- Ooey-gooey and packed with delicious, melty cheese.
Nothing says comfort like a homemade mac and cheese.
And today, we're gonna show you
how we make our favorite baked mac and cheese.
(upbeat music)
Countries across Europe were creating versions of this dish
dating back to the Middle Ages.
There's even a recipe in a 14th century Italian cookbook
for sheet noodles cut into squares
and sprinkled with grated cheese.
While serving as a diplomat in France,
Thomas Jefferson tried the French version
and loved it so much, he requested
that his enslaved chef, James Hemings, recreate it.
Historians believe Hemings should be given the true credit
for bringing this dish to life.
Just like Hemings, many other enslaved chefs
set the culinary example across America,
and often aren't credited for it.
Hemings' dish was served in 1802 at a state dinner.
The dish grew in popularity from then on.
So how do you make mac and cheese?
There's only one place to start and that's the noodles.
There's so many options when it comes to pasta,
there's radiatori, fusilli, cavatelli, shells,
and probably most commonly associated with mac and cheese,
elbows.
We recommend any short, curly pasta.
We've decided that our favorite pasta for mac and cheese
are shells.
They're just the perfect size, and their shape allows you
to get a beautiful burst of sauce with each noodle.
So let's get cooking.
We're gonna boil the pasta in well salted water
for two minutes less than recommended on the package.
You want the pasta to have a slight bite
because it'll actually finish cooking in the oven.
When it comes to mac and cheese,
there are two types of cheeses we need,
a melting cheese which adds to the texture
and a flavor cheese which adds to the taste.
So what is an ideal melting cheese?
American and Velveeta are both great melting cheeses
because they have sodium citrate in them,
which as it melts gives this creamy, gooey texture.
Mozzarella is also a good melting cheese
because it's super creamy and makes great cheese bowls.
But for our melting cheese today, we're going with American.
And what makes a good flavor cheese?
A few that are great for flavor in your mac and cheese
are fontina which has a buttery and fruity flavor;
Gruyere which has a sweet, nutty, earthy flavor;
smoked Gouda which has a meat-like flavor;
Havarti which has a sweet, herby flavor;
and cheddar which has a bold and bright flavor.
We've chosen sharp cheddar as our flavor cheese.
This gives you the best of both worlds
and creates the cheesiest, creamiest,
and gooiest mac and cheese.
You always want to shred the cheese yourself
because the pre-shredded cheese from the store
is usually coated in additives that make it harder to melt.
Now, we all know mac and cheese
is only as good as its cheese sauce.
We're gonna start ours by adding some butter to a pot.
Once it begins foaming,
we'll add some mustard powder and cayenne
and toast them for about a minute.
Seasoning the dish at this step
will really help to add depth of flavor.
The spices will bloom and become aromatic
which will enhance their flavors and boost their intensity.
Now while you can season your mac and cheese
with anything you want,
we're keeping our recipe pretty simple.
The bit of heat from our spices
will help cut through the richness of the cream sauce,
providing some nice balance.
Now to add our liquids.
The three most common liquids people use for mac and cheese
are usually milk, heavy cream, and evaporated milk.
The biggest difference between the three liquids
is their water content.
We found the combination of whole milk and heavy cream
gave the best flavor and creamiest mouthfeel.
Once our liquids come to a simmer, we'll add an egg.
This will give the mac and cheese a custardy-like texture
that helps the sauce bind to the pasta really well.
Just be sure to temper your egg
by adding a little bit of the warm milk mixture first.
That way, we don't end up with scrambled eggs.
Let's add our cheese.
Now this is the tricky part
because while extremely satisfying,
things can go very wrong here.
Some cheeses melt differently than others,
causing the fat and oil to begin to separate,
resulting in a grainy sauce.
But we've designed and our mac and cheese to be foolproof.
Since we aren't using a roux,
our mac and cheese sauce won't crack.
Another way to ensure your sauce won't crack
is by adding cornstarch.
Adding it directly to the cheese mixture,
rather than creating a slurry
will help the sauce thicken more evenly
and prevent clumping.
And the key to evenly melt the cheese
and ensure proper emulsification,
is to add the cheese off of the heat.
Keep stirring while adding the cheese handful by handful.
You'll know your sauce is done
when the cheeses have melted smoothly
and it's slightly thickened.
While the mac and cheese bakes,
the sauce will continue to thicken,
so we wanna make a super creamy sauce to start
so that when it's finished baking,
we don't end up with the dry mac and cheese.
We'll add our cooked shells to our cheese sauce and coat.
Wow, I'm drooling.
Let's add this to the baking dish and top with more cheese.
We found that the combination
of cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese,
creates the most delicious
and satisfyingly golden brown and crispy top.
It's time to bake.
We're focusing on the classic baked version.
Baking mac and cheese
allows you to get that crunchy, cheesy top
and the best corner pieces.
Some people cover their Mac and cheese with foil
to help prevent the dish from drying out
while it's in the oven.
We've made the ultimate saucy mac
and covered our entire dish in cheese,
so we don't need to cover it with anything additional.
Since we want crispy top to compliment our saucy mac,
we wanna finish the dish under the broiler.
The oven alone will help the topping melt,
but the broiler will give it that iconic
golden brown and crispy top we're after.
It's the moment we've all been waiting for.
But hold on, before you sacrifice the roof of your mouth
for this ooey-gooey goodness,
make sure to let your mac and cheese rest
for at least five minutes.
This will allow the sauce to set up a little
and achieve its maximum creaminess.
With mac and cheese, the opportunities are endless.
You can have it as a side, in a bread bowl, or simply as is.
It's filling, warm, and comforting.
This mac and cheese is as Gouda as it gets. Shell yeah.
(upbeat music continues)