Smoked Jalapeno Mac N Cheese – Fight Night Feasts
Professional mixed martial arts action continues today in Las Vegas, Nevada with UFC Vegas 20, headlined by heavyweight contender Ciryl Gane and fellow big man, Jairzinho Rozenstruik.
The card has an early start on the east coast, perfect for those of you looking for a meal to make while watching the fights.
Today I am going to walk you through a recipe that my friends at PitBarrelCooker.com recently shared. You don’t necessarily need a Pit Barrel to make the recipe work. If you are able to produce smoke either through your grill or another smoker that might be available to you, that would also work.
What’s on the menu?
How about smoked Jalapeno Mac N Cheese? Does that do anything for ya? I know when I first took at look at the dish, I was all in. Let me start by saying that you don’t necessarily need to follow the recipe to a T and the cheeses could easily be swapped for whatever you prefer. I’m actually thinking about using Pepper Jack cheese the next time around.
Smoked Jalapeno Mac N Cheese
INGREDIENTS
1 box elbow noodles (uncooked)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4 fresh jalapeños
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz cream cheese
2 cups mozzarella, shredded
2 cups American cheese
2 cups cheddar, shredded
1 lb bacon
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 cup Ritz crackers (crushed)
Salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Light your Pit Barrel or the smoker you are using according to instructions.
Preheat skillet and brown bacon on stove or cooker. Stir in diced jalapeños until softened. For this step I used a cast iron skillet and I cooked inside on my stove. (Lesson I learned after making this the first time. You might want to drain some of the bacon grease before moving to the next step.)
Stir in the remaining ingredients except the Mozzarella, American, and Cheddar cheeses, and stir regularly for 10 min. Make sure the pasta has absorbed the majority of the liquid.
Stir in remaining cheese of your choice and stir for 2 min.
Place in oven safe serving dish. Sprinkle the top with crushed Ritz crackers and sliced jalapeños.
Place in the Pit Barrel or smoker for 45 min. Crack the lid for the last 15 min and removed when the top is golden brown.
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Enjoy!
