I had no idea what a fireless cooker was. I found this:
Ah ha! A fireless cooker is a thermal cooker. Those I know about.
I have not used one. The concept is sound, and Carolyn Shearlock at the Boat Galley is a friend I have confidence in.
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I didnāt know either, but I went to bed after posting this. Thanks for your curiosity.
That might explain cooking the macaroni for an hour.
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What about quark instead? Would likely need additional seasoning, though.
My own personal mac-and-cheese hacks arenāt particularly cheese-related, Iāll just use a(n extra) mature cheddar. OK, I say āpersonalā, as in, āI donāt remember where I originally stole them fromā.
- A generous amount of nutmeg in the cheese sauce;
- Steam some bite-sized florets of broccoli, then dress in mustard and lemon juice;
- Top the mixture with breadcrumbs, additional grated cheese, and a sprinkling of paprika.
- If youāre just making a small number of servings, then finishing each plateful under the grill (broiler to you USonians, I think?) works as well as baking a whole dish in the oven.
Correct.
Marthaās Perfect Mac & Cheese , made with gruyere and sharp/old cheddar is my favourite recipe for a fancy mac & cheese
It uses a lot more cheese than my regular weeknight standard mac & cheese, so I save it for special occasions.
I add some gruyere to my cheddar for regular weeknight mac & cheese, if I have it on hand.
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I make a similar baked Mac & Cheese except use three cups of cheese and add dry mustard and smoked paprika to the roux.
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Does anyone have a method to get a crispy top without overcooking the roux? (My dish isnāt broiler-safe.) My family likes grainy baked mac and cheese with a crispy top, but I refuse to make roux-style baked mac & cheese until I can figure this out.
Though we usually just look for an almost bunt cheese topping Iāll sometimes top mine with a mixture of panko and grated parm. Itās my go-to breading for fish as well.
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You could toast the bread crumbs or panko on the stove and then sprinkle them on top of the mac & cheese. Not ideal, but better than nothing.
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How much crunch are you looking for? Gruyere will toast up (sort of) without using the broiler or negatively impacting the bechamel. Itās not really crunchy but a possible alternative.
One last possible alternativeā¦if a distinct crunch is a requirement, perhaps top with fried crushed bacon?
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Whatās the rating on your dish? Is it OK to up the temp, or have it higher in the oven? (Grilling without the shame of the name!) Or putting individual plates under the broiler with cheese and breadcrumbs, per my own earlier-mentioned method?
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I usually donāt use breadcrumbs. My family likes breadcrumbs (Iām neutral), but I hardly ever have leftover bread to make crumbs. Iāve actually pre-toasted breadcrumbs before after reading about it in a mac and cheese book. It works better than I expected.
Iām actually talking about how the tips of the macaroni sticking out the top get toasty, along with some browning of the cheese. That crust is ideal for me. If I up the temp, it overcooks. I tried making the bechamel and then diluting it with extra liquid to see if that allowed me extra time in the oven. I had to pre-cook the macaroni for less time to compensate. That didnāt work because the crusty macaroni tips sticking out the top were too raw to eat. Iāve been thinking to try one of those air fryer type toaster ovens that bake like commercial ovens and see if those will give me better results at regular temps.
The top gets crispy and browned at 375 in my experience , but not what Iād call crunchy. I donāt ever use the broiler. Sometimes I top it with panko. The Martha Stewart- style croutons - you can use fresh bread - are also good.
Iāve been keeping a bag of panko or a can of purchases crumbs on hand. Could use crispix, cracker crumbs, cornflakes, too.
My Crispix- coated chicken turned out good last week!
Got one of those crĆØme brĆ»lĆ©e small blowtorches?
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In the misquoted but immortal words of Crocodile Dundee, āthatās not a torch - THIS is a torch.ā
I went back to basics and I think maybe my roux is the issue. There are anecdotal reports that flour:butter ratio by volume should be closer to 2:1 than the 1:1 ratio I currently use. I baked at a 1.5:1 ratio today and had better results. I baked at 425F fan (the highest rating for the dish) for 15 minutes on a higher shelf. I didnāt get the type of crust I was after, but at least the sauce didnāt get grainy.
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And also the thickening ability of a roux lessens as it gets darker. So more roux required the darker it is.
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I have good results with 1:1. The product isnāt grainy. Are you mixing the roux sufficiently before adding dairy? Grating the cheese? I use a box grater and the biggest holes for block cheese. If you buy pre-grated cheese the preservatives and anti-clumping agent may lead to graininess.
I do like your idea of toasting the bread crumbs separately before adding to the mac & cheese. Iāll be trying that.
I think I mentioned before I quite like mixing bacon crumbles in the with the mac & cheese and very thin tomato slices on top before adding the breadcrumbs. Fully cooked macaroni, just baked not broiled.
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Grainyness in a cheese sauce is usually the fault of the cheese, not the roux. Cheddar is notorious for becoming grainy when cooked, and IME, the higher quality and more aged the cheddar, the more likely it is to become grainy in a sauce. You can add a bit of sodium citrate to your sauce to prevent this, but if you donāt have that in your pantry, a few ounces of American or Velveeta will accomplish the same thing.
To get the type of well-done cheese and pasta top youāre after, I would try cooking your pasta a minute or two past al dente - you donāt want mush, but those tips will dry out in the oven so you want them soft before they go in. Then lots of grated cheese (Parmesan or other hard cheese will work best here if you want crusty but not oily- Cheddar will break) on top and into a hot convection oven.
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