This year’s BBQ competition for the DIGG’S Mercy Children’s Foundation had us coming up with more new recipes. This year I entered my BBQ Baked Beans, Smoked BBQ Cheesecake and BBQ MAC & CHEESE.
BBQ MAC & CHEESE
1/4 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
2 1/2 cups WHOLE milk
12 ounce can Jalapeño condensed milk
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
6 tablespoons WONDRA flour
1 pound pasta (such as elbow, penne, cavatappi, or rotini)
2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Fontina or Havarti cheese
1 teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco or Frank’s Original)
1/2 teaspoon FRESH ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups crumbled cornbread
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup barbecue sauce of choice
- Spray baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Bring 1/4 cup salt and 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large covered Dutch oven over high heat.
- Add pasta to boiling water, cooking 8 minutes.
- Microwave milk in a microwave safe glass measuring cup covered with plastic wrap on HIGH 3 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Whisk in flour, cooking 1-2 minutes until golden.
- Slowly whisk in hot milk; bring to a SLOW boil, cooking 2-3 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and whisk in cheeses, most of the BBQ sauce, hot sauce, remaining salt and pepper.
- Toss together cornbread and melted butter. Set aside
- Drain pasta.
- Fold pasta into cheese sauce.
- Pour pasta mixture into baking dish.
- Sprinkle cornbread mixture over top.
- Sprinkle green onions over cornbread mixture.
- Broil 1 to 2 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.
- Drizzle with remaining barbecue sauce.
- Serve immediately.
NOTES: You can make this dish up to 3 days in advance. Bake at 325° until heated throughout and then broil.