Mac and Cheese is usually built on béchamel, rich, heavy, and honestly a bit one-note. In this video, we make a lighter, more complex mac and cheese inspired by Heston Blumenthal, using a technique from his Michelin-star pub The Hinds Head.
VIDEO CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro
00:09 – The Macaroni
00:18 – The Key Difference
01:33 – Finishing The Macaroni
02:01 – White Wine mix
03:03 – The Cheese
04:24 – Making the Chees Sauce
05:23 – Making the Pangrattato
06:55 – Finishing Sauce
07:52 – Finishing the Mac
09:10 – Baking the Mac
09:31 – Tasting
*For the Panko Topping*
100g butter
100g panko
5 sage leaves
2g fresh thyme
50g panko breadcrumbs
*For the Macaroni*
2L water
20g salt
500g macaroni
*For the Cheese Sauce*
600g white wine
600g chicken stock
1 sprig of thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 Tbsp black peppercorns
100g gruyere
100g slices American cheese
30g corn flour
160g soft cream cheese
5g Dijon mustard
1. For the panko topping, pick the thyme and finely chop the sage.
2. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan on a medium heat.
3. Continue to swirl the butter as the solids turn golden brown and start to smell biscuity.
4. Remove from the heat, drop in the herbs and allow to cool slightly
5. Finally stir through the panko bread crumbs and season with salt and pepper
6. For the macaroni, bring a pan filled with the water and salt to a rolling boil
7. Add the macaroni and cook until al dente
8. Drain, toss in a splash of oil and set aside.
9. For the sauce, add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and peppercorns to a sauce pan.
10. Bring to the boil on a medium high heat and immediately turn the heat off and set aside the pan for the stock to infuse
11. Pour the white wine into a saucepan and on a medium heat, reduce until you only have roughly 60g of wine reduction left
12. Strain the stock into the pan with the wine reduction and turn the heat down to low
13. Finely slice the American cheese and grate half the gruyere.
14. Put all the American Cheese and grated Gruyere in a bowl, add the corn flour and stir through.
15. Once combined, add the cheese and cornflour to the pan of reduced wine and stock, whisking continuously until the cheese has melted and the sauce thickens.
16. Take a small amount of the sauce out of the pan and into a mixing bowl
17. Whisk in the cream cheese and Dijon until fully incorporated
18. Whisk the cream cheese and Dijon slurry back into the sauce until fully incorporated.
19. Fold the pasta through the sauce and mix until combined
20. Cut the remaining gruyere into small cubes and fold them through the pasta.
21. Season with salt and pepper to taste before transferring to an oven proof dish.
22. Top with the brown butter panko crumbs and bake on 180C for 15 minutes until golden
35 Comments
Guys your spin on some Käsespätzle from the German speaking Regions would be really interesting!
I am so tired of the American cheese slander. It's literally just a cheese emulsion. A chef should really know that. The reason it's in this recipe is because you are relying on the emulsifying salts in the cheese to keep the sauce from splitting.
This would make a great dinner entree. I say this because you will use every piece of cookware in your kitchen to make it.
For those who still want a crispy top without overcooking the dish, but don't want breadcrumbs in their mac, you can just cook the mac as normal, then at the end, separate a thin layer off the top into its own sheet pan or whatnot and then only blast that with heat. Once the desired crisp is achieved, just return the top layer back to the rest and it will reincorporate.
Reducing 600 grams of whine to 60 grams must be a typo in the recipe right?
Wonder how that would go with a good dark beer instead of wine…time to experiment!
TRASHY 😂😂😂❤
So corn flour is corn starch i take it?
This guy's looks sweaty as hell
American Cheese does not belong in any Mac & Cheese.
Leave this wonderfully "trashy" dish to America please. 🤢
No no and no
@fallow In Australia it's nearly impossible to find American cheese for whatever reason- what is a alternative to this?
Am I the only American that isn't offended that others consider our concoction and by extension trash? I love some gouda and Jack in a grilled cheese though. Add some meat and that's a quick and wonderful dinner!
I'm sure this is an interesting recipe and I will definitely try it in the coming days et see first hand. With that said, I'm not sure it is a Mac & Cheese anymore. There is something nice about utter simplicity and over complicating remakes of traditional recipes while still calling them the same thing is a bit questionable. This looks like a mix between and mac and cheese and a pasta rissotto. It is a different plate, likely better in terms of taste and textures, but it simply isn't the same. There is a reason a Filet Rossini is called that and not just an "upgraded" Filet. Just as a traditional Dover Sole is good as it is not neeting "upgrades".
I love the way you work. Heston Blumenthal is of course the cleverest clock, no? But I’m gonna add some Louisiana Crawdaddys for my gang of cowboys here in Fort Worth Texas❤
There is no such thing as "Michelin" Mac and cheese.
Just like there is no such thing as a "gourmet" hot dog.
Why is this whole episode a Made-In commercial?
I've worked in kitchens, I'm not a chef. I can cook, but a chef is an artist. I've had loads of Fallow videos on my feed but the use of and distain towards American cheese and the subliminal cleaning absolutely earn a sub 👍
Yes there is someone who does not think American cheese is the way to go.
Any good substitutes for cream cheese?
good lord I love cheese.
American cheese is not trash. It is amazing and very versatile. Still the best cheese for burgers. Also not scraping every little bit of that cheese sauce put of the pot was painful to watch. Thats what makes it bake well.
a bit like a savoury "apple crumble"
I mix my pasta cups with a foie gras veloute and Parmesan… it’s expensive to make.. but it’s delicious
Hey can you make like starter kit for a home cook? Or like kitchen essentials.
Macaroni Cheese not Mac and Cheese FFS
I followed the recipe. The wine reduction is completely unnecessary and makes the dish super sour. Skip it or go with maybe 100g of wine. Yes I used good wine.
It’s Macaroni Cheese! There’s no “and”, no “n”, no nothing. That’s an Americanism, fine for Americans! Just stop it, it’s doing my head in ….
I make mine with mushrooms, garlic and onions!
Mac and Cheese so rich Trump put it on his cabinet
Euro mad at american cheese of course LOLOL
'Whack it into your boiling water." Usually I just use a pinch of salt, thinking outside the box with this recipe.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WINE …..?
I made this on the weekend for the family of teenage daughters and partner. They loved it!!!