Mac and cheese is one of my go-to barbecue sides.
It’s warm, gooey, and so filling that I believe we can all agree it’s the perfect comfort meal.
So, how do we put our own spin on it, how do we improve on it? We’re smoking it! This really takes things to the next level, and it also simplifies the whole procedure.
Contents
- FAQs
- Can you smoke cheese in a smoker?
- How to smoke Cheddar cheese in a smoker?
- What wood is good for smoking mac and cheese?
- At what temperature do you smoke cheese on a pellet grill?
- How many hours should you smoke cheese?
- What cheese is best to smoke?
- Do you wrap cheese to smoke it?
- Does cheese melt when you smoke it?
- How long do you smoke cheese on a pellet smoker?
1. One tray
Most mac and cheese recipes call for a white sauce (commonly known as a bechamel sauce), but this one does not. This is a one-tray masterpiece.
I used a foil tray; you could use a baking pan, but I like to keep things simple!
Then you literally just pile everything on top of it. Uncooked pasta, Colby cheese, cheddar cheese, butter, and cream cheese.
Sprinkle with your preferred rub; I used Lanes Signature rub, which is a terrific all-arounder, but if you want to create your own, check out our recipes here.
Add 6 cups of full cream milk to the tray and you’re ready to go. Don’t stir it yet; it’s better to wait until the heat softens all of that cheese.
2. Smoke it
For this meal, I utilized my Traeger Timberline 1300. Any hooded BBQ will suffice; just raise the temperature to 300F to 320F to melt the cheese.
I smoked with a softer fragrant wood, Bear Mountain Pecan pellets, but cherry would also work nicely. Fruit and nut kinds of smoking wood offer a gentler taste and are less overpowering, and you don’t want to exaggerate the smoke flavor in this recipe.
When your temperature is stabilized, add the tray of mac and cheese. You have 30 minutes to leave things alone. During the first 30 minutes, all of the cheese will melt and the pasta will absorb the milk.
After 30 minutes, give it a good stir; it should resemble mac and cheese but still be a bit runny.
Sprinkle the panko crumbs equally over the top and return to the smoker for another 30 minutes, or until the top is crispy.
When this is done, it will have the right gooey cheesy consistency of any mac and cheese, as well as a lovely crispy crust on top.
As a traditional barbecue side dish, we would serve it with:
- Pellet grill brisket
- Smoked beef ribs
- Hot and fast BBQ brisket
- St Louis pork ribs on a gas grill
