Stacked Mac & Cheese

Mac and Cheese is a BBQ staple.

We love Mac and Cheese so much that we made it thick... and from scratch. This recipe is easy and pretty straight forward. We add a little crunch at the end by putting it in the broiler in a large cast iron pan. Trust us, it's delicious. Definitely make this for you and your family.

Want a visual guide? Watch the video!

Ingredients

• 1 pound macaroni
• 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup fontina cheese
• 6 ounces gruyere cheese
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 6 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 tsp white pepper
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp dry mustard
• 4 cups whole milk

Preparation

• In one large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil, and cook macaroni for 9 mins. The instructions on the box for my macaroni was to cook for 5 mins al dente. We want the macaroni to go slightly passed al dente. 
• Shredding your all your cheeses and set aside one cup of the sharp cheddar cheese for later. 
• Now we can begin working on our cheese sauce. In one large pot, melt one half cup of butter over medium heat. Stirring occasionally, once all butter is melted stir in six tablespoons of flour, one teaspoon of white pepper, one fourth teaspoon of black pepper, one fourth teaspoon of dry mustard. Combine all ingredients and cook for one to two mins.
• Once flour begins to bubble, gradually add four cups of milk. Cook until the sauce is smooth and bubbly, this should take about 10 mins. 
• When you’ve reached the point where the sauce is bubbling remove from heat and slowly mix in all your cheeses. Leaving 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese aside. If you notice it getting tough to stir your sauce, stop adding cheese and let the cheese continue to melt. If the sauce is pretty thick already and you have cheese leftover you can set the remaining cheese aside for later. 
• Mix your sauce and pasta together. Ensure all the pasta is coated with sauce. 
• Grease your baking dish or cast iron skillet with a little vegetable oil using a paper towel. Grease enough to see a shine on the dish any more than that will be too oily. 
• Now we can begin to assemble our macaroni and cheese. We’ll be creating a bottom layer with some of the extra cheese we set aside, creating another layer with macaroni, another layer of cheese, another layer of macaroni, and finally topping the last of the remaining cheese. Be sure to equally divide your cheese to have sufficient for each layer. Adding the final layer of cheese at the top because we want that cheesy crust! 
• Set your oven to broiler for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese begins to bubble and is browned. 
• Allow 5-10 minutes to cool down.

Want to be comfortable while you make it? Pick up a Grillslingers T-Shirt!