Alien BBQ Beef Mac and Cheese

By KennyB07

Hold on to your young’ns and call out the Calvary. Finally, a dish that everyone will love at your next barbecue. Slow cooked smoked Mac and Cheese with steak. I have three teenagers in my house and a wife who is a gourmet cook; they all love this dish and it will be a hit at your next outing.
I took the love that everyone seems to have for macaroni and cheese and mixed in a BBQ flare. Imagine smoked cheese with barbecued steak and onions in a creamy sauce with a hint of heat from diced peppers. Almost like a Philly cheese steak on pasta.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream (1/2 for cooking and 1/2 as a finishing sauce)
• 1/4 cup Butter
• 1 can Cheddar Cheese Soup
• 3 Eggs
• 8 oz Pepper Jack Cheese
• 32 oz Extra Sharp Cheddar (2- 16 oz. packages)
• 1/4 cup Sour Cream
• 16 oz Elbow Macaroni
• 3 Greens from 3 stems of Mexican Green Onions
• 1 lb Sirloin Steak (cut into thin strips)

Preparation

Step 1

Start by placing a pot of water on the stove and heating till it boils. While the water is coming to a boil, prepare the rest of the dish for the smoker.
Place the steak in the smoker and allow it to cook while you are preparing the sauce. This will give each piece of meat a slight smoked flavor and really add a depth of flavor to the dish.



Slice the Pepper Jack and Cheddar cheese into strips, Use ½ of the cheddar cheese (1 – 16 oz package) for the initial part of the dish. Save the other 16 oz package for the final topping. Finally, add in the diced Mexican onion greens.

In a disposable pan (this stuff is sticky) place the greens, cheese, and butter together. Move this pan to the smoker to allow the butter to clarify and the cheese / onion greens to meld together. Stir the melted product to insure consistency of flavor in the dish.



By now your water should have come to a boil (approx 10 minutes.) Place the pasta in the water and allow it to cook for approximately 20 minutes until it comes to a boil again. Once the pasta had come to a boil (it’s not done yet) remove from heat and sit to the side. For something different, try using the colored pasta wheels if you want the kids to join in the fun.
Return to the smoker and remove the cheese and steak from the grill.
Slice the steak into strips and set them to the side.



Drain the pasta and add it to the cheese and onion greens. Stir until the ingredients look smooth.
Add ½ cup of sour cream, ½ cup of heavy whipping cream and the eggs to the mixture slowly (this will prevent the cream from becoming shocked and curdling.)

Pour in the can of cheddar cheese soup and stir until smooth.
Once the mixture is smooth, add in the steak and mix thoroughly.
Return the pan to the smoker set at 250 degrees and allow it to cook (without foil) for approximately 30 minutes.) This will allow the dish to pick up additional smoke flavoring. After 30 minutes, foil the pan and continue to cook.



Cook an additional hour before removing the foil. When removing the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking, be sure to stir the dish before adding any other ingredients.



Place the other package of sliced cheddar cheese on the top of the dish and return the dish to the smoker.



When the dish is done, remove from the smoker and add ½ cup of heavy cream. Slowly, fold the cream into the dish until the desired creaminess is achieved.



Many times Mac and Cheese can be very salty, so I suggest that you salt the dish to taste at the end of smoking instead of in the beginning. I like my Mac and Cheese a little spicy, so I added a couple of shakes of chipotle salt to mine before serving. If you feel that you must salt during the cooking process, I suggest ½ tsp of GPS (garlic, pepper, and salt) as a start.