BBQ Mac & Cheese

A cast iron skillet filled with BBQ chicken and beer cheese macaroni and a can of Samuel Adams in the background

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This BBQ mac and cheese kicks things up a notch with Samuel Adams lager in the homemade cheese sauce, making a freakin' delicious meal.

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Author: Derek Wolf

Ingredients

Chicken:

6 Boneless Chicken Thighs
3 tbsp Favorite BBQ Rub
Favorite BBQ Sauce
Fried Shallots garnish
Green Onions garnish
Canola Oil as needed

Beer Cheese:

4 cups Macaroni Elbows cooked
1.5 cups Sharp Cheddar shredded
1.5 cups Gouda Cheese shredded
¾ cup Whole Milk
⅔ cup Sam Adams American Light
2.5 tbsp All Purpose Flour
2.5 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1.5 tsp Cayenne Powder

Instructions

Chicken:

Slather your chicken in oil and generously season with your favorite bbq rub.
Preheat your grill to high heat (400F).
Add your chicken to the grill and cook for 6-8 minutes per side until 165F internal. Once done, pull them off and let them rest for a couple of minutes.
Finally, slice them really thin into bite size pieces and slather in bbq sauce. Set to the side and keep warm.

Mac & Cheese:

Add a skillet to the grill. Add your butter, flour, garlic powder and cayenne powder to the skillet to melt and mix for 1-2 minutes.
Once thickened into a paste, slowly add your Sam Adams American Light in batches to fully integrate it and let the mixture thicken.
Once mixed, add your mustard.
Finally, add your shredded cheese and keep stirring until fully integrated and smooth. Thin out the sauce with the milk at the end if needed.
Finally, add in your cooked macaroni elbows and mix until fully incorporated.
Push macaroni to one side of the skillet and add the bbq chicken to the other.
Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped chives. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

The Perfect Pasta

Elbow macaroni is a classic for mac and cheese for a reason: it's small, making it easy to eat, and it gives the cheese sauce a chance to shine. But since the macaroni will cook a little bit in our cheese sauce, be sure to cook it "al dente" for the best mac. Al dente translates from Italian as "to the tooth." Basically, you want to cook pasta to be a little bit firm when you bite it. That way, it doesn't get mushy and overcooked when it's inside the sauce. The instructions on the box should give you an al dente time (usually about 6-7 minutes for elbows), So, stick with that in this BBQ mac and cheese recipe. You can also take out a noodle around this time and test it — you don't want it too firm, but it should have a slight bite and a tender center.

Nutrition