Pimento Mac and Cheese
By Alli BerkeyPublished on April 18, 2017
Time
1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes resting
Yield
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni Salt and pepper 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon dry mustard 2 cups whole milk 2 cups heavy cream 1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (4 cups)2 ounces cream cheese 2 tablespoons hot sauce 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 3 (4-ounce) jars pimentos, drained, patted dry, and minced
Before You Begin
We used Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce for this recipe. Barilla makes our favorite elbow macaroni.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt and cook for 5 minutes. Drain macaroni; set aside.
- Add butter to now-empty pot and melt over medium-high heat. Stir in flour, mustard, 3/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until mixture is fragrant and bubbling, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in milk and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 2 minutes, whisking frequently.
- Remove pot from heat. Add 3 cups cheddar, cream cheese, hot sauce, and Worcestershire to sauce and whisk until cheese is melted. Add pimentos and macaroni and stir until macaroni is thoroughly coated in sauce. Transfer to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheddar. Bake until edges are lightly browned and filling is bubbling, 18 to 20 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes. Serve.TO MAKE AHEAD: Fully assembled casserole can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, remove plastic and bake until heated through, 40 to 45 minutes.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 20 minutes restingYield
Serves 8 to 10Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (4 cups)
2 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 (4-ounce) jars pimentos, drained, patted dry, and minced
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (4 cups)
2 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 (4-ounce) jars pimentos, drained, patted dry, and minced
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
1 pound elbow macaroni
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (4 cups)
2 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3 (4-ounce) jars pimentos, drained, patted dry, and minced
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Folding store-bought pimento cheese into our usual macaroni and cheese recipe didn’t work well here; the sauce separated into pools of grease and clumps of cheese. Instead, we made a flavored béchamel, a thickened milk sauce, to help us control the amount of fat in the sauce and prevent the sauce from breaking. Adding the cheese and cream cheese right to the sauce before adding the macaroni allowed us to bake the casserole less, therefore reducing the risk of a broken sauce.
Before You Begin
We used Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce for this recipe. Barilla makes our favorite elbow macaroni.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt and cook for 5 minutes. Drain macaroni; set aside.
- Add butter to now-empty pot and melt over medium-high heat. Stir in flour, mustard, 3/4 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until mixture is fragrant and bubbling, about 30 seconds. Slowly whisk in milk and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 2 minutes, whisking frequently.
- Remove pot from heat. Add 3 cups cheddar, cream cheese, hot sauce, and Worcestershire to sauce and whisk until cheese is melted. Add pimentos and macaroni and stir until macaroni is thoroughly coated in sauce. Transfer to 13 by 9-inch baking dish and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheddar. Bake until edges are lightly browned and filling is bubbling, 18 to 20 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes. Serve.TO MAKE AHEAD: Fully assembled casserole can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to serve, remove plastic and bake until heated through, 40 to 45 minutes.
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