| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1-inch thick piece pancetta, cut into small dice
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 to 7 cups whole milk, heated
- 4 large egg yolks, lightly whisked
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 cups freshly grated Asiago cheese, plus more for the top
- 1 1/2 cups Irish white Cheddar, plus more for the top
- 1 1/2 cups Mountain Valley Cheddar, plus more for the top
- 1 cup grated Fontina cheese, plus more for the top
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, plus more for the top
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked just under al dente
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 3 quart baking dish and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook until lightly golden brown. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 6 cups of the hot milk, increase the heat to high and cook, whisking constantly until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk in the eggs until incorporated and let cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the thyme, cayenne, and all of the cheese until completely melted, season with salt and pepper. If the mixture appears too thick, add some of the remaining milk 1/4 cup at a time.
- Place the cooked macaroni in a large bowl, add the cheese sauce, reserved pancetta and parsley and stir until combined. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan. Combine together additional Asiago, Cheddars, Fontina, and Parmesan in a bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the macaroni. Bake in the oven until heated through and the top is lightly golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 1118 |
| Total Fat | 60 g |
| Saturated Fat | 34 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 64 g |
| Cholesterol | 284 mg |
| Sodium | 1581 mg |
Reviews
Tasty combination of cheeses, I especially liked the Mountain Valley Cheddar… but this is an expensive recipe. Ended up being a $30-35 side dish. Not sure the experience was quite worth it for me, but it may be for you.
I’ve been making this for years now. It is both my sons favorite thing I make. They took leftovers on the plane with them after their last visit.
I love this recipe because it is truly delicious. It is VERY expensive and time consuming. I also wish the directions were more clear. A cup of grated cheese is not 8 oz. of cheese–I wish Bobby would be more specific. It might save some money.
I have made this several times, in my opinion the cheese sauce was more than enough which was okay, because I just froze the rest and when I wanted more I just thawed and boiled more noodles. It is a very expensive dish but you can use alternate cheeses or not as many as you like. As stated before it is extremely time consuming. But well worth it.
I made this for Super Bowl Sunday and was so excited to try it after reading the reviews. I love every meal I’ve had at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, so had every confidence that this would be mac and cheese nirvana. I was very disappointed. I made it exactly as the recipe reads and with the amount of milk and cheese anticipated a moist, cheesy dish. The flavor was ok, but the massive amount of cheesy sauce apparently absorbed into the pasta resulting in a very dry mac and cheese, The search continues.
Best macaroni and cheese recipe EVER!
Time consumimg and a bit expensive but as others have said; completely worth it. Thanks Bobby!
Expensive..and time consuming but worth it. Delicious
This was one yummy Mac & Cheese, totally NOT for anyone wanting to look after their figure but sooooooooooooooooooooo worth making :-
This Mac and Cheese has become a Thanksgiving tradition in our family! It is time consuming but the end result is worth it!!!