment with cheese brands if you cannot find the ones listed, and adjust the sharpness to your pallet by adjusting the ratio of sharp cheddar to extra sharp, then mark down the exact brands you used, where you bought them, and the exact ratio you used.


Cheese mixture: - I did not extensively test different types of cheese as cheese is super expensive.  For me, the combination of cheddar and gruyere is pretty much perfect.  I've tried cheddar and monterey jack and it's definitely not as good as gruyere.  I've combined extra sharp and sharp cheddar as I found the combination, in a precise ratio, yielded a perfect sharpness.


Precise Measuring - For mac and cheese, I measure out my cheeses by weight as "1 cup of grated cheese" can fluctuate in weight wildly.  Getting a precise and consistent amount of cheese is important as too much cheese will seize up the mixture and congeal while too little cheese will be too bland and watery.

The rest of the ingredients can be measured by volume but should not be 'eye balled'.  Use measuring cups.  Pasta almost always comes in 1 lb boxes so that isn't an issue. 


Crunchy topping:  - I am not a fan of breadcrumbs because outside of looking nice, they pretty much just melt into the cheese and disappear when eaten.  I saw a recipe that used croutons so I tried it and loved it.  The top of the bread gets sweet and crunchy while the bottom of it soaks up the cheese and becomes mac and cheese bread pudding.  It was great.  This, however, posed a problem for me because broiling the cheese and getting a brown, crusty top is one of the best parts of mac and cheese but by topping it with bread, it prevented the cheese from achieving that crust.

I tried burying the bread under the cheese but then the bread never gets toasted and crusty.  The only alternative would be to par broil the cheese, top with bread, then finish broiling both together, but this doesn't really solve any problems as the crust will just prevent the bread from soaking up the cheese and will also block those areas of the cheese from getting browned.  So, I compromised and simply toasted the bread separately, broiled the cheese to get a nice brown crust, then when plating, poured the mac and cheese directly on top of the croutons so it starts to soak up the cheese asap. 


ingredients:
for 13 x 9 pan which can feed a solid 5 people

1.  CABOT SHARP CHEDDAR: 6 oz - (3 oz sauce, 3 oz topping)
2.  CABOT EXTRA SHARP CHEDDAR: 12 oz (9 oz sauce, 3 oz topping)
3.  BOARS HEAD GRUYERE: 9 oz (6 oz sauce, 3 oz topping)
note: - As stated above, try and get these specific brands.  They are readily available in commercial super markets.
4.  6 slices of bread Arnold Country Classic White Bread
5.  1 lb macaroni
6.  8 TBL Butter (4 ounces)
7.  1/2 cup flour
8.  1/2 tsp worschistier
9.  1/2 tsp mustard powder
10.  1/2  tsp of cayenne pepper
11.  1/2 tsp nutmeg
12.  5 1/2 cups of WHOLE MILK
13.  Salt


recipe:
1.  Bring large pot of water to boil.
2.  Turn on oven broiler then tear bread slices by hand or cut into neat 1″ squares.  Toast bread until well browned on both sides, flipping half way to ensure both sides get browned.  Watch this very carefully as the bread will burn very quickly.  Turn off broiler and set croutons aside.
3.  In a separate sauce pan, heat 5 1/2 cups milk on medium low.
4.  Cut up the cheese you will use in the sauce into very tiny 1/4″ cubes and grate the cheese for the topping.
note: - Ideally you should grate all the cheese, but this takes forever and destroys your forearms.  As long as you cut the cheese into very tiny cubes, they will melt in the sauce pretty quickly.  It will take slightly more stirring, but its worth it in my eyes to avoid the extra work.  The topping cheese will obviously have to be grated though.
5.  When water comes to a boil, add a pinch of salt.  Under salt the water.  You should just barely be able to taste the salt in the water.
note: - I have literally had to throw away an entire tray of mac and cheese because I over salted the water when boiling the pasta.  Normally, I would always salt the water well, but because there will be so much salty cheese, under salting the water is vitally important.
6.  Add pasta and cook until JUST AL DENTE.  NO MORE.
note: - I initially wasn't sold on al dente pasta in mac and cheese.  For some reason I actually WANTED over cooked, soft pasta in my mac and cheese.  Then, I made this a few times and I realized the error of my ways.  Al dente pasta just really adds a wonderful element to the whole thing.  The slight chewy bite really elevates the entire mac and cheese up one notch.
note: - Al dente pasta also does one VERY important thing.  It creates a smoother, more flowing mac and cheese.  In the same way an over cooked pasta dish clumps and seizes together while an al dente one kind of glides over itself, the same applies to mac and cheese.  Al dente pasta is not an option, it is essential.
7.  Drain pasta then run it under cold water and thoroughly wash all the pasta then allow to dry.  This is to wash off all the excess starch to further prevent the sauce from seizing and congealing later on.
8.  Using same pot you used to cook the pasta (if big enough to hold pasta plus the cheese sauce), make sure it's completely dry then add butter and allow to melt down on medium high heat.
9.  Add flour and mix with whisk until all flour has dissolved and flour has taken a light golden brown color (2 minutes).
10.  Make a bechamel sauce using the warmed 5 1/2 cups of milk.
Bechamel: - I probably have a 2:1 failure to success ratio when making bechamels and to this day cannot confidently say I could make a successful one if asked to do so.  I have had them separate in an instant with both cold and hot milk, so I cannot confidently say that success is dependent on the temperature of the milk.  The only sure fire technical tip that I have is to pour in the milk, painstakingly slow into the roux initially.  We're talking like 1/2 tsp at a time, mix until FULLY absorbed, then add another 1/2 tsp and repeat.  Only after the mixture starts to turn creamy do I then start to add slightly more milk.  After it begins to resemble a thick creamy sauce, that is when I dump in a cup at a time then mixing vigorously until fully absorbed.
11.  On medium high heat, continue whisking aggressively the ENTIRE TIME, scraping down bottom and sides of pot, until the milk comes to a boil.  If you walk away the milk can burn, so make sure you continually whisk and scrape the sides and bottom.  As soon as it comes to a rolling boil, turn down heat to medium and continue to whisk until it has the consistency of heavy cream.
12.  Remove pot from heat and whisk in the mustard powder, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg.
13.  Adjust oven to middle rack and turn on broiler to high.
14.  Allow the milk to cool for a FULL 10 MINUTES, until there is ZERO STEAM coming from the bechamel sauce.  Make sure to stir the bechamel every 30 seconds as it can seize and congeal if you just leave it alone.
note: - this is another essential step in the process.  Adding in cheese to a sauce that is too hot will separate the cheese instantly and it is impossible to ever get it super creamy again.  Cheese that is separated takes on a gritty texture.  Adding in cheese to a warm mixture will keep it super smooth and velvety.  You can cheat somewhat by adding in a few ice chips to the mixture to shorten the cool down time.
note: - Stirring the mixture constantly as it cools is also essential to keeping the sauce creamy and smooth.  If the bechamel congeals, you will lose some of the creaminess to the sauce.
15.   Add in the cheese and whisk aggressively until the cheese sauce is COMPLETELY smooth.  If the cheese doesn’t melt fully, place on 1 setting higher than the lowest heat (NO HIGHER) and continue whisking until smooth.  This could take some time and some work but its important to get the cheese fully melted and smooth in this stage as this is essential to achieving a smooth, creamy sauce.  Don't be tempted to increase the heat higher as the hot temperature could separate the cheese.
16.   Add in pasta to cheese sauce and mix well with a large spoon.
17.  Add in 1/8 tsp of water and mix.  The mac and cheese should be pretty flowing and smooth.  If it seems too tight, add in another 1/8 tsp of water or enough to make it flowing and smooth.
18.  Taste and add salt if needed.
note: - While I have destroyed this dish before with over salting, a few times I have also had to add A LOT of salt in this stage.  Don't be afraid to add a very generous amount of salt in this stage if you feel it is necessary.
19.  Give it one more mix then pour into 13 x 9 baking dish.
20.  Top with grated cheese then broil on high on middle rack for 5-10 minutes, rotating half way through and adjusting position as needed, until cheese is evenly well browned and crusty.
note: - Don't walk away from it.  Keep your eye on it as it can burn in seconds.
21.  Place croutons onto a plate and spoon mac and cheese on top.  Serve and enjoy.