Slow Cooker Beer Mac N Cheese (Macaroni and Cheese for you fancy folk)

Sunday was hot as Hades and I decided it was a perfect day to make lunches for the next week or so.  Yep - logic is my middle name.  I have made Slow Cooker Mac N Cheese in the past but thought I would change a few things to make it taste more distinct.

 

Ready to go?

 

 

While I used a Crock Pot (Slow Cooker), you could absolutely put this is a casserole dish and bake at 350F for about 30 mins.



 

Ingredients (oops, missed one!)

Slow Cooker Beer Mac N Cheese

Stuff you need:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni - you could totally use penne or fusilli

4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk (I used full fat homogonized from FoxHill Cheese)
2/3 cup of beer (I used St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout - but use whatever you like)
2 1/2 cups grated cheese which is made of:

• 1/3 cup of 4 cheese mix
• 1/3 cup of Austrailian cheddar
• 1/3 cup Mexicana cheddar
• 1 1/2 cup of old Canadian cheddar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (if desired)

Chopped green onion (if desired)

 



Whew - here's the add on!

Start of the Roux

I wanted to incorporate beer and thought the best way would be to create a cheese sauce.  All my sauces of this nature starts with a Roux.  Simply put, use equal parts fat (like butter) and flour in a pan and cook on medium essentially toasting the flour (eliminating the raw taste).

Key: keep whisking the entire time. Couple of mins. You will smell the toasty goodness and the colour of the Roux will change.

Roux once the butter and flour has cooked to a toasty brown

 Then I added the milk (whisking constantly), allowed it to thicken. Then I added 1/3 cup of beer - whisk away. Added rest of beer and whisk.  It needs to be lump free!!!


After adding milk and beer

Cheeses (missing: Old Canadian Cheddar)

Melting

 Add cheese and melt - I switched to a high heat tolerable spatula to stir the sauce.  Again - no lumps!

Cheese Sauce

Meanwhile I cooked the 2 cups of pasta in salted water for 6 mins and drain.

Cooked Elbow Macaroni

Sour Cream

I sprayed the inside of my crock pot dish with non stick spray. Poured in cheese sauce, added condensed cheese soup, sour cream, dry mustard, pepper, nutmeg and salt. Mix completely.

Pre Addition of Macaroni

 Dump in macaroni, stir completely.  I also added a little green onion for taste.

All mixed and ready to go

 Cook on low for about 2 1/2 hours.  I stirred at the 1 hour and 2 hour point.

Cooked (2 1/2 hours later)



Final Product

I know it seems like a lot, but it really isn't.  One lesson I learned is that the Mexicana cheddar was perhaps the wrong cheese for this mixture - I would try Morbier from Charcuterie Ratinaud. It's excellent in Mac N Cheese!

Use the combo of cheeses you want, the pasta and the beer - mix it up and make it rock for you!!!

Cheers all

Lori