Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

Protein:

• 454g (1lb) Ground Beef
• 10g (2t) Worcestershire Sauce
• 10g (about 1½t) Kosher Salt
• ½g (¼t) Black Pepper, ground
• ½g (¼t) White Pepper, ground
• ½g (about 2-3 points) Star Anise
• ½g (¼t) Paprika
• ¼g (⅛t) Cayenne Pepper
• ¼g (⅛t) Nutmeg

Béchamel:

• 70g (about 5T) Unsalted Butter
• 70g (½-cup plus 1T) All-Purpose Flour
• 946g (1 quart) Whole Milk
• 50g (⅓) large Onion
• 5g (1t) Glace de viande, optional
• 1 Whole Clove
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 Thyme, sprig
• 4g (about ½t) Kosher Salt
• Pinch Ground Mace and Ground White Pepper, to taste

Macaroni and Other Additions:

• 454g (1lb) Macaroni, dried
• 454g (1lb) Cheddar, grated
• 10g (2t) Dijon Mustard
• 30g (about 10 cloves) Roasted Garlic
• Dash Tabasco, optional
• 45g (3T) Unsalted Butter, melted
• 45g (⅓-cup) Pecorino, grated and packed
• 90g (2 cups) Panko

Procedure

• Bring the beef and Worcestershire sauce together into a large bowl.
• Grind the spice mix and add it to the ground beef and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
• Cook the beef on medium flame until much of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside.
• Measure out the butter and flour into two small bowls. Set aside.
• Separately, measure the rest of the béchamel ingredients into a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Turn off the flame and strain the milk.
• Bring a large pot of water (about 6 quarts) to a boil.
• While the water is on the flame, melt the butter in a large fry pan on low flame. Once the butter has melted, slowly whisk in the flour, taking care to not brown the flour and butter (this is the blonde roux). When the flour is incorporated, ladle in the warmed milk, continuing to whisk in the milk slowly until the mixture has thickened. Taste-test to see if the béchamel needs mace and white pepper. Add as necessary and mix. Turn off the flame and set aside.
• Boil the pasta in the pot of water, stirring occasionally, until one minute from al dente. Drain the pasta and return it back to the pot.
• Stir in the cheddar, mustard, garlic, and Tabasco into the béchamel. Pour the mixture into the pot of macaroni and gently mix.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
• Take about a third of the pasta and lay it into a 9×13-inch pan. Take half of the cooked beef and layer it on top. Take another third of the pasta and continue to layer, (pasta, meat, pasta, meat, pasta) until the pan is full.
• Bake for 30 minutes, or until the macaroni and cheese is bubbling. Mix together the melted butter, pecorino, and panko. Top the dish with the panko mixture and bake until the crumbs have browned, about 10 minutes.
• Slice into 12 pieces, and serve with some garlic bread and a small salad.

*Bunny Wisdom*

• Slide the bay leaf and thyme into a section of the onion, and stud the onion with the clove. This will make it more convenient to fish out the aromatics instead of straining the mixture.
• You can let the milk steep for 30 minutes, covered and off the flame, to bring out the flavors from the aromatics. Afterwards, proceed to strain and make the béchamel.
• Remember to continue mixing the flour and milk together; it can get grainy and lumpy if the mixture isn’t thoroughly combined.
• Glace de viande is a French glaze made by slowly evaporating the water content of brown stock until it becomes gelatinous. We use a ready-made glace by More than Gourmet.
• Cooking the pasta just short of al dente insures the pasta won’t be soggy coming out of the oven.
• The mustard, garlic, and Tabasco are all yummy and flavorful additions to our version of macaroni and cheese. Additionally, the pecorino and panko are equally delicious ingredients to make this a great dish. Pecorino can be substituted with parmesan, and panko with breadcrumbs.
• Leftover slices can be refrigerated, or individually packed and frozen. Take out a slice, re-heat, and enjoy!