Barbecue Baked Eight Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

1. Cook the pasta in salted water until it is just underdone like maybe needs about a minute or two more to be perfect. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large, BBQ safe, saucepan combine the cream and the milk. Warm the cream mixture on the barbecue using indirect heat as you preheat the grill to 350°F.  *If you are using the drop-in roasting pan, remove the cooking grids and insert the pan before turning on the grill. Light the burners that are not under the pan. Place the saucepan with the cream mixture into the drop-in pan to heat. Warm the milk mixture gently until it begins to steam.
3. In a saucepan or dutch oven, combine the butter, flour, and mustard, whisking over low heat for about 2 minutes until the flour has cooked down a bit and begun to caramelize. 
4. If using a dutch oven, slowly add the warm cream to the flour mixture, whisking the whole time. Or add enough of the warm milk mixture to the flour mixture to make it pourable, then combine the two - milk and liquid flour mixture to the roasting pan or a baking dish that you are using. Add all of the cheeses except parmesan to the hot cream mixture, stirring well. If the whole thing isn’t on the grill yet, place it onto the cooking grids. Add the cooked noodles. 
5. Mix the bacon, fried onions, panko crumbs, and parmesan. Drizzle with the melted butter, stir and then top the macaroni and cheese. Close the lid of the grill and bake uncovered for about 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden and the sauce is bubbly. 
6. Serve immediately much to the delight of everyone there.   

In the end, with so many different cheeses, you would think that this whole thing was an overpowering cheesy mess. It was not. The cheese flavor was light and subtle, you could taste nearly everything. You would go through the creaminess of the manchego and the havarti through the sweet tang of the fontina and finally the sharpness of the cheddar. It was delicious. 

I can hear you asking. Why didn’t you use smoked cheese in this Barbecue Baked Eight Cheese Macaroni & Cheese? I didn’t because I find that the scent and flavor of most smoked cheeses tend to overpower the whole mix. If smoked cheese is your thing, by all means, substitute it for one of the many many kinds of cheese in this recipe. This recipe is a seriously gourmet, over-the-top, take on my favorite comfort food. It makes a great main dish and an even better side to whip out when having a delightful holiday meal like Thanksgiving, Easter, or Christmas. What cheese do you like to add to your macaroni and cheese recipe? Do you bake yours or eat it right from the pot? Share your cheesy thoughts, comments, photos, and recipes on our social pages like Facebook and Instagram using the hashtags #NapoleonEats and #NapoleonGrills.

Happy Grilling!