This recipe is still a work in progress. It's really, really good as is, but the next time I make it, I plan to start with this base and use more than one cheese. I started with a recipe I found online a million years ago, changed a few things to make it my own, and then added in some steps I saw on an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, and this is the current iteration. If I ever manage to perfect it, I'll be sure to get up the new version. Don't forget to read the notes!
What you need:
1/4 cup butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground mustard
1-2 tsp hot sauce (or to taste)
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni (or your favorite pasta)
What you do:
Preheat your oven to 400℉ (204.4℃).
Boil the noodles according to the package's instructions for al dente noodles. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside.
In a large pot, melt the butter. Add in the onions and cook on medium heat until the onions are translucent. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and allow to cook for about one minute. Whisk in the milk a little at a time. Whisk in the salt, pepper, ground mustard, and hot sauce. Bring to a gentle boil and reduce heat to low. Allow to thicken for about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and mix in the cheddar a little at a time. Mix in the noodles.
Transfer to an oven safe casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes. Allow to sit about 5 minutes before serving, or until it stops bubbling.
Notes:
- I boil the noodles, make the sauce, and mix the noodles into the sauce all in one pan to save on dishes. I can never remember the sizes of my pans, but it's the largest pan that came in my stainless steel set; the one meant for boiling pasta, making soup, or making a batch of marinara. Four quarts, maybe? Six? I don't know.
- If you add the milk to the pot about 1/4-1/2 cup at a time, the sauce will thicken as you go. It won't be quite thick enough when you add the last little bit, but it will be close. You want it to be a little thinner than the consistency of country gravy.
- It might clump up at first. Don't panic. Just keep adding milk and whisking. It'll smooth out in the end.
- Gourmets will tell you to use white pepper so your dish doesn't have black flecks in it. I always forget to buy white pepper, and I don't give a shit about black flecks. They also say fresh ground has more flavor, but I also always forget to buy peppercorns, and we're between grinders at the moment, so I just use already ground. I'm sure that's sacrilege. I might die and go to foodie hell. Worth it.
- I use Wellsley Farms Signature Aged Cheddar Cheese (from BJ's Warehouse) most of the time because it's Big's second favorite. His favorite is Kerrygold Aged Cheddar Cheese, but the Wellsley Farms cheese is pretty good and runs a little cheaper. Any cheddar cheese will work, but the Wellsley Farms and Kerrygold have a little bit of funk, and a touch of sweetness. They are perfection.
- Please, please, please do not use pre-shredded cheese. Most pre-shredded cheese has flour or some other dry ingredient to keep it from sticking. This sauce already has a roux, so using pre-shredded cheese will muck up the consistency and make the sauce floury. If you hate hand-grating cheese, buy a food processor. They're cheap and make shredding stuff SO EASY!
- I use Cholula Hot Sauce Original pretty much exclusively for this recipe. I've tried Frank's Red Hot Original and sriracha, and Cholula just goes better. If I'm to be honest, I must admit that I don't actually measure it. I shake in a few dollops, stir, taste, add more if it's needed. You're not going for spice so much as flavor (unless you are, in which case, by all means, add as much as you want), so you want to be able to taste it but not feel like your face is burning off.
- I also don't actually measure the cheese. I just chop two chunks about 2 inches thick off the block and pop them in my food processor. Then I add the cheese a little at a time, tasting it as I go, and stop when it tastes how I want. If there's any left over, I throw it on top. If there's not, I don't. 🤷♀️
- I never actually use all the noodles because too many noodles kills the creaminess and makes the dish dry. I mix them in a little at a time until they're all coated and there's still a bit of creamy goodness left. If there are enough leftover (which is rare), I save them for a pasta salad.
- I use a Pyrex pan exclusively. I never grease it before putting the mac and cheese in. It comes clean after a few minutes in the sink with hot water. Your mileage may vary.
- I recently discovered casserole elbows. They're perfect for mac and cheese.
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